Idaho State to Host Visiting Author Lance Larsen

Idaho State University’s creative writing program will host Lance Larsen, widely published author and professor at Brigham Young University, as the 2021 Visiting Writer Thursday, Sept. 30, 6:30 p.m. at the Valentine Ballroom, 100 S. Arthur Ave.  

Larsen will hold a public reading of his work. Admission is free, thanks to generous grant support from the Pocatello Arts Council and ISU’s Cultural Event Committee. Masks are required, in accordance with Idaho State’s current policy, and Larsen’s books will be available for sale. The event will also stream on Facebook Live (@isu.english.and.philosophy).

Larsen, who grew up in Pocatello and graduated from Pocatello High School, will meet with 9th grade students at his alma mater earlier in the day to discuss elements of narrative and to lead students in creative writing exercises. As Utah’s Poet Laureate (2012-2017), Larsen frequently visited K-12 classrooms to communicate the value of the written word.

Larsen is also the acclaimed author of five poetry collections, most recently What the Body Knows (Tampa 2018). His poems have appeared in prestigious publications such as APR, Threepenny Review, Paris Review, New Republic, Ploughshares, Poetry, New York Review of Books, and Best American Poetry 2009.  His prose has been published in Iowa Review, Georgia Review, MQR, Southern Review, Gettysburg Review, Brevity, and Brief Encounters (edited by Norton).  He’s won a number of awards, including a Pushcart Prize, The Tampa Review Prize, and fellowships from Ragdale, Sewanee, and the National Endowment for the Arts.  Six of his nonfiction pieces have been listed as notables in Best American Essays. At BYU, he serves as department chair and fools around with aphorisms: “When climbing a new mountain, wear old shoes.” 

For more information, contact ISU’s Department of English and Philosophy at (208) 241-2478 or bethanyhurst@isu.edu.