diff --git a/doc/api/index.rst b/doc/api/index.rst
index d168e73a696..747c1fb8a9a 100644
--- a/doc/api/index.rst
+++ b/doc/api/index.rst
@@ -32,6 +32,7 @@ Plotting data and laying out the map:
     Figure.logo
     Figure.image
     Figure.shift_origin
+    Figure.text
 
 Color palette table generation:
 
diff --git a/pygmt/base_plotting.py b/pygmt/base_plotting.py
index 09082fe271e..8d43c88c162 100644
--- a/pygmt/base_plotting.py
+++ b/pygmt/base_plotting.py
@@ -2,6 +2,11 @@
 Base class with plot generating commands.
 Does not define any special non-GMT methods (savefig, show, etc).
 """
+import csv
+import os
+import numpy as np
+import pandas as pd
+
 from .clib import Session
 from .exceptions import GMTInvalidInput
 from .helpers import (
@@ -9,6 +14,7 @@
     dummy_context,
     data_kind,
     fmt_docstring,
+    GMTTempFile,
     use_alias,
     kwargs_to_strings,
 )
@@ -574,3 +580,107 @@ def legend(self, spec=None, **kwargs):
                 raise GMTInvalidInput("Unrecognized data type: {}".format(type(spec)))
             arg_str = " ".join([specfile, build_arg_string(kwargs)])
             lib.call_module("legend", arg_str)
+
+    @fmt_docstring
+    @use_alias(R="region", J="projection")
+    @kwargs_to_strings(
+        R="sequence",
+        textfiles="sequence_space",
+        angle="sequence_comma",
+        font="sequence_comma",
+        justify="sequence_comma",
+    )
+    def text(
+        self,
+        textfiles=None,
+        x=None,
+        y=None,
+        text=None,
+        angle=None,
+        font=None,
+        justify=None,
+        **kwargs,
+    ):
+        """
+        Plot or typeset text on maps
+
+        Used to be pstext.
+
+        Takes in textfile(s) or (x,y,text) triples as input.
+
+        Must provide at least *textfiles* or *x*, *y*, and *text*.
+
+        Full option list at :gmt-docs:`text.html`
+
+        {aliases}
+
+        Parameters
+        ----------
+        textfiles : str or list
+            A text data file name, or a list of filenames containing 1 or more records
+            with (x, y[, font, angle, justify], text).
+        x, y : float or 1d arrays
+            The x and y coordinates, or an array of x and y coordinates to plot the text
+        text : str or 1d array
+            The text string, or an array of strings to plot on the figure
+        angle: int/float or bool
+            Set the angle measured in degrees counter-clockwise from horizontal. E.g. 30
+            sets the text at 30 degrees. If no angle is given then the input textfile(s)
+            must have this as a column.
+        font : str or bool
+            Set the font specification with format "size,font,color" where size is text
+            size in points, font is the font to use, and color sets the font color. E.g.
+            "12p,Helvetica-Bold,red" selects a 12p red Helvetica-Bold font. If no font
+            info is given then the input textfile(s) must have this information in one
+            of its columns.
+        justify: str or bool
+            Set the alignment which refers to the part of the text string that will be
+            mapped onto the (x,y) point. Choose a 2 character combination of L, C, R
+            (for left, center, or right) and T, M, B for top, middle, or bottom. E.g.,
+            BL for lower left. If no justification is given then the input textfile(s)
+            must have this as a column.
+        {J}
+        {R}
+        """
+        kwargs = self._preprocess(**kwargs)
+
+        kind = data_kind(textfiles, x, y, text)
+        if kind == "vectors" and text is None:
+            raise GMTInvalidInput("Must provide text with x and y.")
