Gender, Sex, Violence, And The Literary Search For A New Mormon Masculinity In Larry Rigby’s novel, The Jaeger Artist, new wealth, ambition, talent and an expensive “Liposculpting” transform middle-American Preston Wright into The New Man. But in bohemian Berlin, he wrestles with inflated artistic success, sexual excess, a thirst to avenge past wounds, violent instincts, and finally a struggle for his own soul. In the memoir, Immortal for Quite Some Time, Scott Abbott probes the life and identity of his brother who died of AIDS, for clues to their clouded relationship and to his own essential self and place in Mormon Utah. Recent poems by Paul Swenson (“Violence, Adult Content,” “Trans Sexual,” “Stare Decisis,” “Blue in a Red State” and “In the Beginning”) explore tensions between a questioning faith and stereotypical male expectations in LDS culture. Rigby, Abbott, and Swenson will read from their works and discuss implications for Mormon audiences.

Paul Swenson, Larry Rigby, and Scott Abbott