From the Bayou, We Speak
Poetry and art in the languages Houston speaks
From the Bayou, We Speak spotlights English as a Second Language students: their poems and art across different languages, translated, read aloud, and kept here for everyone.
What it is
A stage, a library and a living room
Houston is one of the most culturally diverse cities in the country, yet the people still learning English are rarely the ones on stage. This project changes that. ESL students wrote poems and made art in response to two prompts: “Who I am” and “The world I envision.”
Each selected piece was translated, read aloud by its author or a community orator, and shared at a free public showcase and open mic. This website keeps the work: every poem beside its translation, every artwork with the artist's own words.
Every artist chosen for the collection was paid for their work.
How it comes together
From an open call to a public stage
The call
We invite ESL students across Houston to answer two prompts, in the language that feels like home.
The selection
Readers review every submission and choose the poems and artworks for the collection.
The translation
Translators bring each poem into English, or from English into the poet's home language.
The showcase
The work is read aloud at the Central Library, followed by an open mic, and then kept here.
Meet the founder
Alina Lugo
Alina is a Latina literary artist, writer, editor and educator in Houston who writes in English and Spanish. As a former ESL student herself, she knows what it means to search for your words in a new language, and what it means when someone makes room for yours.
She holds a master's degree in World Cultures and Literatures from the University of Houston, with a focus on comparative cultural studies, and is managing editor of Purple Ink Press, which highlights prose, poetry and art from in-between spaces.
Her community work ranges from creative writing workshops for young people to a multilingual collaboration in English, Gujarati and Hindi with Samvedana Trust, an NGO in India. She publishes bilingually in Diáspora, a Mexican cultural journal.
Now more than ever, it's time to amplify voices that are pushed aside.Alina Lugo, founder
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