Welcome to the Utah-focused list of Poetry STILL Happens, brought to you by Rock Canyon Poets. We’re now keeping a running list that will be updated regularly to help you get a dose of poetry by attending both in-person and online events, prompts and resources for writing your own poems, and submission calls.

Tune in on KRCL RadioActive for new Poetry STILL Happens mini-features, played throughout the month and featured on their web site and Facebook, as well as the Rock Canyon Poets web site and Facebook. Follow both to make sure not to miss a thing! The new features will include announcements and a reading from a Utah poet.

If you have an event or announcement related to poetry in Utah, please contact us here.

---

In-Person Poetry Events

• Praise Poetry Reading on Antelope Island, February 19, 2022 from 3 – 5pm outside the Antelope Island visitor center, presented by River Writing. The poem irreplaceable is a prayer for restoration, destined to become at least 1700 lines long to reflect the 1700 square mile size (minimum) of a robustly healthy Great Salt Lake. Everyone is welcome! Though the reading is free, state park fee ($17 per vehicle) for access to Antelope Island will still apply.
• Helicon West features Amanda Luzzader, Feb 24, 2022, 7:00 pm, CacheARTS Thatcher-Young Mansion, 35 W 100 S, Logan, UT, Helicon West is free, uncensored, and open to the public. An open mic will follow featured readers. Caffe Ibis coffee will be served.
• Reclaiming Our Humanity: with Author Mark Nepo, presented by the Jung Society of Utah, Sat., February 26, 2022, 9am – 1pm at the A. Ray Olpin Student Union, Central Campus Drive, Salt Lake City, UT. Admission $125. Beloved as a poet, teacher, and storyteller, Mark Nepo, the New York Times bestselling author of The Book of Awakening, has been called “one of the finest spiritual guides of our time,” “a consummate storyteller,” and “an eloquent spiritual teacher.”
• Sarah Blackman and Jamie L. Smith Reading and Conversation – Reading Date: Thursday, March 3 | Time: 7:00pm MT | Location: Tanner Humanities Building (Room 109). Conversation Date: Friday, March 4 | Time: 12:00pm MT | Location: TBD.
• 2022 Poetry In the Park & Redrock Creative Writing Seminar – The 11th annual Poetry In the Park (PIP) workshop is scheduled for Friday March 4th from 9 am to 3 pm in Zion National Park Nature Center. Renowned poet, Lola Haskins, will lead this workshop. See PIP for 2022 workshop details when the site is updated.
• Redrock Writers’ 2022 Creative Writing Seminar will be held on Saturday March 5th. St. George  Community Building at 245 N  200 W. In conjunction with the Redrock Seminar, come early and experience Poetry in the Park, a day of poetry workshops and writing in Zion National Park.
• Join Kimball Art Center in conversation with author, Paisley Rekdal, to discuss Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning by Cathy Park Hong, March 9, 2022 7:00 p.m. Free, in-person event.
• The Cowboy Train presented by Heber Valley Railroad at Heber Valley Railroad, Heber City UT, featuring a round up of old-fashioned Western music and poetry, including Brayden Weese, Cowboy Poet John Conorroe, as well as a performance by the “Saloon Girls.” $20 general admission. Friday, March 11th, 2022 at 6:30pm.
• The 12th Annual Cache Valley Cowboy Rendezvous is scheduled for March 11-13, 2022 daily at 10am, presented by Cache Valley Cowboy Rendezvous, Inc.at Cache County Event Center, Logan UT Free Cowboy Poetry & Western Music Entertainment with western vendors, youth poetry showcase, virtual daily concerts, mask contest, etc.
• How Flowers Bloom at Alliance Theatre, 602 East 500 South, Salt Lake City, UT, March 11 – 13, admission $14. How Flowers Bloom is a play that examines how trauma weaves its way through everyday life; it colors it, informs it, but does not stop it. Combining poetry, movement, and dialogue to tell the women’s stories, the serious subject matter of the play is balanced with humor, triumph, and healing, ultimately coming to the conclusion that happiness and stability are possible for those who continue to hope for it.
• Helicon West features the USU Bull Pen Slam Team, March 24, 2022, 7:00 pm, CacheARTS Thatcher-Young Mansion, 35 W 100 S, Logan, UT, Helicon West is free, uncensored, and open to the public. An open mic will follow featured readers. Caffe Ibis coffee will be served.
• Garden Poetry Walk – Red Butte Garden from April 1 – May 31, celebrates this unique literary art by hosting the poems written by our eleven local poetry contest winners in stand-up display boxes placed throughout the Garden. Look for them along your path. We feature other seasonal poems throughout the year. Info on this year’s contest below.
• Helicon West features the USU 2022 Creative Writing Contest Winners, April 28, 2022, 7:00 pm, CacheARTS Thatcher-Young Mansion, 35 W 100 S, Logan, UT, Helicon West is free, uncensored, and open to the public. An open mic will follow featured readers. Caffe Ibis coffee will be served.

