Wherefore art thou, Duluth poet?

Duluth is looking for a poet laureate. Know anyone? Maybe you?

Applicants must have lived or worked in the Duluth area for five of the past 10 years and meet other qualifications. Barton Sutter was chosen as the first poet laureate in 2006, and Jim Johnson is now ending his two-year term. The 2010-11 poet laureate will receive a $3,000 honorarium. Application guidelines are online at www.lakesuperiorwriters.org. The deadline is mid-February.

Since Duluth established the award, other Minnesota cities have selected poet laureates, including St. Paul (Carol Connolly), Red Wing (Robert Hedin) and Winona (Ken McCullough). St. Louis Park is also looking for a "community poet." And Robert Bly, of course, became Minnesota's first state poet laureate in 2008.

Also ...

•"Frankie Works the Night Shift," a picture book by Lisa Westberg Peters of Minneapolis, will be published in March by Greenwillow/Harper Collins. It is illustrated by Jennifer Taylor of Chicago.

•Michael Hall's first picture book, "My Heart Is Like a Zoo," will be published in January by Greenwillow. Hall is co-owner of a design firm in Marine-on-St. Croix.

•This is the final week of the Twin Cities Literary Scavenger Hunt. Don't blow it now! Here's this week's question: Name at least two great Minnesota authors and their famous works from the following initials: TGG by FSF; MS by SL; GITE by OER; LM by LE; GAC by TO. This week's bookstores: Magers & Quinn Booksellers, 3038 Hennepin Av. S., Mpls., and Micawber's, 2238 Carter Av., St. Paul. More information at: http://twincities lit.wordpress.com.

•"No Snow for Christmas," by Jill Kalz of New Ulm, has been published by Capstone Publishers. Kalz has written nearly 50 children's books; this one is the latest in her series of Pfeffernut County tales.

•"Weaver of Song: Birth of Silent Night," by Mary Helene Jackson and illustrated by Leo Winstead, has been published by Clifton Carriage House Press. The picture book tells the story of composer Franz Gruber and lyricist Joseph Mohr. The book is available in most bookstores and can be ordered by e-mailing slien@briobooks.com.

•Nodin Press has published "Cornered! A Slightly Askew Look at Our Pop-Culture Landscape," a collection of comic strips by David Steinlicht. Steinlicht lives in St. Paul. He is a graphic artist and designer for the Pioneer Press, where these comics first appeared. He's also a blue-ribbon winner in the Crop Art competition of the Minnesota State Fair, which makes him a little bit of a god in our eyes.