Mary Lythgoe Bradford (October 24, 1930 – November 8, 2022) was an American editor and poet significant to

Mormon literature Mormon literature is generally considered to have begun a few years before the March 1830 publication of the Book of Mormon. Since then, Mormon literature has grown to include more scripture, as well as histories, fiction, biographies, poetry, hy ...

. She was the editor of '' Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought'' from 1978 to 1983, edited ''Mormon Women Speak'' (1982), and was included on the "75 Significant Mormon Poets" list compiled by Gideon Burton and Sarah Jenkins. She was the first

Mormon Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several ...

critic to engage on a scholarly level with the work of Virginia Sorensen and has written about other authors such as Lowell L. Bennion. Her work has appeared in many religious and regional magazines, journals, and anthologies.

Life

Bradford was born in

Salt Lake City, Utah Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Salt ...

. She earned a

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

and a

M.A. A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

from 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 ...

, where she taught

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

. She later taught English 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 ...

. She also taught writing briefly at

American University The American University (AU or American) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Its main campus spans 90-acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, in the Spri ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

Bradford's book ''Leaving Home: Personal Essays'' won the 1998

Association for Mormon Letters Association may refer to: *Club (organization), an association of two or more people united by a common interest or goal *Trade association, an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry *Voluntary associatio ...

personal essay award. Her book '' Lowell L. Bennion: Teacher, Counselor, Humanitarian'' garnered the 1995 Best Biography Award from the

Mormon History Association The Mormon History Association (MHA) is an independent, non-profit organization dedicated to the study and understanding of all aspects of Mormon history to promote understanding, scholarly research, and publication in the field. MHA was founded in ...

and the Evans Biography Award for best biography. Bradford was married to Charles Henry Bradford (died 1991), with whom she had three children. She died in

Provo Provo or Provos may refer to: Places United States * Provo, Kentucky, an unincorporated community South Dakota * Provo, South Dakota, an unincorporated community * Provo Township, Fall River County, South Dakota Utah * Provo, Utah, a city ** P ...

on November 8, 2022, at the age of 92.

Publications

* ''Mormon Women Speak: A Collection of Essays'' (1982) * ''A Marriage of Equals'' (1985) by Dennis L. Lythgoe (she wrote the foreword) * ''Leaving Home: Personal Essays'' (1987) * ''Lowell L. Bennion: Teacher, Counselor, Humanitarian'' (1995) * ''Purple Poems'' (2009) * ''Mr. Mustard Plaster and Other Mormon Essays'' (2015)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bradford, Mary Lythgoe 1930 births 2022 deaths University of Utah alumni American Latter Day Saint writers Latter Day Saint poets Editors of Latter Day Saint publications American women poets Mormon memoirists American University faculty Latter Day Saints from Utah American women memoirists Writers from Salt Lake City 20th-century American poets 20th-century American memoirists 20th-century American essayists 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American poets 21st-century American essayists 21st-century American women writers American women essayists Poets from Utah