Virtual Poetry Events

• Black, Bold & Brilliant presents the next episode in our series of conversations about Black-centric films and media by diving into the legendary conversation between James Baldwin and Nikki Giovanni. Stream begins February 15, 2022 7:00 PM MST. Register for free here.
• University of Utah’s Guest Writers Series presents a reading and conversation with poets Gabrielle Calvocoressi and Benjamin Gucciardi. Thursday, February 17 | Time: 7:00pm MT | Location: Virtual Register via Zoom here.
• Author Meets Readers event with Reginald Dwayne Betts, hosted by Director Erika George. Presented by Tanner Humanities Center at University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law, Salt Lake City UT, Tue, February 22, 2022, 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM MST. Register for free here.
• Everybody Writes Open Mic presented by The Salt Lake Community Writing Center every second and fourth Wednesday of each month, from 7-8 p.m. hosted virtually via Zoom; to access the Zoom link or get more information, please email us at cwc@slcc.edu.
• Salt Lake Teens Write, presented by Salt Lake City Public Library at Online/Virtual Space, Online/Virtual UT, This group will meet on Zoom, Tuesdays, March 8, 15, and 22, 6–7:30pm. Aspiring writers in grades 9–12 can meet other writers and level-up their own writing. This intensive workshop will be led by the SLCC Community Writing Center. No writing experience is necessary! Apply here.
• 2 Hours @the Table with Michelle Vainright (they,them), presented by River Writing, Friday, March 18th from 6 pm-8 pm MST via Zoom. $40 (sliding scale). Everyone is welcome to this 2 Hours at the Table to bring the week to a close with poetry, community, and listening.
• 30 Poems in 30 Days Competition – Write 30 poems based on daily prompts throughout the month of April. Winners will have a chapbook of their original poems designed and produced by the CWC. Registration required by April 30. Recommended fee is $5, but this can be waived at registration. On April 1, 2022 at 10 a.m., the first of the 30 writing prompts will be posted on the CWC’s Facebook (@CommunityWritingCenter) and Instagram (@slcc_cwc) accounts. Each morning, a new prompt will be posted.
• Speak for Yourself open mic has gone hybrid, every Thursday of the month via Zoom or in-person the 3rd Thursday of every month at Enliten Bakery attached to Gurus in downtown Provo.
• Utah Poetry Festival, in-person and virtual events April 2 – 16, 2022. See details below.
• April 8-9th: Utah State Poetry Society Conference, virtual. Information here.
• Anne Newman Sutton Weeks Poetry Series – The 2021–22 readings, followed by Q&A, are held on Zoom on Thursdays at 7:00 p.m. MT. Participants must register in advance. The debut of the 2022 issue of Westminster College’s literary magazine, ellipsis…literature and art, which features contributors and staff, will take place on Friday, April 22 at 7:00 p.m.
• April 23rd-25th: Pre-Quill Conference (hybrid), Utah League of Writers, UMOCA, SLC. Information here.
• April 29th, 7 PM: Utah State Youth Poetry Slam, virtual.

