About

Helicon West is a lively performance venue for the written word based in Logan, Utah. At all events, creative writers are invited to read up to seven minutes of their original work. Readings are free, open to the public, and uncensored. See our blog for specific details about upcoming events. You can also connect with us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Videos of previous events can be found on our YouTube channel.

An anthology of work read at Helicon West during its first decade was published in 2016. It can be purchased here or checked out from the Logan Library or the Merrill-Cazier Library at USU. People of Helicon West, a collection of creative writing and interviews, was produced by USU student Jesse Betts in 2014. It can be checked out from the Logan Library.

Helicon West is made possible with assistance from Sugar House Review, the Logan Library, the USU Department of English, and community volunteers. We’re proud to regularly hold events in partnership with the Writers’ Cache, the Bull Pen, the USU creative writing and art contest, and Utah Humanities.

You can donate to Helicon West here: https://www.sugarhousereview.com/heliconwest

Mission Statement:

Helicon West is a live reading series that brings published writers to read alongside community members in an open, uncensored forum. In order to promote the voice of every community member and democratic ideals, we honor all levels of skill, ability, and craft. In addition to featuring published authors to give the literary arts more exposure in Cache Valley and its surrounding areas, we invite and celebrate aspiring writers from every walk of life to find and share their voices with us. We are committed to the causes of inclusion, accessibility, and representation in our writing community.

Land Acknowledgement:

Helicon West operates on the territory of the Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation, whose people have been living, working, and residing on this land from time immemorial. We acknowledge that these lands carry the stories of these Nations and their struggles for survival and identity. We recognize Elders past and present as people who have cared for, and continue to care for, the land. In offering this land acknowledgment, we affirm Indigenous self-governance history, experiences, and resiliency of the Native people who are still here today.

History:

Star Coulbrooke, director of the USU Writing Center in the department of English, dreamed for years of starting an open reading series where students and community members could read their writing. In the spring of 2005, she met with Michael Sowder, a professor of creative writing who had the same dream, and they talked about ways to get something started. Sowder suggested the name Helicon West, which references the Greek mountain where the poetic muses could be found.

The first event in the fall of 2005 had 11 people in attendance. Subsequent readings steadily drew more participants and audience members. The first event with featured readers was a February, 2006 memorial to the late Utah Poet Laureate Kenneth Brewer. Since then, USU faculty, out-of-town poets and writers, book authors, USU creative writing contest winners, local poetry groups, and others have been featured.

Star coordinated our events until the spring of 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic and her retirement from the Writing Center led to all events being cancelled. Poet Britt Allen coordinated a resurrected Helicon West from 2021 to 2023 and writer Shaun Anderson was our coordinator for nine months in 2023. Helicon West is currently coordinated by Star and Joseph N. Anderson, adult services librarian at the Logan Library. Over the years, the coordinators have been assisted by a planning committee composed of community volunteers and representatives from our partner organizations.

Venues have included a conference room at the University Inn (2005), Citrus & Sage coffee shop (2006-2008), True Aggie Cafe (2008-2011), Citrus & Sage again (2011-2012), the Logan Library (2012-2020). During COVID and the construction of a new Logan Library (2021-2024), events were held in various locations – Zoom, the CacheARTS Thatcher-Young Mansion, the USU Amphitheater, the Riverpark Senior Housing clubhouse, the Logan City Hall conference room, Stokes Nature Center, and Elite Hall in Hyrum. Helicon West returned home to the Logan Library in March, 2024.