There are lots of Logan poets, and you didn’t even know it
Logan City’s first official poet laureate Star Coulbrooke gave a presentation about the history of poetry in Cache Valley on Wednesday night at the Logan Historic Courthouse.
“Being the first poet laureate of Logan has been the most prized and cherished accomplishment of my life,” Coulbrooke said. “So imagine my surprise when, deep into my research, I discovered my title of Logan’s poet laureate had already been bestowed on another poet: Aaron Dewitt.”
Historian Ray Somers unofficially gave Dewitt the title in his book, “History of Logan.” Dewitt crossed the plains in the 1850s, married a Welsh girl, became Logan’s first banker and witnessed a murder. He was active in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints until the 1870s when he was excommunicated, after which he helped organize St. John’s Episcopal Church in Logan. He was involved in local government and ran for mayor in 1873. During the mayoral race, he used his poetry as a campaign tool. He wrote a scathing poem about his opponent and incumbent mayor William B. Preston. At one point, Dewitt’s sensational poetry even referred to Brigham Young as a lunatic. But not all of Dewitt’s poetry was biting. He maintained ties with his Latter-day Saint friends and wrote poetry about them after their deaths.
Another Logan poet was May Swenson, who is one of Logan’s most famous poets.
“We just can’t talk about poetry in Logan without talking about May Swenson,” Coulbrooke said. “She deserves an entire presentation on her work alone.”
Many modern-day poets cite Swenson as having some impact on poetry and she is well-known for her iconography. English was her second language because her family primarily spoke Swedish. She graduated from Utah State University in 1934 with a bachelor’s degree. In 1935, she relocated to New York, where she remained for most of her life. Swenson was buried in the Logan cemetery in 1989, and she wrote her own epitaph.
“I will stand, a tree here, never to know another spot,” it says.
Logan City declared her birthday, May 28, as May Swenson Day.
Another poet from Logan was Utah’s poet laureate and USU instructor Kenneth Brewer. Three years into his five-year term as laureate, he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He died nine months later. During his final months, he wrote an entire book of poetry called “Whale Song.”
“Poets write about death to reconcile,” Coulbrooke said.
Kenneth Brewer, who was a professor in USU’s English department before his death, inspired Coulbrooke. Over time, he became her mentor and friend. Brewer even wrote a poem dedicated to Coulbrooke in “Whale Song.”
Coulbrooke first met Brewer in 1991, right as she was about to enroll at USU after 24 years of marriage, motherhood and working part-time jobs. Coulbrooke said Brewer intimidated her because she was insecure about her own writing at the time.
“I didn’t dare take a class from him until 1996,” she said. “But when I did, my poetry took off.”
From that time until Brewer’s death in 2006, they worked together, gave poetry readings together and published works together.
Alyssa Quinn is a creative writing major and a senior at USU. She said learning about Logan’s history is important because it shows how poetry is a part of the community itself. But as a whole, she said, our generation doesn’t read as much poetry as did generations of past.
“Maybe we don’t read it because we don’t think it is accessible or engaging,” she said. “But there are so many different types of poetry that there is something for everyone to enjoy.”