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CATHY WURZER: Later this week, Graywolf Press will release a book of poetry by Elizabeth Alexander. She recited one of her works at the inauguration of President Barack Obama. It's a boost for Graywolf, which is based in St. Paul and the most visible sign of a thriving poetry scene in Minnesota. Morning Edition arts commentator St. Paul Pioneer Press theater critic and self-described poetry rube--

DOMINIC PAPATOLA: Hey, now,

CATHY WURZER: --Dominic Papatola joins us right now to talk about the state of poetry in the state of Minnesota.

DOMINIC PAPATOLA: Thank you.

CATHY WURZER: I personally just love that poem that Elizabeth Alexander recited at the inauguration. I thought it was very nice.

DOMINIC PAPATOLA: It wasn't one of my favorites, but I thought it-- I was glad she was there.

CATHY WURZER: OK. Well, what does the publishing of Ms. Alexander mean, say, for Graywolf?

DOMINIC PAPATOLA: Well, it's great for them. Actually she has been one of their authors for a number of years. Graywolf has published a couple volumes of her poetry. She was a Pulitzer Prize finalist in 2006 for a book of poems that she published with Graywolf. And they're going to release the chapbook, which is poetry speak for a small book.

CATHY WURZER: A chat?

DOMINIC PAPATOLA: Chap.

CATHY WURZER: Chap?

DOMINIC PAPATOLA: Yes. That's going to come out. They're going to release that on Friday. They're printing 100,000 copies of that, which is far and away their largest printing since they've started up in 1974 pales in comparison to Maya Angelou's poem for Bill Clinton's first inauguration. They printed a million copies of that.

But still, it's a pretty good deal. Graywolf is a nonprofit, so this is not about filthy lucre necessarily for them, but the poetry world is a pretty small world. And so it's about prestige, it's about cachet. And if you've got an inaugural poet on your roster, that's good. And anything that sort of brings poetry into the mainstream consciousness also a good thing.

CATHY WURZER: So speaking of poetry into the mainstream consciousness here in the state of Minnesota, what's the status of poetry in Minnesota?

DOMINIC PAPATOLA: Well, I just talked about this, about the mainstream stuff. And I think there are a few things that poetry operates on a subterranean level, but there are a few things that can happen that can give poetry that push so that regular people who don't normally read poetry start thinking about it.

Every four years, sometimes if there's a presidential inauguration that's got a poem read, that's good. If a city or a state or the United States names new poet laureate, that's a good thing, especially if they're affable and accessible. If the chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts happens to be a poet, which Dana Gioia was, he just recently stepped down, but that's good.

I was talking to a couple of bookstore owners in different places throughout the state. I was talking to the folks at Northern Lights in Duluth.

CATHY WURZER: Great place.

DOMINIC PAPATOLA: And they're doing well. They're taking orders for the book. And down here, Magers and Quinn down in the Twin Cities, is also taking orders. They're doing poetry readings. People have got classes. There's all sorts of things going on. So actually at the Loft, there are 24 classes for all sorts of people taking all sorts of poetry classes. So obviously, there's interest out there.

CATHY WURZER: I know that in terms of the poet laureates that you brought up, Minnesota has a state poet laureate, Robert Bly.

DOMINIC PAPATOLA: Right.

CATHY WURZER: Right. And then--

DOMINIC PAPATOLA: Duluth has got one. Jim Johnson, I think is his name. St. Paul's got one, Carol Connolly. Winona's got one. Red Wing's got one. So there-- we have all sorts of poet laureates, which is a great thing.

CATHY WURZER: What when you were talking to folks at Magers and Quinn in the Loft, what does it take to create and maintain a healthy poetry scene?

DOMINIC PAPATOLA: Well, it takes a density, and it takes a density of poets, and it takes a density of people who are willing to consume that poetry. Any arts form is an organism, and any organism needs to be fed. It doesn't hurt if you've got a rock star. And in the United States we have Maya Angelou. And if Maya Angelou goes on Oprah, that's a good thing.

Accessibility is another thing. US poet laureate Billy Collins, he was the poet laureate a while ago, and in 2008 in the Wall Street Journal, he had published a bunch of poems that were ode to various Looney Tunes characters. And that's because this is a serious poet taking on a not very serious project.

These are what I call gateway experiences. We talk about this in theater all the time. If something is accessible, and it's friendly, and you read these columns, these poems on Looney Tunes characters, you think, maybe poetry is not so bad. Maybe I'll give it a shot. And so then you try it. And the next thing you know, you're at a poetry reading.

CATHY WURZER: And so when you have a poet laureate, as we've talked about, the various cities, Duluth and Winona and Red Wing and St. Paul, what did they do to help foster some of this?

DOMINIC PAPATOLA: Well, there's the high altitude answer and there's the low altitude answer. The high altitude answer is we live in an increasingly liberal society. And anything that flies in the face of that is a good thing. Now, the low altitude answer is, it gives poetry a face. And if that face is not wearing a beret and smoking a cigarette and cradling a glass of chardonnay, then that's a good thing. We all want to have accessibility.

And if you've got a poet laureate, if you've got a representative who can say, come on in, this is a good art form, it's accessible, you can give it a try, then so much the better. And if a poetry rube, like me can say that, then anyone can enjoy it.

CATHY WURZER: You're not a rube. By the way, so you're going to be coming in on Wednesdays now?

DOMINIC PAPATOLA: I will be coming on Wednesdays, and that's going to be great because there'll be all sorts of fun things to talk about. And I just have to adjust my schedule to figure that out on Wednesday mornings, and we'll be great.

CATHY WURZER: I'm happy to have you midweek. Thank you so much.

DOMINIC PAPATOLA: I will be delighted to be here.

CATHY WURZER: See you later.

DOMINIC PAPATOLA: Thank you.

CATHY WURZER: That's Dominic Papatola Morning Edition arts commentator St. Paul Pioneer Press theater critic.