Events for Poetry and Spoken Word

Got a song to sing? A poem to tell? A talent that’s been waiting for its moment? Bring it to Side Bar for a night of music and local talent — hosted by Trent & Eli! Whether you’re a seasoned performer or stepping on stage for the first time, come show us what you’ve got! Your stage. Your spotlight. Your Thursday night. 

Thursdays Sign-ups at 5 PM 

WEEKLY FOOD TRUCK! 

615 W Stockman Way, Ogdens Own Distillery, Ogden, UT 84401

🪧 About the Event: On 23 October 1966—exactly sixty years ago—Spence Mendenhall was found shot to death in his Salt Lake City home in the Avenues. His murder remains unsolved. Spence was a Gay man who was secretly out to some people but largely lived a closeted life, and his death has since been recognized as a hate crime. Julian Hendrix will be reading excerpts from a work in progress exploring queer communities and relationships through the connections and disjunctions shared between his great-uncle and himself. Between his unsolved murder in 1966 and the present day, a political project based in LGBT visibility - Harvey Milk's "Come out, come out, wherever you are!" - has transformed queer experiences, both our relationships with each other and with our broader communities. Julian’s project focuses on the different ways LGBT people are known or not known among our queer community and our families as well as the ways in which visibility has and has not transformed the kinds of violence we face. 🎙️ About the Speaker: Julian Hendrix is a writer and historian based in Chicago. Spence Mendenhall is his great-uncle. 
Remote Attendance Zoom link: https://utah.zoom.us/j/82528976167 Meeting ID: 825 2897 6167 Passcode: 185309 
Special thanks to Signature Books for allowing us to host this event in their space! 
Past lectures can be accessed on our YouTube channel or on the Berryman Lecture Series page.

Brolly Arts' Stories Carried by Water brings together artists, farmers, Tribal leaders, and communities to explore the deep connections between water, land, and the food we eat—through storytelling, collaboration, and creative expression. Water shapes everything—our ecosystems, our food systems, and our cultural traditions. Yet the knowledge, histories, and lived experiences tied to water are often fragmented or unheard. Stories Carried by Water creates space for these voices to come together. Through film, live performance, and community engagement, the project invites audiences to experience water not just as a resource—but as a relationship. Read more about the project, Stories Carried by Water. Founded in 1995, Brolly Arts is a Utah nonprofit arts organization dedicated to creating meaningful art and vibrant communities through artistic and civic collaboration and experimentation. 

This evening will include: Screening of award-winning short documentary Illusion of Abundance, Trailer of Stories Carried By Water, a Live performance of Stories Carried by Water, and a conversation with artists and audience 
Water carries our stories. Art helps us listen. 

Brolly arts’ stories carried by water: honoring voices, lands, and lifeways through art, story, and water Saturday, October 24th | 5 PM Doors | 5:30 PM Start | Our Lady of the Snows | $20 | 
Details and tickets here:
https://altacommunity.org/events/stories-carried-by-water 

ACE aims to create an inclusive and accessible environment for all of our attendees; please contact our Executive Director, Sara Gibbs, with any questions regarding accessibility.

An interview with the author, Stephen Carter! Join the Mildred Berryman Institute and Signature Books for a conversation with author Stephen Carter about his new book, Creature, a biography of queer Utah poet May Swenson—available to order here or to purchase at the event. Mildred Berryman Institute co-founder and board member Megan Weiss will interview Carter about Swenson’s life, work, sexuality, and complicated relationship with her Utah roots. One of the most celebrated American poets of the twentieth century, May Swenson was born in Logan, Utah, in 1919 and went on to build a distinguished literary career in New York. Her poetry explored desire, identity, the body, nature, and the complexities of human relationships, while her personal life included relationships with women that have become an increasingly important part of how her work is understood. Drawing on Creature, Carter and Weiss will explore Swenson’s life and legacy, her connection to Utah, and the place of queer experience in her poetry and biography. The conversation will offer an opportunity to consider a remarkable Utah-born writer whose life and work have much to tell us about the history of Queer life, creativity, and identity in the state. About Creature and May Swenson: Creature, by Stephen Carter, examines the life and work of May Swenson, the acclaimed twentieth-century American poet born in Logan, Utah, in 1919. Swenson became known for her inventive and sensuous poetry and spent much of her adult life in New York, where she developed relationships with women and participated in literary circles that shaped her career. Her work frequently explored desire, the body, gender, and the natural world, making her an important figure in the history of American poetry and a compelling subject for the study of Utah’s Queer history. 
💻 Remote Attendance Zoom link: https://utah.zoom.us/j/86729375988 Meeting ID: 867 2937 5988 Passcode: 657892

Kick off your Halloween weekend with Salt Lake Spooky Speaks, an evening of multilingual storytelling and poetry dedicated to the magic and mystery of the fall season. This free-to-attend, all-ages event features local spoken-word artists sharing folklore, fables, and spooky tales, perfect for long autumn nights.
Join us on Friday, October 30, from 7:00 – 9:30 pm at Eccles Theater in the Grand Lobby.
Learn more at https://www.saltlakecountyarts.org/events/salt-lake-spooky-speaks/

Join us the first Tuesday of every month this fall for a mystical series of evenings celebrating Sufi Poetry. The Rumi Poetry Club was founded by Rasoul Shams in 2007, on the occasion of the 800th anniversary of Jalâluddin Rumi’s birth. Since then, they have celebrated the poetry, inspiration, and perennial teachings of Rumi and other poets of the heart, nature, and spiritual life from around the world. Rasoul Shams first learned of Rumi's poems in his Persian classes as a young boy in Iran. The works of Rumi and other Persian poets have been his spiritual companions for decades. He has studied and lived in India, Japan, and the USA. His books include Rumi: The Art of Loving, Rumi Essays: On the Life, Poetry, and Vision of the Greatest Persian Sufi Poet, The Words of Rumi, and Through Love Pain is Healed. 
https://www.goldenbraidslc.com/events/autumn-with-rumi-november-2026

A Workshop for Exploring (and Writing) Poetry Join us for an evening of inspiration and guidance to help you discover the poetry that is hiding inside you. This is a free community event open to all, no need to sign up in advance. Please bring a notebook and a pen (or pencil, or crayon, or anything your heart desires that will make the marks on the page). 
https://www.goldenbraidslc.com/events/writing-workshop-release-your-inner-poet-november-2026

Join us for a celebration of local authors with works from a variety of genres, from fiction to children’s literature to memoir and beyond. Authors will be reading from, selling, and signing their works throughout the evening, making this an incredible opportunity to find your next favorite book, get to meet the person who created it (and show your support by purchasing it directly from the author themself), and have it personally autographed!