Poet Katharine Coles reads at Salt Lake Main Library

Katharine Coles was named Utah's poet laureate in 2006 for a five-year term, which means you can still catch the wondrous fumes of her verse in full, state-anointed mode for her reading this coming Thursday at the downtown Salt Lake City library.

Of course, a poet's talent rarely expires along with a mere post. But it's always best not to lose a sense of urgency when it comes to poetry.

Fiction writer Melanie Rae Thon, Coles' teaching colleague at the University of Utah's English department where both teach, is as big a fan as any.

"With the passion of one who knows both suffering and desire, Coles illuminates the miraculous accident of our survival, the mystery of eternity contained by fragile bodies," Thon wrote in her review of Coles' 2008 collection Fault. "With fearless grace, she exposes the startling similarity between the tenderness of a lover's gaze and the patient precision of a terrorist touching wires. 'Happiness must be simple, and enough.' No matter how dangerous the world becomes, Katharine Coles lights every line with wonder, and with love."

Joining Coles on this double-bill reading will be Carol Anshaw, a novelist with numerous awards to her name, including the Carl Sandburg and Ferro-Grumley awards for her fiction, not to mention three-time finalist for the Lambda Literary Award. Her titles include Seven Moves and Lucky in the Corner.

Coles' new collection Flight will be out 2013 on Red Hen Press, with Anshaw's newest effort, Carry the One, out just last month. You might get a sneak peak at both at this reading.

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Utah poet laureate Katharine Coles with novelist Carol Anshaw

When • April 4, 7 p.m.

Where • Salt Lake City Main Library, 210 E. 400 South, Salt Lake City.

Info • Free. Visit www.slcityart.org for more information.