+        if kind == "file":
+            for textfile in textfiles.split(" "):  # ensure that textfile(s) exist
+                if not os.path.exists(textfile):
+                    raise GMTInvalidInput(f"Cannot find the file: {textfile}")
+
+        if angle is not None or font is not None or justify is not None:
+            if "F" not in kwargs.keys():
+                kwargs.update({"F": ""})
+            if angle is not None and isinstance(angle, (int, float)):
+                kwargs["F"] += f"+a{str(angle)}"
+            if font is not None and isinstance(font, str):
+                kwargs["F"] += f"+f{font}"
+            if justify is not None and isinstance(justify, str):
+                kwargs["F"] += f"+j{justify}"
+
+        with GMTTempFile(suffix=".txt") as tmpfile:
+            with Session() as lib:
+                if kind == "file":
+                    fname = textfiles
+                elif kind == "vectors":
+                    pd.DataFrame.from_dict(
+                        {
+                            "x": np.atleast_1d(x),
+                            "y": np.atleast_1d(y),
+                            "text": np.atleast_1d(text),
+                        }
+                    ).to_csv(
+                        tmpfile.name,
+                        sep="\t",
+                        header=False,
+                        index=False,
+                        quoting=csv.QUOTE_NONE,
+                    )
+                    fname = tmpfile.name
+
+                arg_str = " ".join([fname, build_arg_string(kwargs)])
+                lib.call_module("text", arg_str)
diff --git a/pygmt/tests/baseline/test_text_angle_30.png b/pygmt/tests/baseline/test_text_angle_30.png
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..a859ddd371c
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diff --git a/pygmt/tests/baseline/test_text_font_bold.png b/pygmt/tests/baseline/test_text_font_bold.png
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..957056ba43c
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diff --git a/pygmt/tests/baseline/test_text_input_multiple_filenames.png b/pygmt/tests/baseline/test_text_input_multiple_filenames.png
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..3589de0bc49
Binary files /dev/null and b/pygmt/tests/baseline/test_text_input_multiple_filenames.png differ
diff --git a/pygmt/tests/baseline/test_text_input_single_filename.png b/pygmt/tests/baseline/test_text_input_single_filename.png
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..65ab36c1221
Binary files /dev/null and b/pygmt/tests/baseline/test_text_input_single_filename.png differ
diff --git a/pygmt/tests/baseline/test_text_justify_bottom_right_and_top_left.png b/pygmt/tests/baseline/test_text_justify_bottom_right_and_top_left.png
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..5f10262a4d5
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diff --git a/pygmt/tests/baseline/test_text_justify_parsed_from_textfile.png b/pygmt/tests/baseline/test_text_justify_parsed_from_textfile.png
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..34b89b39bad
Binary files /dev/null and b/pygmt/tests/baseline/test_text_justify_parsed_from_textfile.png differ
diff --git a/pygmt/tests/baseline/test_text_multiple_lines_of_text.png b/pygmt/tests/baseline/test_text_multiple_lines_of_text.png
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..0bb344d2c04
Binary files /dev/null and b/pygmt/tests/baseline/test_text_multiple_lines_of_text.png differ
diff --git a/pygmt/tests/baseline/test_text_single_line_of_text.png b/pygmt/tests/baseline/test_text_single_line_of_text.png
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..932ac478cfc
Binary files /dev/null and b/pygmt/tests/baseline/test_text_single_line_of_text.png differ
diff --git a/pygmt/tests/data/cities.txt b/pygmt/tests/data/cities.txt
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..895ab6beda3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pygmt/tests/data/cities.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+105.87	21.02	LM	HANOI
+282.95	-12.1	LM	LIMA
+178.42	-18.13	LM	SUVA
+237.67	47.58	RM	SEATTLE
+28.20	-25.75	LM	PRETORIA
diff --git a/pygmt/tests/test_text.py b/pygmt/tests/test_text.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..4eb4c41ed4c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pygmt/tests/test_text.py
