Monday, April 23, 2018

Welcome to Steven Duncan-a new UTSPS member


I (Lin Floyd) met Steven Duncan at the recent UTSPS April Awards Festival in Provo held last weekend. He won lots of awards for his excellent poetry. Here's some info he shared about himself: Steven Duncan is a Utah Valley poet whose writing has been published by Silver Birch Press, Rock Canyon Poets, Prolific Press, and others. He lived in Siberia for two years as a missionary for the LDS church and now speaks fluent Russian. Steven loves both written and spoken word poetry, and enjoys spending his evenings playing with language and exploring new forms of expression. He recently graduated from Brigham Young University and will attend medical school this fall in Dallas, Texas. See stevenduncan.tumblr.com/poems

The Other Side of Paradise
For F. Scott Fitzgerald

Paradise is not a warm place.
It is not a glass of milk
creamy and sweet,
left on the table
to turn over in a week.
It is chilling, bracing.
There are no stagnant souls
in need of stirring
in God’s cupped palms.

Paradise is not a quiet place.
It is not an empty hallway
waiting for an echo
to paint across the walls.
It is deafening, gripping.
No man there will speak
without a tremble.

Earth is milky and mild.
Earth is silent when it should speak.
Heaven is one voice short of a protest.

Monday, April 2, 2018

Don't Miss it...UTSPS APRIL AWARDS FESTIVAL


It's time to gather this year in Provo at the Marriott Hotel for our annual Awards Festival. This year featuring two outstanding poets Natasha Saje from Westminister College and past Utah Poet Laureate Lance Larsen from BYU plus an opportunity to see if your poems submitted won any awards. Preregister at utahpoets.com by April 10th.

Starts Friday April 20th :
2:30 pm UTSPS Officers Board Meeting
4:45 pm Registration Opens-$40 for festival, dinner on your own
5:30 pm Festival Welcome
5:40 pm Poet to Poet Conversation
7:00 pm Guest Poet Natasha Saje
8:00 pm Awards presentations
Night Owl Read-around follows

Sat, April 21st
8:00 am Chapter President's breakfast at nearby Dennys
9:00 am Award Presentations
10:00 am Guest Poet Lance Larsen
Lunch on your own
1:30 pm Awards presentations, finishing with Book of the Year winner.