Lyric of the Larks

Ronald Wilcox {[email protected]} was born in Holladay, Utah, in 1934. Educated at Brigham Young University, he later received a Master’s of Arts from Baylor University in Waco, Texas, where he studied experimental drama with theatrical innovator Paul Baker. In 1959, he played the lead role in Thomas Wolfe’s Of Time and the River. This ground-breaking, mixed-media rendition of the novel became the premiere production of the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Dallas Theater Center. As a Resident Artist in the Professional Repertory Company for twenty-three years, Ron appeared in over sixty plays. Four of his own plays were produced in Dallas, San Antonio, New York City, and Los Angeles. He has published a novel, The Rig. In 1964 he designed and directed the premiere of his multi-media poetic drama, The Tragedy of Thomas Andros. He has contributed poetry to Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought since 1967. His latest poetic narrative, Mormon Epic, tells the story of Joseph Smith and the restoration of the gospel. “CANTO 12” is a selection from that epic. At eighty-one years of age, Ron continues to write lyric poetry.