Curtis Jensen is in limbo. Following a Ukraine-based Peace Corps stint, the local writer/musician/ occasional City Weekly contributor is living with his parents until heading to Brooklyn to pursue an MFA in poetry. Somewhere between returning to Kaysville and hitting the road with Utah’s Eagle Twin, Jensen cooked up a batch of new chapbooks, The End of Waste (illustrated by Eagle Twin’s Gentry Densley) and The Harrowing of Halychyna (illustrated by Phillip Vaghn), which follow three previously self-published works.

Jensen’s work has been described as “surrealist and romantic” yet his presentation is unruly and boisterous; the contrast makes watching his performance vital to understanding his words.

If an earful of Jensen isn’t enough, novelist and poet Christopher Steffen’s work consists of stark and honest observations of personal relationships, suburban communities and family dynamics.

Reading and Chapbook Release Party with Curtis Jensen and Chris Steffen @ Ken Sanders Rare Books, 268 S. 200 East, 801-521-3819, Thursday, Aug. 6, 7 p.m. KenSandersBooks.com.