Articles on Utah literary arts, Utah authors, Utah literature and poetry published in 15 Bytes.
“Genuine poetry can communicate before it is understood.” — T.S. Eliot Most of us remember studying poetry in grade school. Poetry taught us about language, rhythm imagery and symbolism. Many of us were too young to truly understand what the poet was communicating, but nevertheless, we read […]
Literary tastes lead to literary debates. Readers disagree about subjects and treatments, and one reader’s favorite book is the object of another’s scorn. It is ever thus, and should be; lively opinions make for better, more attentive reading. But what about entire genres? Even those who don’t love […]
“You have to be careful. This one will write it all down.” The question we asked ourselves was simple. What kind of writing wins Utah’s literary awards? In this month’s edition, we took a look at 2009 Utah Book Award for Poetry winner Lance Larsen, whose […]
Magnificent Days: Geoff Dyer makes Utah a habit On January 14, British author Geoff Dyer went public with the story of his obsession for vacationing in Utah. He did so in the Financial Times, a London newspaper read by people who live in the world’s most expensive city, […]
Last year many Salt Lake residents, who are known for searching the news for local names and familiar faces, were delighted to see downtown bookstore stalwart Ken Sanders recognized as perhaps the nation’s leading enemy of antiquarian book thieves. In The Man Who Loved Books Too Much Allison […]
The titles of some artworks add meaning. Others are just for identification. But in poetry, a title can be part of the work. Reading “Sit-ups with Mr. Johnny Keats,” I thought the title a witty metaphor for struggle. It was only midway through 2009’s Utah Book Award for […]
Guy Lebeda is a writer who has published essays and articles about art, the environment, and outdoor topics. He is also the author of a comedy radio script that was performed on National Public Radio by Garrison Keillor on Prairie Home Companion. Lebeda lives in Salt Lake City, […]
Poetry readings are tricky things. At a reading you are a prisoner to the artist in ways you rarely are at exhibitions. A poet’s reading of a poem can give thunder and lightning to the written word (Dylan Thomas reading a credit card contract could make it a […]
Painters of Utah’s Canyons & Deserts, a collaboration of art historians Donna L. Poulton and Vern G. Swanson, is a wonderfully written and illustrated book about artists painting the southern Utah landscape. The book is a suitable companion to other publications about Utah art and artists, the previous […]
Katharine Coles lives in Salt Lake City, and in 2006 she was named to a five-year term as Utah’s Poet Laureate. Her poems have been included in numerous public arts projects, including Salt Lake City’s Passages Park, for which she served on the design team; and NUMBERS AND MEASURES, […]
Towards the end of his new book, Talking to Tesla: An Artist’s Dream Journal, Alex Bigny writes: “Imagine me, the consummate dreamer, a painter, encountering a great scientist somewhere in the ethers — to be told that I would carry on his work. I had expected by now that I […]
