“For both poets and poetry-lovers, the Utah State Poetry Society offers contests, workshops, critique groups, a yearly Poetry Festival, and a fall Book Concert. They also offer a friendly, supportive group to help members grow as poets. Join them for a book concert honoring the winner of this year’s state poetry contest.” – from the Orem Public Library site (original link HERE).

The main poet speaking will be Duane “Dee” T. Rygh.  His book, My Bright Red Scream is the 2016 UTSPS winner.  Read more about his book and a sample of his poetry on the Utah Poetry Blogspot (link).  Dee will also be presenting in St. George on Oct. 11th.

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About the Author

Possessing one of the most mispronounced one-syllable names in history (it is pronounced ‘rigg.’), Duane hails from Marysville, California but now, happily, calls Utah his home.  Duane began writing poetry in high school for no other reason than to see if he could do it.  He could.  He continued.

Ten years later, after his first visit to the Ben Lomond’s poetry group, Duane realized he had only dipped his toe into the pond of poetic possibilities.  Among an ocean of metaphor, assonance, and alliteration he realized, to quote Roy Scheider’s character from Jaws, he was gonna need a bigger boat.  So he set sail and has been adrift ever since.

In 2015, after a 20-year career, Duane retired from United States Air Force active duty.  Duane credits his experiences in the military for broadening his worldview.  Visits to Saudi Arabia, Korea, China, Iraq, Kyrgyzstan, and most recently Afghanistan helped to provide depth to his poetry.

Duane and his wife Janet currently live in Roy, Utah with their son Jalen.  Other members of their family include: one dog, three cats, an outdoor cat who just will not go away, an adopted peacock named Pepe, and a menacing raccoon.  The raccoon is a total jerk.  My Bright Red Scream is Duane’s first published work.

You may also want to visit the home page of the Utah State Poetry Society here.