Making Connections: Conferences That Build Communities

By Reneé Leta Three June conferences spotlight the public-facing work of the State Library Division, the State Historic Preservation Office, and the Division of Indian Affairs. These summits offer participants the chance to learn from subject experts, as well as network with colleagues and policy makers. Internet for All: Utah Broadband Confluence >> Wednesday, June 7, Utah Valley University Conference …

Youth painting a fish as inspiration for Celebrate Wildlife contest.

Celebrate Wildlife: A call for art recognizing Utah’s creatures

If you live in Utah, chances are you’ve had at least one wildlife encounter. From the bighorn sheep of Zion National Park to the chickadee in your backyard, no matter how you encounter wildlife in our state, we want to hear about it. And how you share your experience can be as varied as our state’s wildlife species. The Utah …

Gov. Spencer Cox and First Lady Abby Cox present an MLK Art and Essay award

Students Showcase Artistic Reflections from MLK’s Legacy

By Reneé Leta // Photographs by Maegan Castleton Members of the Martin Luther King Jr. Human Rights Commission honored nine Utah students for their artistic entries in an art and essay contest to honoring Dr. King’s principles of nonviolence.  The commission, a program of the Division of Multicultural Affairs, launched the contest for Utah students in 7th, 8th, and 9th grades. …

Brynn Patterson, of Viewmont High School, reciting her award-winning poem at the 2023 Poetry Out Loud state finals.

Eat Less

By Brynn PattersonEvery year in a health or gym class I have been asked to count the calories I eat in a day andplan out how I am going to burn them.Every year I write an essay titled “Eating Disorders” Instead.I have been told how much I should or should not eat my entire life.All based on how fat or …

Kellen Hunnicutt, of West High School, reciting his winning poem at the 2023 Poetry Out Loud competition.

Counterfeit

By Kellen Hunnicutt Mother Earth has been replaced and I pray for a Second Coming.  I thought I smelled Rain this morning, but it was just my Febreze. I licked the air and savored thetaste of a new god. I thought I was cold this morning, I thought I felt Snow singing with theBreeze, embraced in Heaven and endless light, cooled and condensed into what …

Aeva Dye-DelToro, of St. George, is the 2023 Utah Poetry Out Loud state champion.

On Winning: What Poetry Teaches Us

By Renée Leta || Photography by Samuel Jake Aeva Dye-DelToro, of St. George, was named 2023’s Utah Poetry Out Loud champion in the annual recitation competition sponsored by Utah Division of Arts & Museums. On May 9, Aeva will compete in the national semi-finals of the arts competition in Washington D.C. Poetry Out Loud contests emphasize reading, writing, public speaking …

Why we need to tell and retell stories from America’s war camps

Words by Wendy Ogata | Photographs by Todd Anderson Marion Masada had a shocking story to tell about what happened to her as a girl at an Arizona concentration camp during World War II. But she kept it to herself for 12 years, telling it for the first time to a kind man she was dating. “I never told my …

Transcontinental Railroad tracks in Utah

‘Rails East to Ogden’ earns national recognition

A book about the history of Utah’s Transcontinental Railroad has received the U. S. Department of the Interior’s Environmental Achievement Award. “Rails East to Ogden: Utah’s Transcontinental Railroad Story” is available as a free download from the Utah Division of State History. One of the book’s co-authors is Dr. Christopher Merritt, director of the Utah State Historic Preservation Office. Other …

Examining the costs of the Iron Horse

By Jessica Nichole Begay Living on the Uintah & Ouray Ute Reservation, Larry Cessppoch said he’s used to the quiet. In Ogden to attend the Railroads in Native American Gathering, the sound of a train whistle woke him up.  “That must of been how it was for our Ute people when they had no knowledge of what was coming with …

Staking a Utah literary claim, word by word

A literary quilt: Maybe that’s the best metaphor to consider the Utah@125 nonfiction collection. It’s stitched together in six chapters, essay by essay, poem by poem, showcasing works by 125 Utah writers, each true story 125 words long, each word representing a year of official statehood. Forty-seven writers read their Utah@125 true stories on Indie Bookstore Day on April 30, …

‘Topaz Stories’: Voices rise from the dust

By Wendy Ogata | Photographs by Todd Anderson It took decades for Yae Wada to finally heal her righteous indignation. “I was bitter and I was angry, for many, many years,” she said. Wada was one of 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry — most of them American citizens — imprisoned behind barbed wire and armed guards after Japan bombed Pearl …

Utah@125: Supporting Utah writers, nine readings at a time

By Ellen Fagg Weist More than 40 writers will tell true stories about contemporary Utah in simultaneous readings to mark Indie Bookstore Day on April 30. Eight readings will take place across the state at 3 p.m. on Saturday, April 30, at bookstores from Logan to Provo, with an additional reading on Zoom hosted by Torrey House Press (Register here). …