Conversation with author Stephen Carter about his biography of the American poet May Swenson, hosted by the Mildred Berryman Institute for LGBTQ2S+ Utah History.
Stephen Carter will be at Signature Books on Tuesday, October 27, for a conversation about his biography of the poet May Swenson. The event is hosted by the Mildred Berryman Institute for LGBTQ2S+ Utah History, and Carter will be interviewed by Megan Weiss, a co-founder and board member of the Institute.
If you haven't come across her work, May Swenson was a twentieth-century American poet born in Logan, Utah, in 1919. In the summer of 1936, she left her Mormon hometown for New York City with the goal of becoming a poet, and she grew into one of mid-century America's most beloved and prolific writers. Her inventive, sensuous work explored desire, the body, gender, and the natural world, and she spent much of her adult life in New York literary circles, where she developed relationships with women. Those relationships have become an increasingly important part of how her poetry is understood, and she's now regarded as a key figure in American poetry and a compelling subject for the study of Utah's queer history.
Carter's biography, Creature: The Life and Loves of May Swenson, takes those threads and pulls them together. The conversation will draw on the book to explore Swenson's life and legacy, her connection to Utah, and the place of queer experience in her work. It's a good chance to hear about a writer who started in a small Utah town and ended up as a major voice in American poetry, and to see how her personal life informs the work she left behind.
Every week we pick 🏆 the 5 best 🏆 things to do in Salt Lake City and send them to your inbox. Just one weekly email, no spam.
By submitting your email, you accept our Privacy Policy
The talk runs from 6:00 to 7:30 PM at Signature Books, 508 W 400 N, Salt Lake City, UT 84116.
