GETTING DEEPER​

​

Deborah D.E.E.P Mouton is a multi-modal storyteller whose work documents, examines, and celebrates the complexities of Black American life. As a young child, she loved to read but often struggled to find characters that looked like her. She has spent the last two decades leading and directing creative projects and initiatives that fights the erasure of Black stories by recentering on authentic storytelling and culturally-rooted story-telling models.

​

Mouton was the first Black Poet Laureate of Houston, TX. Formerly ranked the #2 Best Female Performance Poet in the World (PSI), Her work has appeared in Houston Noir by Akashic Press (2019), Black Girl Magic by Haymarket Books (2019), the Texas Observer, and Fjords Journal, and on such platforms as NPR, BBC, ABC, Apple News, Blavity, Upworthy, and across the TedX circuit. Honored by Houston Business Journal as a part of their 2021 40 Under 40 class, She has served as a contributing writer to Texas Monthly, Glamour Magazine, Muzzle, and ESPN’s Andscape.  Formerly a Resident Artist at the American Lyric Theater, The Houston Museum of African American studies, and Rice University, D.E.E.P.’s collaborations have transcended genre while opening new doors for performance poetry.

​

​

AUTHOR

​

Heralded as a “Literary Genius” by Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, D.E.E.P.’s recent memoir, Black Chameleon (Henry Holt & Co.), was named Best Nonfiction of 2023 by The Texas Institute of Letters. Her 2019 poetry collection, Newsworthy (Bloomsday Literary), garnered her a Pushcart nomination, was named a finalist for the Writer’s League of Texas Book Award, and received honorable mention for the Summerlee Book Prize. A German translation, under the title "Berichtenswert," was released in the summer of 2021 by Elif Verlag. Her upcoming children's book, Hush Hush Hurricane (Kokila Books) is set to release Spring 2027.

​

D.E.E.P. has been a fellow with The Writer's Hotel, The Poetry Foundation's Poetry Incubator, and Torch Literary Arts. In 2023, October 4th was renamed Deborah D.E.E.P. Mouton Day by the City of Houston.

​​

​

PLAYWRIGHT, LIBRETTIST, LYRICIST​

Mouton's theatrical works spans opera, poetry slam, and musical theater. Her recent opera, She Who Dared (Chicago Opera Theater in 2025), with long-time collaborator Jasmine Barnes, was the first professionally produced opera in history written by two Black women. Her other titles include Future of Dreams (Kennedy Center, 2025), On My Mind (Opera Theater St. Louis, 2023), Atlanta: 1906 (Atlanta Opera 2022), The Forest of Secrets (National Sawdust, 2022), Marian's Song (Houston Grand Opera, 2020) and an in progress full-length opera with Opera Theater St. Louis. Serving as Playwright/Director, she produced The World's Intermission (Performing Arts Houston, 2021) and Plumshuga: The Rise of Lauren Anderson, a choreopoem (Stages Theater, 2022) which made the cover of the NYT Culture section. Alongside these longer works, she has written songs for Russell Thomas at LA Opera, Karen Slack, & Joshua Conyers (including the title tracks to his Billboard Top Ten Album, A Miracle in Legacy). She is currently workshopping her first musical, Rosie (written in collaboration with Jake Landau and Sara Gottleib) throughout New York.

​

​​

PERFORMER

​

Mouton is a wordsmith who has been moving audiences for over two decades. Cutting her teeth early as a national slam champion, she developed a love for connecting with audiences. She has had the pleasure of

collaborating with The Houston Ballet, The Houston Rockets, and performing for over 30k people on the Texans' 50 yard line to name a few. She has shared stages with Nikki Giovanni, Talib Kweli, MC Lyte, Amiri Baraka, John Legend, Slick Rick, Slum Village, Karen Clark-Shield, Raheem Devaughn, Trae Tha Truth, Devin the Dude,  Def Poet Sunni Patterson, Def Comedy Jam's Rodman, Regie Gibson, Buddy Wakefield, Danez Smith, Roxane Gay, and multiple local and national political figures.

​

In 2023, She was invited to create and perform UNEARTHED, a night dedicated to the memory of the Sugarland 95, alongside Kendrick Scott and The Harlem String Quartet. That piece was featured as part of Terrace Blanchard's series at San Francisco Jazz Center in 2025. She most recently wrote and co-directed a night dedicated to America's contradicting legacy with Apollo Chamber Players (and appeared on their recent album).

​

CURATOR

As a curator and visual artist her debut exhibit "_____As Myth" (2022) worked with students at Rice University and local artists to examine myth-making as self-examination and social commentary. It debuted at Rice University's Moody Center for the Arts before a sophomore installation in Houston's City Hall.  Her forthcoming installation, The Call Me Mother Experience, is a community exhibit centered on the Black Maternal Health Crisis will open in Fall 2026. The work amplifies eight impacted artist who have lost, loved, and looked for better care despite implicit bias and poor care. This work is set to be Mouton's first nationally touring exhibit.

​

DIRECTOR & DRAMATURG

​​​

Watching good work land on stage is one of Mouton's favorite things to watch. She loves helping others shape their best performances. From serving as a Director for her own aforementioned work to supporting works like The Women Have Something To Say in a dramaturgist role, Mouton is always looking at how to refine the art of storytelling and get to the heart of an audience.

 

FILMMAKER & VISUAL ART

Mouton's foray into film began with a commission from Performing Arts Houston in 2020. Challenged to make a visual poem that told a story of resilience amidst the pandemic, Mouton crafted a stirring short that depicted the longing, loneliness, and hope that lingered in creating in quarantine.  That approach led her to translate a passage from her award-winning memoir, Black Chameleon, into a short film in 2023. She was granted an IDEA Fund grant through the Andy Warhol Foundation to create five short films on maternal health with fellow filmmaker and storyteller, Keda Sharber. Those works premiered at The Health Museum in October of 2025. She is currently writing her first series as part of the Washday Collective.

 

Mouton's early roots in photography and visual art stemmed from her father. While initially as an amateur, she launched Deep Optics in 2006 as a side business offering family portraits and event photos. Her love for photos and visual art grew into a way to document communities and bigger stories. Her visual work, mostly text-based art, is premiering for the first time as part of The Call Me Mother Experience in Fall 2026.

 

EDUCATOR & FACILITATOR

Mouton holds two Bachelor’s degrees from the University of Michigan- Ann Arbor, in English and African American Studies respectively. She also holds a M.Ed. from the University of St. Thomas. She WAs a certified teacher with the State of Texas and has dedicated over 20 years towards the education of young minds, the expansion of literacy, and the dismantling of literary racism. Every year, she hosts writing workshops, craft talks, and lectures through local universities for anyone who has a story to tell.

​

Her work has been highlighted and studied in Canada, England, New Zealand, and Germany. She had the pleasure of performing and leading a workshop at the Leipzig in Autumn literary festival in 2018, where she bridged the gap between the poetry slam and international publishing communities. She resides in Houston with her loving husband and two energetic children.

​​​​

​​