@@ -0,0 +1,173 @@
+# pylint: disable=redefined-outer-name
+"""
+Tests text
+"""
+import os
+
+import pytest
+
+from .. import Figure
+from ..exceptions import GMTInvalidInput
+
+TEST_DATA_DIR = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), "data")
+POINTS_DATA = os.path.join(TEST_DATA_DIR, "points.txt")
+CITIES_DATA = os.path.join(TEST_DATA_DIR, "cities.txt")
+
+
+@pytest.fixture(scope="module")
+def projection():
+    "The projection system"
+    return "x4i"
+
+
+@pytest.fixture(scope="module")
+def region():
+    "The data region"
+    return [0, 5, 0, 2.5]
+
+
+@pytest.mark.mpl_image_compare
+def test_text_single_line_of_text(region, projection):
+    """
+    Place a single line text of text at some x, y location
+    """
+    fig = Figure()
+    fig.text(
+        region=region,
+        projection=projection,
+        x=1.2,
+        y=2.4,
+        text="This is a line of text",
+    )
+    return fig
+
+
+@pytest.mark.mpl_image_compare
+def test_text_multiple_lines_of_text(region, projection):
+    """
+    Place multiple lines of text at their respective x, y locations
+    """
+    fig = Figure()
+    fig.text(
+        region=region,
+        projection=projection,
+        x=[1.2, 1.6],
+        y=[0.6, 0.3],
+        text=["This is a line of text", "This is another line of text"],
+    )
+    return fig
+
+
+def test_text_without_text_input(region, projection):
+    """
+    Run text by passing in x and y, but no text
+    """
+    fig = Figure()
+    with pytest.raises(GMTInvalidInput):
+        fig.text(region=region, projection=projection, x=1.2, y=2.4)
+
+
+@pytest.mark.mpl_image_compare
+def test_text_input_single_filename():
+    """
+    Run text by passing in one filename to textfiles
+    """
+    fig = Figure()
+    fig.text(region=[10, 70, -5, 10], textfiles=POINTS_DATA)
+    return fig
+
+
+@pytest.mark.mpl_image_compare
+def test_text_input_multiple_filenames():
+    """
+    Run text by passing in multiple filenames to textfiles
+    """
+    fig = Figure()
+    fig.text(region=[10, 70, -30, 10], textfiles=[POINTS_DATA, CITIES_DATA])
+    return fig
+
+
+def test_text_nonexistent_filename():
+    """
+    Run text by passing in a list of filenames with one that does not exist
+    """
+    fig = Figure()
+    with pytest.raises(GMTInvalidInput):
+        fig.text(region=[10, 70, -5, 10], textfiles=[POINTS_DATA, "notexist.txt"])
+
+
+@pytest.mark.mpl_image_compare
+def test_text_angle_30(region, projection):
+    """
+    Print text at 30 degrees counter-clockwise from horizontal
+    """
+    fig = Figure()
+    fig.text(
+        region=region,
+        projection=projection,
+        x=1.2,
+        y=2.4,
+        text="text angle 30 degrees",
+        angle=30,
+    )
+    return fig
+
+
+@pytest.mark.mpl_image_compare
+def test_text_font_bold(region, projection):
+    """
+    Print text with a bold font
+    """
+    fig = Figure()
+    fig.text(
+        region=region,
+        projection=projection,
+        x=1.2,
+        y=2.4,
+        text="text in bold",
+        font="Helvetica-Bold",
+    )
+    return fig
+
+
+@pytest.mark.mpl_image_compare
+def test_text_justify_bottom_right_and_top_left(region, projection):
+    """
+    Print text justified at bottom right and top left
+    """
+    fig = Figure()
+    fig.text(
+        region=region,
+        projection=projection,
+        x=1.2,
+        y=0.2,
+        text="text justified bottom right",
+        justify="BR",
+    )
+    fig.text(
+        region=region,
+        projection=projection,
+        x=1.2,
+        y=0.2,
+        text="text justified top left",
+        justify="TL",
+    )
+    return fig
+
+
+@pytest.mark.mpl_image_compare
+def test_text_justify_parsed_from_textfile():
+    """
+    Print text justified based on a column from textfile, using justify=True boolean
+    operation. Loosely based on "All great-circle paths lead to Rome" gallery example at
+    https://gmt.soest.hawaii.edu/doc/latest/gallery/ex23.html
+    """
+    fig = Figure()
+    fig.text(
+        region="g",
+        projection="H90/9i",
+        justify=True,
+        textfiles=CITIES_DATA,
+        D="j0.45/0+vred",  # draw red-line from xy point to text label (city name)
+    )
+    return fig