By Sage Thee
Our beautiful state is home to many great things, like mountains, snow, National Parks, film festivals—and writers. To list all of Utah’s excellent writers would take the length of the entire Sunday paper and then some, but here are a few of my favorites to add to your reading list:
Paisley Rekdal
Not only was Rekdal Utah’s Poet Laureate from 2017 until 2022, but she is also a Professor at the University of Utah and co-founder of the Utah Poetry Festival. In addition, she is the author of several books, and her poetry collection, The Invention of the Kaleidoscope, is one of my absolute favorites.
Tope Folarin
Winner of the 2013 Caine Prize for African Writing for his short story “Miracle,” Folarin is the Executive Director of the Institute for Policy Studies. His debut novel, A Particular Kind of Black Man, was named one of Time’s “32 Books You Need to Read this Summer” in 2019, and I couldn’t agree more.
Rio Cortez
New York Times bestselling author of the picture books The ABCs of Black History and the River is My Sea, Cortez is an author whose children’s books I, as a childless adult, display on my bookshelves proudly. Her debut poetry collection, Golden Ax, comes out this Tuesday, August 30th, and I cannot wait.
To all of our state’s writers, thank you for sharing your words with us. I am inspired and grateful every day to be one small part of such a talented, vibrant, and kind community.