ST. GEORGE – In a special event sponsored by Dixie State College of Utah’s cultural arts program, department of English and the Kane County Center for Education, Business and the Arts, Australian poet Carol Heuchan will visit Dixie State College on Feb. 19.
A resident of Hunter Valley, New South Wales, Australia, Heuchan trained and showed competition horses before turning her attention to poetry a decade ago. She has since received dozens of awards and prizes for her work. Most recently, her poem “Petunia” was named the 2011 Children’s Poem of the Year by the Australian Bush Laureate Awards.
“Bush poetry is the Australian equivalent to cowboy poetry here in (America). It is an oral form of storytelling that focuses on the women and men who work on ranches, who make their livings raising animals and crops,” Dr. Stephen B. Armstrong, one of the event organizers, said. “We are incredibly fortunate that a writer of Carol Heuchan’s caliber is coming to St. George.”
Heuchan will meet with DSC creative writing students and host a writing workshop from 4 to 5 p.m. in Room 457 of Dixie State’s Holland Centennial Commons building with Sam Jackson, founder and director of the National Cowboy Poetry Rodeo. She will then perform her poetry from 6 to 7 p.m. in the Zion Room of the building, accompanied by cowboy musician Hal Cannon. A longtime supporter of culture in the western United States, Cannon is the recipient of both the Utah Governor’s Award in the Arts and the Governor’s Award in the Humanities.
The performance is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served.
Event details and contact information
Date: Feb. 19
Time: 6 to 7 p.m.
Location: Zion Room, Holland Centennial Commons building, DSC campus
Admission: Free
Contact: Dr. Stephen B. Armstrong – 435-652-7806
Submitted by: Dixie State College of Utah
Email: [email protected]
