Utah Poet Laureate dies at 64

After a nine-month battle with pancreatic cancer, Ken Brewer, Utah’s Poet Laureate and a former professor of English at USU, died in his Providence home Wednesday, surrounded by his family and friends. He was 64.

Brewer, who was named poet laureate in 2003 by then-Gov. Mike Leavitt, announced about a month ago that he would stop chemotherapy treatment and live out the rest of his days under hospice care.

Brewer taught English and poetry courses in Logan for more than 30 years. He also composed several books of poetry, including “A Place in the Woods,” “Lake’s Edge” and “The Place in Between.” He also published hundreds of individual poems.

“He has an honest, straightforwardness in his work that is accessible to anyone,” said Chris Cokinos, a personal friend of Brewer and a professor of English at USU. “You don’t have to be a reader of poetry to enter his voice and his universe … and at the same time, the longer you stay in his work, there’s a complexity that may not have been immediately obvious.

“That’s a hell of a gift.”

After Brewer was diagnosed with cancer in June, Cokinos said Brewer began to produce poems almost daily.

“I think he’s shown a lot of people that you can approach the end with a great deal of grace and openness,” Cokinos said. “He called the cancer a kind of gift.”

Brewer was born in Indianapolis, in November 1941. He is survived by his wife of 27 years, Roberta Stearman.

An on-campus memorial for Brewer will be held in April.

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