Lance Larsen, who recently finished up a five-year appointment as the poet laureate of Utah, teaches at BYU.  He has published four    poetry    collections,    with    a    fifth, What    the    Body Knows, forthcoming in 2017.  His poetry appears widely in such venues as Georgia Review, Poetry, Gettysburg Review, Southern Review, New York Review of Books, and elsewhere.  He has won a number of awards, including a Pushcart Prize and a fellowship from the National Endowment for the  Arts.  In prose he  has won the Santa Fe Prize, the Utah Original Writing Competition, and the Writers at Work nonfiction fellowship, and his work has made the notables list in Best American Essays five times.  He often collaborates with his wife Jacqui, a visual artist.  He has directed five study abroad programs in London and Madrid.  He teaches at BYU, where he serves as department chair.
Lance regularly teaches poetry, both formal and free verse, as well a short lyrical prose.  He also lectures on the habits of crea- tivity.  He has worked with writers of all ages and abilities, from first graders to seniors, from non-writers to publishing graduate students.  In a pinch he can teach in Spanish.  He takes special pleasure in introducing writers to unfamiliar forms and modes, and specializes in fun and innovative writing prompts, including group work.  When he isn’t teaching and writing, he hikes, plays pick-up basketball with other frustrated jock types, grows hos- tas,  collects  antiques,  juggles,  and  occasionally  walks  on  his hands.