Paper Stars is an anthology of poems about becoming. Written across two decades, these pieces move through love and loss, addiction and recovery, fatherhood, fury, mercy, and the quiet work of staying human in a fractured world. Rooted in myth and grounded in the everyday, these poems braid tenderness with grit, bearing witness to what breaks us and what binds us back together.

These are poems for those who have stood in empty galleries of their own making. For those who have loved what they could not keep. For those who have wrestled faith, survived themselves, and learned that healing often leaves a seam.

Bryan Austin is a storyteller, performer, and writer whose work lives at the intersection of history, myth, and the quiet spaces of the human heart. Over the past decade, he has brought stories to life for audiences ranging from Supreme Court justices and attorney generals to thousands of students across the country, collaborating with leading museums to create immersive, original theatrical experiences.