It’s staggering that—decades into the mainstream acceptance of rap and hip-hop—somehow poetry readings are still considered places for the snobby elite. The rhythm of spoken language brings a new burst of meaning to poetry. And that’s true even if it doesn’t have a backbeat.

Tonight, two poets read from their first published collections of poems. University of Utah alum Kathryn Cowles’ 2008 collection Eleanor, Eleanor, not your real name won the Dorothy Brunsman Poetry Book Prize as it explores the biography of a character who may or may not exist (and may or may not be the poet’s alter-ego); University of Utah instructor Ely Shipley’s Boy With Flowers has won the Western Humanities Review Award in Poetry as he explored shifting identity and self-image. Join them to experience the author’s voice in his or her own voice.

Kathryn Cowles & Ely Shipley @ Ken Sanders Rare Books, 268 S. 200 East, 801-521-3819, Thursday, April 16, 7 p.m. KenSandersBooks.com