April is National Poetry Month, and we've been basking in poetry, and poets, all month. And for the grand finale, Normandale Community College in Bloomington is hosting the second annual Great Twin Cities Poetry Read, with 28 poets, next Friday.

David Mura, Heid Erdrich, Lightsey Darst, Katrina Vandenberg, Tim Nolan -- I wasn't going to list them all here, but it's such a great list I'm going to keep going -- Steve Healey, Sharon Cmielarz, Meryl DePasquale, Matthew Geunette, G.E. Patterson, Sarah Fox, Patrick Hicks, Juliet Patterson, John Medeiros, Sean Hill, Sun Yung Shin, Kris Bigalk, Paul Dickinson, Anna George Meek, Matt Ryan, William Waltz, Jim Redmond, Ed Micus, Mark Conway, Jim Coppoc, Stacia Fleegal, Cullen Baley Burns, Francine Sterle, Anh-Hoa Thi Nguyen and Kyle Adamson will each read.

Yes, that's a lot, but they promise to be fast. (The press release says, "Each reading a single poem in rapid succession.")

The event will be hosted by Matt Rauch and Dobby Gibson, and it will also serve as a fund-raiser for poet Dean Young, a Pulitzer finalist and influential poet who recently underwent a heart transplant.

And it will also serve as a launch party for "Poetry City USA," an anthology of poetry, essays, interviews and reviews, including work by Patricia Kirkpatrick, Katrina Vandenberg, James Lenfestey, and many others. A portion of proceeds from the book will go to the fund for Young.

It all begins at 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 29, in the theater of Normandale Community College, 9700 France Av. S., Bloomington.

David Mura

There's no charge, but donations are welcome. Those who donate will be eligible for prizes--books, tote bags and t-shirts.