Retired professor named Utah's poet laureate

Retired English professor Kenneth W. Brewer, of Logan, has been appointed Utah poet laureate by Gov. Mike Leavitt.

Brewer will serve for five years, succeeding David Lee, who was appointed in 1997, Leavitt's office and the Utah Arts Council announced Friday.

A professor emeritus at Utah State University, Brewer serves on the board of the Utah Arts Council. He has published hundreds of poems in the United States and Canada and is currently working on a videotape archive of contemporary Utah writers.

"I'm honored to be appointed to this prestigious position," Brewer said in a news release. Frank McEntire, director of the Utah Arts Council, said, "Each poet laureate brings his own projects to the position that has no job description."