Holly Welker

My poetry and prose have appeared in dozens of publications ranging from Best American Essays to Bitch to Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought to Poetry International to the New York Times. I grew up in southern Arizona, the descendant of dour Mormon pioneers I always praised for having the sense to get the hell out of Utah soon after they arrived there, which made things a bit awkward when I ended up living in Salt Lake City. I began writing as an 11-year-old because I was promised an audience of angels if I shared my deepest thoughts in a journal. Eventually I gave up writing for angels; I’d rather connect with plain old human beings.