Each Voice: Geography of a Revolution by Jan Otterstrom
Each Voice: Geography of a Revolution by Jan Otterstrom
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We are going to let the Poet’s work speak for itself. Jan was a 1967 graduate of BYU and distinguished himself as a poet then. He has led a busy business life as a lawyer, father of 11 children and more than 37 grandchildren. To date he has more than 1700 poems published and is read in Latin America, the Caribbean and North America. He undoubtedly is the most important and prolific poet writing in English today, with over 12 books to his credit. He has shared friendship, the stage and poetry reading conferences in the La Habana, Cuba and Costa Rica with the world-renowned poet from Nicaragua, Ernesto Cardenal. In addition, other well-known Cuban poets have embraced his work and published him twice in the UNEAC, Union of Cuban Writers and Artists. Where he served on an editorial board briefly. His book “Telar” was a big success in Cuba and a second edition published in over 5000 copies in Venezuela and most of South America. He is now publishing his works exclusively with BYU since he is now 73 years old and wants to preserve his work for his many descendants today and in the future.
We invite you to explore his work and this latest 2017 book EACH VOICE which includes: his latest poems, a unique discussion with his granddaughter dealing with Edmund Spenser’s Faerie Queen, some comments on his interest in literature and a short novel GEOGRAPHY OF A REVOLUTION where Jan explores Russia, Nicaragua and Cuba, understanding better the influence of the 1917 Russian Revolution.
In his Junior and senior years at BYU, the important Mormon poet teaching at BYU at the time, Clinton Larson set up a poetry writing challenge, to poets at Universities of: California, Berkeley and Stanford to compare the quality of the BYU poet’s work and their unique creative talents with the competing Universities. It was a consensus that BYU won the contest, pens down, literally snuffing out the opposition.
Jan once said, “I write because I must to exhaust a thriving energy which constantly stirs words and thoughts in my head, not resting until they are on paper and then only briefly. I write to please myself and hopefully my children and grandchildren, to leave them something of my muse and myself. You cannot write to please critics who have a predisposed idea of what poetry is, thus limiting access to new and original work.
Soft Cover.
We invite you to explore his work and this latest 2017 book EACH VOICE which includes: his latest poems, a unique discussion with his granddaughter dealing with Edmund Spenser’s Faerie Queen, some comments on his interest in literature and a short novel GEOGRAPHY OF A REVOLUTION where Jan explores Russia, Nicaragua and Cuba, understanding better the influence of the 1917 Russian Revolution.
In his Junior and senior years at BYU, the important Mormon poet teaching at BYU at the time, Clinton Larson set up a poetry writing challenge, to poets at Universities of: California, Berkeley and Stanford to compare the quality of the BYU poet’s work and their unique creative talents with the competing Universities. It was a consensus that BYU won the contest, pens down, literally snuffing out the opposition.
Jan once said, “I write because I must to exhaust a thriving energy which constantly stirs words and thoughts in my head, not resting until they are on paper and then only briefly. I write to please myself and hopefully my children and grandchildren, to leave them something of my muse and myself. You cannot write to please critics who have a predisposed idea of what poetry is, thus limiting access to new and original work.
Soft Cover.