Andrea “Vocab” Sanderson is a poet, singer, and hip-hop artist. A San Antonio native, she is the author of the collection She Lives in Music. Sanderson was a slam poet from 2004 to 2008 and a member of four teams that competed at the National Poetry Slam. She is the recipient of numerous awards, including Dream Voice, People’s Choice Award, Best Live Entertainment/Band Musician of the Year by the 17th Annual SEA Awards, and the Arts & Letters Award by Friends of the San Antonio Public Library. Sanderson currently serves as the education and community engagement coordinator for the Carver Cultural Community Center. She is a former Poet Laureate of San Antonio, Texas. In 2021, she received an Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellowship. Andrea’s work is included in Praisesong for the People: Poems from the Heart and Soul of Texas.
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Andrea “Vocab” Sanderson
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Praisesong for the People: Poems from the Heart and Soul of Texas
“We turn to poetry in our greatest moments of joy and sorrow to help us tune in to our emotions and connect with others,” writes Johnston. In "Praisesong for the People," poetry brings us together to celebrate the people across the state who make this land feel like home.
Edited by Amanda Johnston, the 61st Texas Poet Laureate and first Black woman to receive this honor, this vibrant anthology collects the work of 70 emerging and established poets across the state. Commissioned to write original poems celebrating everyday people, the poets in "Praisesong for the People: Poems from the Heart and Soul of Texas" are as diverse as the landscapes they inhabit, and reflect the intersecting identities of Texas’s population across age, gender, BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, disability, and immigrant communities. In these poems, their voices gather in a heartfelt chorus to praise the people in their communities who offer small kindnesses, asking nothing in return.
Praise the bus driver who ferries us safely across town. Praise the abuela who dries our tears. Praise the librarian who protects young curiosity. Praise the therapist with an open door, the teacher fluent in the language of affirmation. With story, testimony, and song, these poets give our unsung community heroes their flowers.
