The People’s Poets of Texas: Literature Born Within the Singer/Songwriter Tradition of the Last Forty Years is a creative nonfiction exploration of the poetry found within the songs of multiple generations of modern Texas singer/songwriters and a case for the consideration of their work as a genuine regional literature. Studying the roots of Texas music, the musicality of Texan manners of speech and storytelling, and re-examining the Austin, Texas music scene of the 1970s that brought a national focus to the organic, reciprocal manner in which Texas music is traditionally experienced, radically altered the ways in which the songs were written, recorded, and marketed. An examination of this phenomenon allows us to understand that, first, a proliferation of Texas singer/songwriters of unprecedented quality has emerged in recent decades and that, second, a legitimate people's literature is emerging from their song-craft.