The651.com

Recommended Reading: Garrison Keillor’s ’77 Love Sonnets’

Released earlier this Summer, Keillor’s latest book, 77 Love Sonnets, includes “sonnets of praise, some erotic, some lamentations, some street sonnets and a 12-sonnet cycle of months.” Didn’t think Keillor a poet? Well, think again. The local legend has actually put out a few “good” books of poetry in his time. 77 Love Sonnets captures the signature wit and suave wordsmithery that you’ve come to know and appreciate from Keillor, with a romantic, and of course, comedic twist. A clever gift for your sweetheart, or for yourself, 77 Love Sonnets is a definite hometown collectable.

Stop into Keillor’s own St. Paul bookstore, Common Good Books, and pick up a copy today! For more info on the book click HERE

More of my fave bookstores in St. Paul:

Sixth Chamber

Midway Used Books

Half Price Books

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St. Paul “Soapboxing” Slam Poetry Team brings home National Championship

If you’re into the local poetry scene, you’ve no doubt come across the monthly “Soapboxing” event, held at Downtown Jazz club, The Artists’ Quarter. Each first Monday of the month, slam poets from all over the city convene at the cozy basement club to get their spoken-word on. Recently, after a season of events narrowing down the best and brightest slam poets in the city, the St. Paul Soapboxing Team took off for the National Poetry Slam Competition in Florida — and returned home the #1 champs!

The Artists’ Quarter hosts open mic poetry readings every Monday night at 9 p.m., with special editions of Soapboxing every 1st Monday. Due to the Labor Day holiday, the next official Soapboxing event will be held on Monday, September 14th.

For more information click HERE

MNLit: mnartists.org loves literature!

One of our state’s coolest artistic resources, mnartists.org (a project of the Walker Art Center) is a vast online community that invites artists of all stripes to share their work. From visual artists, to musicians, to performers, and of course, writers, mnartists.org is a wonderful place to show off your work in a low-pressure situation and to peruse the work of others. Recently, the 2009 winners of the annual “What Light” Poetry and MNLit “ministories” competitions were announced, and will be published throughout the rest of the year on the website. See some of the entries here and here, and start your own mnartists.org page to share your work, whatever it may be!

For more information visit www.mnartists.org

Get your Library on!

The St. Paul Public Library system is a treasure that everyone can share. With locations all over the city, the age old concept of housing the world’s literary wonders for public perusal is something anyone can take advantage of. Spending a day in the quiet of a library’s sanctuary is a wonderful thing, and personally, I often take for granted how amazing this resource actually is. Being among the most literate cities in the country (fact!), St. Paul’s libraries offer not only a bazillion borrowable books, but also a bevy of great programs and opportunities for the public to enjoy. Partake in book clubs, storytimes for kids, teen programming, summer reading programs, classes and more. Interesting new online resources include The Encyclopedia Britannica online, and an archive of old-timey newspaper articles from “The Minneapolis Morning Tribune” (1867-1922). Call me a nerd, but I’m extremely obsessed with libraries!

For more information about St. Paul Public Libraries click HERE