Minnesota's big literary wins are a feel-good story for us all ("Novel idea: It's the culture," Nov. 16). But the Star Tribune's reporting overlooked a couple things.
Last year a novel published by Minneapolis-based Trolley Car Press won the prestigious Benjamin Franklin award for the best work of fiction by an independent publisher for "Third and Long: A Novel for Hard Times," by Bob Katz. The ceremony was held in New York at the country's largest publisher's gathering. We may be awash in good novelists, but let's not forget about our poets.
Trolley Car Press also has published two well-received books of local poetry, "Between the Lakes: The Poets of Linden Hills" and "SEASONS: Poems from the Southwest Journal Poetry Project." Both are available at select area retailers.
The state's engagement with poetry is impressive. We sometimes receive more than 100 submissions for the Southwest Journal's quarterly spread of local poetry (the next one comes out on Dec 10).
Last year, New York Mills' annual philosophy debate, the Great American Think-Off, chose "Does Poetry Matter?" as a topic. Two of the four finalists were from Minnesota. The question was decided in the affirmative.
DOUG WILHIDE, MINNEAPOLIS
