David Lee

David Lee was Utah’s first poet laureate; in 2001 he was a finalist for United States Poet Laureate. He is the author of two dozen volumes of poetry, including The Porcine Canticles, A Legacy of Shadows, So Quietly the Earth, Last Call, and Mine Tailings. A former seminary student, semi-pro baseball player, and hog farmer, he holds a PhD with a concentration in John Milton. For over three decades he taught at Southern Utah University, where he received every teaching award given by the university, including being named Professor of the Year on three occasions. His awards include multiple fellowships from the National Endowments for the Art and Humanities, the Western States Book Award, the Mountain and Plains States Booksellers Award, the Critics’ Choice Award, the Utah Book Award, the Elkhorn Poetry Prize, the Evolutionary Poem of the Year award, and an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters. Retired, he is in intense training to achieve his goal of becoming a World Class Piddler.