Welcome to the Utah monthly edition of Poetry Happens, brought to you by Rock Canyon Poets. Each edition will include poetry happenings and other announcements coming up in Utah, with highlights specifically for Utah county. And tune in on KRCL Radioactive the first Wednesday of every month for announcements and feature poet reading!

UPCOMING EVENTS for Utah County

SPECIAL EVENT: Rock Canyon Poets poetry reading & open mic every 2nd Tuesday from 6:30 – 8:00 pm at Pioneer Book in Provo, this month on January 14, Poetry Open Mic + Book Launch Party for the 5th volume of Orogeny, an annual collection of poems by Rock Canyon Poets.

Every Thursday – Speak for Yourself spoken word open mic at Enliten Cafe in Provo, at 7:30 pm

Saturday Night Slam Series, check their Facebook page for monthly dates, from 7 – 9 PM at the BYU Wilkinson Student Center in Provo

UPCOMING EVENTS for Utah 

Kimiko Hahn and Lindsay Lusby Reading – The University of Utah Guest Writers Series presents an evening of poetry with authors Kimiko Hahn and Lindsay Lusby at Finch Lane Gallery at the Art Barn, Salt Lake City UT. Jan 16, 2020 at 07:00 pm – 08:00 pm (Thu).

Jacqueline Balderrama | Nectar and Small – Jacqueline Balderrama will read from and sign her new poetry chapbook, Nectar and Small. Presented by The King’s English Bookshop, Salt Lake City UT. Jan 30, 2020 at 07:00 pm (Thu).

City Art Reading Series, typically the first three Wednesdays of every month at the Salt Lake City Downtown Library. Check their Facebook Events page for updates.

Bountiful Open Mic is a music/poetry open mic held the 1st and 3rd Saturdays of every month at 8 pm; 55 North Main in Bountiful

Sugar Slam every 2nd Thursday at Watchtower Cafe in SLC at 8 PM.  Open mic beforehand. Dec. 12.

Haikus, Modernism and Stanton MacDonald-Wright – “Haiga Portfolio” (1965-1966) blends Eastern and Western influences, pairing vibrant modernist paintings with haikus written by some of Japan’s most influential poets. Presented by Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art at Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art, Logan UT, exhibit runs from August 24 – June 30, 2020. 

CALLS FOR POEMS (Utah-based)

Provo Poetry Contest – free to enter, cash prizes! Deadline: Feb. 1, 2020. Judge is Star Coulbrooke, 1st place – $100, 2nd place – $50, plus finalists will be displayed in historic downtown Provo during National Poetry Month and the Provo Art Stroll in April 2020.

Utah Life call for poems: May/June 2020 issue will be poems on the theme of “Butterflies and Flowers.”

Western Humanities Review – open to submissions year round.

For more national submission calls, visit https://trishhopkinson.com.

If you have an event or announcement related to poetry in Utah, please contact us here and we will include it in our next edition.