By Laurie Hertzel

If you haven't yet been to the Robert Bly exhibit over at the University of Minnesota, you still have a chance; grab a free afternoon and head to the Elmer L. Andersen Library. You can study Bly's edits and rewrites on some of his poems, and look at old photos of him on vacation with his dad, at Christmas with Carol and the kids, steadying a horse for poet James Wright.

Bly's first attempt as an editor came in high school, when he pulled together a selection of poems he liked -- Wordsworth and Emerson and Longfellow and Kipling -- into a little book. He fashioned a cover out of wood, glued American flag decals in each corner, and dedicated it to his teacher, Miss Puerner, "Whose untiring efforts to get me to like poetry were finally rewarded." The book was compiled by "Bob Bly," which gives you an idea how long ago that might have been. The exhibit is free and runs through Saturday.

Also ...

•The last two Talk of the Stacks appearances are this month at the Central Library in downtown Minneapolis. David Rhodes, author of "Driftless," will be there Thursday, and Arthur Phillips, author of "Prague," will be there May 21. Rhodes lives in Wisconsin; "Driftless" was published by Milkweed Editions. Phillips will be accompanied by pianist Chan Poling, formerly of the Suburbs, and host Steve Seel from the Current. Both events begin at 7 p.m.

•"Opening Goliath: Danger and Discovery in Caving," by Cary J. Griffith, has been published by Borealis Books. Griffith's book looks at several adventures -- and disasters -- in Minnesota cave history. He will be at Barnes & Noble HarMar in Roseville at 7 p.m. Tuesday, and at the St. Paul Central Library at 2 p.m. May 17.

•Minnesota writer Philip Bryant's new book, "Stompin' at the Grand Terrace: A Jazz Memoir in Verse," will be published this month by Blueroad Press. Several events are planned, including an appearance at 7 p.m. Friday at Barnes & Noble in Mankato, and 6 p.m. May 23 at Magers & Quinn, 3038 Hennepin Av. S., Minneapolis.

•"Coal Mountain Elementary," by Mark Nowak of St. Paul, with photo- graphs by Nowak and Ian Teh, has been published by Coffee House Press. The book tells, through poetry, of the mine collapse in Sago, W.Va., and mining disasters in China. Events are planned for 7 p.m. Thursday at the Rondo Community Outreach Library, 232 E. 9th St., St. Paul, and 7 p.m. June 4 at Arise! Bookstore, 2411 Lyndale Av. S., Mpls.

•Graywolf Press poets continue to pile up the prizes. Linda Gregg, author of "All of it Singing," is this year's winner of the Poets & Writers Jackson Poetry Prize, which comes with a $50,000 award. Previous winners were also Graywolf poets: Elizabeth Alexander and Tony Hoagland.

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