º ROBERT BLY, 1926-

Raised on a farm near Madison, Minn. Author of more than 30 collections of poetry, winner of the 1968 National Book Award for the collection "The Light Around the Body." Has had an influence on American poetry by translating and introducing foreign poets and literary forms to this country. His 1990 book "Iron John" was a bestseller and turned Bly into a leader of the so-called men's movement.

LAURA INGALLS WILDER, 1867-1957

Was in her 60s when she began writing her "Little House" series of books for children. The fictionalized stories are based on her childhood in the late 1800s in a variety of Midwest locales, including Walnut Grove, Minn. The simply told stories, which she worked on with her daughter, Rose, are rich repositories of cultural history and very popular with young people.

SINCLAIR LEWIS, 1885-1951

Raised in Sauk Centre, Minn. His novels satirized and critiqued American values and society. "Main Street" was set in Gopher Prairie, modeled after his hometown. He portrayed it as a small town of pretentious, narrow-minded citizens who reject new ideas. In 1926, Lewis was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Literature for his novel "Arrowsmith," which he refused. In 1930, he became the first American to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature; he accepted it.

º F. SCOTT FITZGERALD, 1896-1940

Regarded as one of America's great writers, F. Scott Fitzgerald was born in St. Paul. In works such as "The Great Gatsby" and "This Side of Paradise," he chronicled America's Jazz Age, capturing the carefree spirit of the times while addressing underlying tensions of class, power and wealth.

J.F. POWERS, 1917-1999

Lived in Collegeville, Minn., from 1975 until his death. Much of his fiction centered on Midwestern Catholic priests, which he wrote about in an everyday humane way. "Morte d'Urban," which won him the National Book Award in 1963, is a comic searcher's tale about an ambitious Chicago priest who discovers true faith at an isolated retreat house in Minnesota.

MERIDEL LESUEUR, 1900-1996

Served as an inspiration for a generation of Minnesota writers, feminists and peace activists by writing impassioned works against social injustice. Was the voice for the underprivileged, the poor, oppressed women, people of color -- and anyone else who needed a loud, lyrical heroine.

File Photo, Star Tribune
Laura Ingalls Wilder, author of "Little House on the Prairie" and related books.

Ø GARRISON KEILLOR, 1942 -

Born in Anoka. Through his books, stories, essays and especially his St. Paul-based radio show, "A Prairie Home Companion," Keillor invented Lake Wobegon, a world where the Midwest, and Minnesotans in particular, are portrayed in a satirically wry and amusing, but gentle and loving manner.

JON HASSLER, 1933-2008

Born in Minneapolis and grew up in Staples and Plainview, Minn. Set his novels in fictional Minnesota towns, most often Staggerford, and peopled them with funny, sensitive, wise, vulnerable and believable characters. From the landscapes, weather, language, humor and heartaches, Hassler's work is unmistakably Minnesotan.

FREDERICK MANFRED, 1912-1994

Born in Iowa, Manfred spent much of his life in Minnesota and wrote novels set in an area he called Siouxland, where Iowa, Minnesota and South Dakota meet. His graphic descriptions of how the wilderness was settled and developed into a thriving farmland have provided readers an opportunity to vicariously experience life at that time. He died in Luverne, Minn., at age 82.

MAUD HART LOVELACE, 1892-1980

Born in Mankato, became famous for her Betsy-Tacy series of books for young readers. Her stories about Betsy Ray and Tacy Kelly were set in a fictional town, Deep Valley, Minn., modeled after Mankato and based on her own childhood experiences.