My poem “Obituary for a Dying Art” recently received Honorable Mention in Poetry for the Wasatch IronPen, a 24-hour writing competition held during the Utah Arts Festival. The poem responds to the closing of the Salt Lake Community College Creative Writing Center, a space that shaped countless writers and artists and played a meaningful role in Utah’s literary community.
This recognition marks an important moment in my creative and professional journey. It affirms my belief that art, storytelling, and strategic communication are deeply connected practices. This competition pushed me into a level of creative intensity, discipline, and vulnerability I hadn’t accessed in years. It reminded me that urgency can sharpen craft, pressure can clarify intention, and constraints can reveal what a writer is really made of.
Art as Cultural Record
“Obituary for a Dying Art” was written as both a personal reflection and a public document. Under the clock, I had to distill the emotional weight of losing a creative institution into something immediate and honest. There wasn’t time for overthinking, polishing, or retreating. The IronPen forced me to trust instinct, memory, and the core truth of what I wanted the poem to hold.
As a published writer and visual artist, I am drawn to work that documents moments of transition, especially when they’re overlooked and underestimated. The closure of the SLCC Creative Writing Center represented more than an administrative decision. It marked a cultural shift. Through poetry, I aimed to preserve the emotional weight of that loss and honor the community it served.
Being recognized by the IronPen Competition reinforced the idea that creative work grounded in place, advocacy, and honesty can sometimes resonate even louder when it’s written under pressure.
Art and Marketing in Practice
My background in marketing directly influences how I approached the IronPen’s 24‑hour sprint. I don’t separate poetry, visual art, and brand storytelling. Each relies on the same core skills: understanding audience, shaping narrative, and communicating meaning with intention.
In marketing, we consider brand voice and audience response. In poetry, we consider truth and emotional clarity. Effective work, in any discipline, emerges when those elements align.
Writing a poem in a single day demanded the same muscles I use professionally:
- Distill the message
- Honor the voice
- Create connection
This project reflects how I integrate creative storytelling into strategic spaces. The poem functions as:
- A narrative response to institutional change
- A form of cultural documentation
- An example of advocacy through art
These same principles guide my professional work in content strategy, brand development, and content marketing.
Recognition and Relevance
Recognition from the Utah Arts Festival is especially meaningful given the IronPen Competition’s history of elevating voices that reflect Utah’s evolving cultural landscape. This honor acknowledges both the craft of the work and its relevance.
Within my professional portfolio, this recognition represents more than an award. It represents credibility as a writer who can produce succinct, meaningful, and relevant work under real constraints.
Continuing the Work
As I continue to develop my career at the intersection of marketing, writing, and visual art, projects like this reinforce my commitment to:
- Creating work grounded in human experience
- Advocating for creative accessibility and education
- Using storytelling as a tool for connection and impact
Whether through poetry, visual art, or marketing strategy, my goal remains the same: to create meaningful narratives that endure.
Let’s create something meaningful together!
xoxo,
Michaela Rae
