POST-MORMON STORIES

Words and Phrases You Must Never Use in Utah

When you’re the only Mormon at a prestigious summer writing workshop, it can be tough to convince your classmates that you already know how to swear.

Bob Howe, 26 (left), and Bill Shunn, 17, at a Clarion ’85 scholarship event, East Lansing, Michigan. From the author’s collection.

In 1985, when I was seventeen, I was accepted into Clarion, a prestigious summer…