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Poet Laureate

Utah initiated its Poet Laureate program in 1997. The Poet Laureate is a Governor-appointed advocate for literature and the arts throughout the state. The Poet Laureate is available for readings at public events and in venues including libraries, universities, schools, etc.

Utah's Poet Laureate - Katharine Coles

Katharine Coles, Utah's Poet LaureateKatharine Coles’ fourth collection of poems, Fault, was published by Red Hen Press in 2008.  Previous books include three poetry collections, The Golden Years of the Fourth Dimension, A History of the Garden, and The One Right Touch, and two novels, Fire Season and The Measurable World.  An ongoing collaboration with visual artist Maureen O’Hara Ure has resulted in several joint installations and an artist’s book, Swoon.  Her commissioned works include Passages, a sequence of poems permanently installed in Salt Lake City at the Gateway’s Passages Park, for which Coles also served on the design team; and “The Numbers,” permanently installed as part of Anna Campbell Bliss’s Numbers and Measure in the Leroy Cowles Mathematics Building at the University of Utah.  This summer, she finished Burnt Letters, a nonfiction book about her grandparents.  She is a professor in the English Department at the University of Utah, where she teaches creative writing and literature and currently directs the Creative Writing Program as well as, with co-director Fred Adler, the Utah Symposium in Science and Literature, which she founded.  In 2006, she was named to a five-year term as Poet Laureate of Utah. Photo of Katharine Coles by Francois Camoin

Antarctic Adventure

Katharine is traveling to Antarctica this winter as part of the National Science Foundation’s Antarctic Artists and Writers Program.  Track her journey below:

 

December 9, 2010

Penguins in ArtarcticaI have had not one but two different (one Jentoo, one Chinstrap) penguins IN THE ZODIAC with me, one yesterday afternoon hanging out for a good five minutes. Which I am told doesn't happen, penguins having--or, rather, being--their own mode of aquatic transport.  Quite possibly too implausible for a poem.  Or a novel.

However, not too implausible for video, which I loaded in three chunks during the narrowing, never-dark hours so as not to disturb the scientists who need bandwidth.  

If I can lure an Adelie, I will have the penguin trifecta.

Cheers, Kate

November 30, 2010

The Lawrence M. Gould, the boat that carried us acrossthe Drake Passage,landed here at the station yesterday.  It is a research vessel, not a cruise ship, so it isn't really built for luxury, but it was comfortable enough.  

The Drake passage is commonly known as "the Drake shake," which gives you an idea of what to expect in terms of rock-and-roll.  We had only one really rough day, with 20-30-foot swells; everything that wasn't nailed or bungeed down went flying.

When we came around and within site of the station, I admit I got kind of choked up--I've been thinking about this for so long, for one thing, and for another the station looks very small and fragile against the hugeness of the glacier rising behind it.  We landed in a blizzard, but that soon cleared, and today is sunny and beautiful.

Mostly, I've just been saying "WOW!"

Cheers! K

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bite Size Poems

In 2009, Utah Poet Laureate Katharine Coles launched the Bite Size Poetry Project.  The goal of the project is to put a bite sized poem (one that can be read aloud in one minute or less) in front of every Utahn every month. Eighteen of Utah finest poet have contributed their bite size poems and have recorded them on video. Each month a different poem is featured and sent out as an email blast, streamed as a video file from web sites at NowPlayingUtah.com and KUER-FM.

Due to the popularity of our “Bite-Size Poet of the Month” segment, we have decided to carry out the project for a second time. Through this project, short poems by Utah poets - you and your peers - could be integrated into the daily lives of people throughout Utah. Bite Sized 2.0 incorporates home-grown poetry into  Utah's cyberspace.

Schedule

To request a reading or attendance at an event as State Poet Laureate, please submit the appearance request form via email to Margaret Hunt or fax to 801.236.7556. Requests are honored based on the nature of the request and the availability of the Poet Laureate.