February | 2018 | Rock Canyon Poets

Kimberly Johnson is curating a brief reading series for the Tanner Humanities Canter at the University of Utah. Please mark your calendars for the first event in the series:

Lisa Bickmore
March 6, 2018
7:30 pm
Jewel Box Conference Room

Carolyn Tanner Irish Humanities BLDG
215 S Central Campus Dr., Rm 110
Salt Lake City, UT 84112

Please share! All are welcome!

Born in Dover, Delaware, Lisa Bickmore grew up living all over the United States and in Japan. She is the author of two books of poems: flicker, which won the 2014 Antivenom Prize from Elixir Press; and Haste (Signature Books, 1994). Her third book, Ephemerist, was published Red Mountain Press in June 2017.

Her poetry, scholarship, and video work have been published in Glass: A Journal of Poetry; Tar River Poetry; Sugar House Review; SouthWord; Caketrain; Hunger Mountain Review; Terrain.org; Bite Size Poems project (Utah Arts Council); Quarterly West; The Moth; MappingSLC.org; Fire in the Pasture: 21st Century Mormon Poets; and elsewhere. In 2015, her poem ‘Eidolon’ was awarded the Ballymaloe International Poetry Award.

She earned a B.A. and an M.A. from Brigham Young University. Currently, she is a Professor of English at Salt Lake Community College, where she was the recipient of the SLCC Foundation Teaching Excellence Award in 2006. She teaches writing of all sorts, as well as publication studies, and is one of the founders of the SLCC Publication Center.

The Rock Canyon Poets and Pioneer Book announce the launch party of Orogeny, the third collection of poems by local Utah County poets along with an open mic on Tuesday, February 13, 2018 at 6:30 pm.

Orogeny is the third annual printed anthology by Rock Canyon Poets members. Each contributing poet receives a free copy and additional copies will be available to the public for $10 at the event. Poets will read their work from the anthology, after which, the open mic will begin and audience members are invited to read a poem they have written or a favorite by another poet. Light refreshments will be served.

Where: Pioneer Book – 450 West Center Street, Provo

When: Tuesday, June 14, 2016

Time: 6:30 – 8:00 pm

Rock Canyon Poets boasts diverse membership, ranging from 18 to 70 years in age with many backgrounds–including literary journal founders, editors, ex-military, business professionals, a playwright, and a periodontist. Individually, they have received several awards and been published in magazines, anthologies, journals, chapbooks, and full-length books of poetry. Rock Canyon Poets offer poetry with the tactile clarity of tin-can messages through fuzzy strings to the ears of an audience. These poems are tumbleweeds in semi-truck grills. They get stuck in your teeth, build bridges of spun sugar, and make it possible to mount a camel without a sturdy ladder.

Co-founded by Bonnie Shiffler-Olsen and Trish Hopkinson in January, 2015, Rock Canyon Poets was established to develop camaraderie among Utah Valley poets, provide consistent workshopping and reading opportunities, and promote the disciplined study of writing poetry as a serious art form. Members meet twice a month at Pioneer Book in historic downtown Provo. The group sponsors poetry readings and an open mic on the 2nd Tuesday of every month. Membership is by invitation or portfolio submission only.

For more information, contact the Rock Canyon Poets, rockcanyonpoets@gmail.com.