Literature

Backstage at the Utah Arts Festival 2023: Now in its 29th year, Literary Arts marks comprehensive depth in integrated programming with WordFest performers, poetry slam competitions, Community Writing Center workshops

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EDITOR’S NOTE: In addition to this centerpiece feature about the Literary Arts program at the Utah Arts Festival, see features about this year’s poetry slam competitions at this link, and features about Utah Poet Laureate Lisa Bickmore and Heather Lang-Cassera who was Clark County, Nevada poet laureate from 2019-2021 at this link. Also follow The … Read more

Backstage at the Utah Arts Festival 2023: Three major poetry slams slated, with Arizona, California, Nevada, Utah represented

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Poetry slams have become one of the most popular offerings at the Utah Arts Festival, to the extent that the festival venue could launch its own regional competition. This year, the territory covered includes Utah, Arizona, California and Nevada.  There will be three major slam competitions: The Youth Individual Slam, The Adult Individuals and the … Read more

Backstage at the Utah Arts Festival 2023: Utah Poet Laureate Lisa Bickmore, Clark County Poet Laureate Emeritus set to read on opening day at WordFest Stage

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There are many power hitters this year in the Utah Arts Festival’s Literary Arts lineup for the Wordfest Stage. Among them are Lisa Bickmore, Utah Poet Laureate, and Heather Lang-Cassera, who was Clark County, Nevada’s Poet Laureate from 2019 to 2021. Both participated in interviews with The Utah Review. LISA BICKMORE (June 23, 12:30 p.m. … Read more

Backstage at the Utah Arts Festival 2023: Top-line summary of what to find at every festival venue

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As noted in the centerpiece curtain raiser, organizers of the 47th Utah Arts Festival have packed impressive numbers of participants into its multidisciplinary programs. The following summarizes the top line highlights. Follow The Utah Review in the days leading up to the June 23 opening for features about the following:  ARTISTS MARKETPLACE For example, the … Read more

Backstage at the Utah Arts Festival 2023: With successful launch last year, Emerging Artists initiative returns on an expanded scale

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After last year’s successful launch of its Emerging Artists program for the Utah Arts Festival, Aimée Dunsmore, UAF’s executive director says UAF once again has opened the jury process to members of the community to help select artists and performers who will be in the festival this year. This year’s listings comprise perhaps the festival’s … Read more

The deeply rooted sensational experience of Jenifer Nii’s Fire!, Carleton Bluford’s portrayal in Plan-B Theatre production

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The script for Jenifer Nii’s Fire!, the one-actor show which is in the middle of a sensational run in the Plan-B Theatre production, is so exquisitely crafted in the precise rhythm of the playwright’s language that it becomes magic in the hands of a gifted actor. Reprising a role that he performed 13 years ago, … Read more

A perfect trinity of playwright, actor, company: Revival of Jenifer Nii’s Fire!, about Wallace Thurman, set for Plan-B Theatre production run

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FIRE . . . flaming, burning, searing, and penetrating far beneath the superficial items of the flesh to boil the sluggish blood. FIRE …  a cry of conquest in the night, warning those who sleep and revitalizing those who linger in the quiet places dozing. FIRE . . . melting steel and iron bars, poking … Read more

When suppressed truth becomes its own lie: Debora Threedy’s Mountain Meadows set for Pygmalion Theatre Company premiere

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In a scene in the middle of Mountain Meadows, a new play by Debora Threedy, Nita tells a Mormon elder, “We can’t put Mountain Meadows behind us if we won’t even admit it happened.” He replies that no one has denied its occurrence and that not talking about it might be the “best thing for … Read more

A new twist to annual list of crowning achievements: The Utah Review’s Top 10 Moments of the Utah Enlightenment in 2022

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This year’s selection in The Utah Review of the top ten moments of the Utah Enlightenment in 2022 was easily the quickest to lock in, considering the possibilities. There were no close calls. The ten selections were a slam dunk. This year, however, presented the opportunity for a twist. While nine of the ten selections … Read more

Plan-B Theatre sets world premiere in Nov. 3-13 run of Morag Shepherd’s My Brother Was A Vampire

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In the 2004 novel, Let the Right One In, by Swedish author John Ajvide Lindqvist, which later was adapted into Swedish and American films as well as a theatrical production, a preteen boy becomes friends with a new neighbor, whom he realizes is a vampire. It is a fine example of a story that bridges … Read more