Preston Losack (b. 1991, Dallas) used to live in a monastery, and that affected his way he lives his life and writes today outside of the monastery. He finds the sublime in ordinary things and has a huge drive to inspire people in his community to love humanity and value authentic connection as deeply as he does. Writing poetry is often a fitting instrument to do this. He is what you might call a ‘classic poet’ who in some ways cherishes the canon, but he is committed in his work to making that canon more inclusive and accessible. That’s why he started Preston’s Poetry Podcast, which tears down barriers to reading and writing poetry. Preston also likes making other snobby things less snobby, more accessible and fun—from typewriters to classical music, name-dropping dead philosophers to stabbing his friends (safely) on the fencing piste.
Losack made his surprise debut by delivering a protest poem written on a napkin at a poet’s gathering in March 2021, after which he published his sonnet, “To Dry Feet,” in LETTER (UNESCO LCoL). He continued to bring his culture-bridging work to stages across the Netherlands after two Dictieland residencies in 2023 through Wintertuin and Explore the North. These gave life to the multi-lingual, multi-media performance, 500 years op de zeebodem, alongside multi-talents Merlijn Huntjens and Heleen van Maldegem. His poetry has appeared in various newspapers and magazines, such as De Moanne and Leeuwarder Courant. He has also published translations of such writers as Stef Bos, Sytse Jansma, Laura Gilpin, Arjan Hut, and Marrit Jellema. He is currently neck-deep in writing a book-length Epic poem about becoming a poet, being a ‘Global Texan’, and about surviving hardship, loneliness, and abuse.