Poetry is the fabric of life for Utah's laureate

Not only was Kenneth W. Brewer taken aback at being chosen Utah's poet laureate — he had someone else in mind for the job.

"I would have picked (BYU professor) Leslie Norris," Brewer said. "I have no idea why he wasn't chosen."

A prolific poet who retired after 32 years as an English professor at Utah State University, Brewer insists he was "really surprised" at receiving the five-year appointment, which was made by Gov. Mike Leavitt.

Brewer is the state's second poet laureate, succeeding Southern Utah University professor David Lee. The job carries no official duties and no money, neither of which bothers Brewer. "Poets are used to not getting paid," he said during a telephone interview from his home in Logan.

To help fulfill his duties, he plans to initiate a video archive of Utah writers. The result will undoubtedly raise awareness of Utah's literary heritage, which is a goal of the Utah Arts Council.

Brewer grew up in Indianapolis, where he says he received a superior education in the public schools, for which he is especially grateful. "I'm convinced a lot of us have creativity. It's just a matter of whether it is nurtured or not. If, somewhere along the way, someone pays attention to it, we can get hooked. The Indianapolis schools set me up for what I eventually became.

"I remember hearing a teacher read Vachel Lindsay's poetry and being really impressed. At least I knew that early that I appreciated poetry. If you pay attention to a young person, who knows where it will go from there?"

Brewer came west for his college education at Western New Mexico University, where he majored in English. When he was working on a master's degree from New Mexico State University, his career path veered away from British literature and toward poetry.

"I ran into Keith Wilson, a poet, and when I heard a reading of his, I was blown away," Brewer said. "On the spot I decided that's what I wanted to do. I didn't take classes from him, but he mentored me. I took poems to him and he gave me feedback — he led me by the hand. Now poetry is the fabric of my life. It is something I do."

Brewer has written eight collections of poetry (approximately 300 poems) since his first was published in 1968 in an Oregon publication called Potpourri. The earliest poem of his own that he remembers well is "Pastel," published in the Western Humanities Review.

His most recent collection is "The Place in Between" (1998), and his newest work, "Sum of Accidents: New and Selected Poems," will be published by City Arts in the spring.