Clinton Foster Larson (1919–1994) was an American poet and playwright and the founding editor of ''

BYU Studies ''BYU Studies'' is a multidisciplinary academic journal covering a broad array of topics related to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ( Mormon studies). It is published by the church-owned Brigham Young University. The journal is abs ...

''. Larson was born in American Fork, Utah to Clinton Larson and his wife, the former Lillian Foster. Larson started college at the

University of Utah The University of Utah (the U, U of U, or simply Utah) is a public university, public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. It was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret (Book of Mormon), Deseret by the General A ...

at age 16 with plans to study medicine. However, he had an English class with Brewster Ghiselin who convinced him to that he had potential as a writer. He served as an LDS missionary in England and then in New England from 1939–41. In 1942 he married Naomi Barlow in the

Salt Lake Temple The Salt Lake Temple is a Temple (LDS Church), temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. At , it is the Comparison of temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Sa ...

. Around this time he entered the Army Air Corps in which he served during the duration of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He completed his bachelor's degree at the University of Utah and later earned a master's degree from the same institution in 1948. He received a Ph.D. in English from the

University of Denver The University of Denver (DU) is a private research university in Denver, Colorado, United States. Founded in 1864, it has an enrollment of approximately 5,700 undergraduate students and 7,200 graduate students. It is classified among "R1: D ...

. Larson was professor at

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...

. In the early 1970s he was made BYU's first poet-in-residence. Possibly Larson's most widely read work was his 16-volume text of the ''Illustrated Stories of the Book of Mormon'' published by Promised Land Publications.

Works

*''Coriantumer and Moroni'' (1962) *''The Mantle of the Prophet and Other Plays'' (1966) *''The Prophet'' (1971) *''Romaunt of the Rose: A Tapestry of Poems'' (1982) *''The Civil War Poems'' (1988) *''Homestead in Idaho'' (1989)

Sources

BYU Exhibit entry on Larson
*Neal E. Lambert. "Clinton F. Larson: I Miss His Booming Laugh" in ''

'' Vol. 49 (2010) no. 2, p. 178-183.
Mormon Literature Database entry for LarsonLael Woodbury, “Director’s Foreword to ‘The Mantle of the Prophet,’” BYU Studies Quarterly 2, no. 2 (April 1, 1960)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Larson, Clinton F. 1919 births 1994 deaths Latter Day Saints from Utah United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II Brigham Young University faculty Latter Day Saint poets University of Denver alumni University of Utah alumni Editors of Latter Day Saint publications 20th-century American poets 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights Latter Day Saints from Colorado Mormon playwrights