Utah Poetry Festival

The Utah Poetry Festival is free and open to the public. Virtual events can be watched live or streamed later via the Utah Humanities YouTube channel. In-person events will strictly follow CDC-recommended protocol for Covid-19. All virtual events will be closed captioned by AI Media. Registration will open in February. View the schedule to register. Festival attendees must register for each event they wish to attend.

SATURDAY, APRIL 2nd

1-2 PM Red Butte Poetry Walk and Workshop. Write poems in Red Butte Garden with Utah Poet Laureate, Paisley Rekdal. A poetry workshop for teens on up: writing prompts provided. Free, in-person and outside. Register with Red Butte Gardens.

4-5:15 PM Celebration of Chapbooks. An in-person reading to celebrate new and recent chapbooks by Robert Baldwin, Aaron Cance, Melissa Salguero, Lisa Roullard, Susan Sample, Natalie Taylor, Candace Thomas, and Sunni Brown Wilkinson. The King’s English patio. Masks required for entry into the store.

Ongoing virtual event: Make your own chapbook! A virtual tutorial on chapbook-making by Michelle Macfarlane available on the Utah Humanities YouTube Channel starting April 2nd.

FRIDAY, APRIL 15

7-8 PM MST Headline Reading with Jay Hopler, Kimberly Johnson and Nan Seymour. Hosted by Paisley Rekdal – A headline reading to celebrate new and recent books by Utah poets Jay Hopler, Kimberly Johnson and Nan Seymour.

SATURDAY, APRIL 16

ROUNDTABLE: 9:30-10:15 AM MST

Poetry Out Loud vs Poetry Slam: A Teacher’s Roundtable

In this panel for high school teachers, organizers will discuss what divides and unites the Utah High School Poetry Slam Initiative and Poetry Out Loud. We will discuss strategies for bolstering the strengths of both programs and bringing together these communities for the benefit of all students. With Jean Tokuda Irwin, Amanda Hurd and Sally Wilde. Moderated by Willy Palomo.

CRAFT TALK 1: 10:30-11:15 AM MST

Artist Books and Re-Thinking the Page

What happens when poets combine image with text, or treat the poem (and book) as a visual and conceptual object, not just a literary one? From poetic experiments with time and collage to radical documentary or “uncreative writing” projects, this craft discussion around book arts and writing will make you re-think the material possibilities of the page. With Kathryn Cowles, Nathan Hawke and Craig Dworkin. Moderated by Paisley Rekdal.

CRAFT TALK 2: 11:30-12:15 PM MST

Line and Stanza

Poetic structure both excites and vexes poets at every stage of development, presenting the glorious challenge of working out how the logic of the poem’s sentences will interact with the competing logic of its structure.  This session features four poets who offer perspectives on the kinds of questions poets ask as they balance the demands of form (even in so-called “free verse”) against the story the poem unfolds.  With Michael Lavers, John Talbot, Meg Day. Moderated by Kimberly Johnson. *This panel will have an ASL interpreter.

CRAFT TALK 3: 2-2:45 PM MST

Multi-Modal Poems

Poets increasingly work in multi-modal forms, combining text not only with image but sound, video, animation, mapping technologies and more. In this panel, we’ll explore the many ways that poetry has begun to merge with other forms of digital, visual and sonic technologies, expanding our ideas of what a poem is. With Ben Gunsberg, Danielle Susi, Laura Stott, Alex Caldiero. Moderated by Lisa Bickmore.

CRAFT TALK 4: 3-3:45 PM MST

Organizing a Poetry Manuscript with Jason Olsen, Lance Larsen, Cindy King. Moderated by Jennifer Tonge. 

APRIL 16th, 7-8 PM MST Headline Reading with Danielle Dubrasky, Nancy Takacs, and John Belk. Hosted by Paisley Rekdal – A headline reading to celebrate new and recent books by Utah poets Danielle Dubrasky, Nancy Takacs, and John Belk.

Read/Listen/Watch Poems Based in Utah

• Mapping Literary Utah Spotlight includes a great selection of Utah poet performances from the Bite-Size Poetry series created by former poet laureate Katharine Coles, including local favorites Rob Carney, Star Coulbrooke, Nancy Takacs and more!

