“Songwriting has been my therapy,” Parton said in a video accepting her ACM Poet’s Award
Dolly Parton appeared virtually last night to accept her Academy of Country Music Award honor, one of multiple recent appearances the country legend has had to join remotely (Parton was never scheduled to attend the ACM Honors to appear in person). Parton was honored with the Poet’s Award during the event in Nashville on Aug. 19, which also heralded work from Eric Church, Ella Langley, Kacey Musgraves, the Carter Family, the Taylor Sheridan series Landman, executive Leslie Fram, late songwriter Brett James, and more. Parton was also celebrated in a performance by Carter Faith, Carly Pearce, and Kaitlin Butts, who covered her classic working-woman anthem “9 to 5.”
“You know, I’ve been able to do many things throughout my life, but at my core, songwriting has always been the most important part of who I am creatively,” Parton said on a prerecorded video. “Every dream I ever had and all the dreams that I’ve been able to see come true in life, well they all started with a song. Songwriting has been my therapy; songwriting has been my release, my joy. Songwriting has been a gift from God that has allowed me to touch people with words and music.”
