Focus on 'power of books'

Comfortably nestled in its relatively new home at the stylish Salt Lake City Library, the Great Salt Lake Book Festival is not likely to be victimized by a seven-year itch.

A veritable potpourri for avid readers, the festival — organized and operated by the Utah Humanities Council — is confined this year to just two days — Saturday and Sunday. The keynote speaker, Wole Soyinka, the Nigerian Nobel Laureate, is a powerhouse of intellect and principle, and he may be the most exciting speaker the festival has ever seen.

Focusing on "the power of books," the festival will offer 35 authors, including national figures and local writers, all of whom will talk about their work in fiction, nonfiction, poetry or children's literature. As has been the case since its inception, the event is free, although tickets are required for the lectures, given in the library's limited seating.

• Douglas Brinkley, popular historian and author of the biography "Tour of Duty: John Kerry and the Vietnam War." Brinkley is distinguished professor of history and director of the Eisenhower Center at the University of New Orleans. He has also written biographies of Jimmy Carter and Dean Acheson, and he often appears on national television to comment on current political events.

• Ron Carlson, a popular novelist and writer of short stories, is a native of Salt Lake City. A professor of English at Arizona State University, Carlson has written
  seven books of fiction. The latest, "Speed of Light," is his first for young readers and is based on his growing up years on the west side of Salt Lake City.

• Natasha Saje, is a prolific poet whose latest collection is "Bend." Saje was recently awarded a prestigious Fulbright Scholarship that will take her to Slovenia to research and teach. A professor of English at Westminster College since 1998, she also teaches in the Vermont College master of fine arts writing program.

• Ken Brewer, poet laureate of the State of Utah, is a professor of English emeritus at Utah State University. He is the author of "The Sum of Accidents," a collection of poetry, and is well-known for his rare ability to enrich his listeners when he reads his own poetry. He will be reading during a panel discussion entitled "The Poetry of Landscape and Memory."