Utah poet laureate Ken Brewer dies

PROVIDENCE, Cache County — Utah poet laureate Ken Brewer, 64, died Wednesday, March 15, 2006, in Providence.

Brewer died in his home after a nine-month battle with pancreatic cancer.

Former Gov. Mike Leavitt named Brewer Utah's second poet laureate in 2003 after nearly 32 years of teaching writing, poetry and literature at Utah State University. Brewer, who called himself an "oral poet," wrote on topics ranging from his own illness to nature.

In his final months of writing, Brewer told the Deseret Morning News in an interview that he felt he was writing at a "fever pitch" to get all of his words out. Brewer completed four new collections of poetry before his death in addition to the nine collections already in print.

Brewer recently completed a murder mystery told through poems, as well as a book on animals called "Why Dogs Stopped Flying." He also published a book of poems about his own struggle with pancreatic cancer titled "Whale Song: A Poet's Journey into Cancer."

Plans for memorial services are pending.