Read/Listen/Watch Poems Nationally

• Virtual Poetry Readings & Events via Open Books, a Poem Emporium
• Poets in Pajamas series – hosted by Sundress Publications, Sundays at 7pm EDT
• Wednesday Night Poetry open mic – hosted by Kai Coggin
• Green Mountains Review Social Distance Reading Series – new reading videos released on Wednesdays and Sundays. You can currently find readings by Terrance Hayes, Kathryn Nuernberger, Philip Metres, and more.
• “Dear Poet”: Promoting Poetry and Poets Laureate to Kids at Home – watch poems read by poet laureates
• Listen to poems on the Poetry Archive web site (launched April 10)

---

CALLS FOR POEMS (Utah-based)

• Apply to become the next Poet Laureate of Ogden – Ogden City Arts is in search of a new Poet Laureate for the 2022-2024 cycle. Deadline is February 25, 2022.
• irreplaceable, a 1700 line praise poem in the making… via Utah poet Nan Seymour, add your own lines to the poem. “irreplaceable will become at least a 1700 line poem, a chorus of praise swelling with love for our Great Salt Lake.”
• Red Butte Garden’s seventh annual Spring Poetry contest – Poets of all ages are invited to enter original, spring-inspired poems. Eleven winners will have their poems displayed in the Garden’s poetry boxes and on the Garden’s social media platforms this April and May in celebration of National Poetry Month. Submissions will be accepted January 3-February 14, 2022.
• Provo Poetry POEMBALL Machine – Send in up to 10 short poems to be included in the POEMBALL Machines in Provo and Salt Lake City.
• Utah Life call for poems:
  • May/June 2022 issue theme of “Lakes.” Deadline Mar. 1, 2022.
  • July/August 2022 issue theme of “Pioneers.” Deadline May. 1, 2022.
  • September/October 2022 issue theme of “Coming Home.” Deadline July 1, 2022.
• Western Humanities Review – open to submissions year round.
• For more national submission calls, visit https://trishhopkinson.com.

Prompts & Resources

• Sheltering-In: Poems And Poetry Resources – extensive list of resources hosted by Northampton, MA Arts Council, including digital care packages, podcasts, online workshops and exercises, prompts, online poetry readings, and more!
• Social/Distance Online Writing Retreat with Amanda Moore – Join Amanda Moore for her online writing retreat with craft tips, readings to inspire, submission suggestions and more!
• Writing in Stressful Times: The Covid-19 Pandemic via Adele Kenny – Adele Kenny has a wonderfully inspiring poetry blog The Music In It: Adele Kenny’s Poetry Blog chock full of over 300 writing prompts, including her most recent post entitled Prompt #349 – Writing in Stressful Times: The Covid-19 Pandemic. She gives helpful commentary, quotes, resources, and several writing exercises and/or prompts in each post.
• The Rise of Quarantine Zines and How to Make Your Own – lots of history and information on how to create and share your own zine.
• Writing Prompts for Stay-At-Home Writers – hosted by LiteraryArts.org, shares prompts from established writers and poets throughout the week.
• The Poetry Prompt Project, lessons and prompts by Joey Gould – eight well crafted poetry writing lessons and prompts for the beginner to advanced poet.

MORE POETRY PROMPTS

• Fifty Two Poetry – includes 52 poetry prompts. “Write a poem a week. Start now. Keep going.”
• Poets & Writers puts out regular prompts for poetry as well as fiction and nonfiction on their Writing Prompts page. You can also subscribe to their e-newsletter and receive them right in your inbox weekly.
• Ploughshares shared their favorite writing prompts of all-time in this article posted in December. Lots of great prompts in this list, including one I hope to take advantage of: “Write a dialog between your eyes and feet,” from Anastacia Tolbert.
• 500 Prompts for Narrative and Personal Writing from The Learning Network. “The categorized list below touches on everything from sports to travel, education, gender roles, video games, fashion, family, pop culture, social media and more, and, like

---

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.