The Twin Cities have always been a book-loving community with active writers, but it seems to me that within the last few years we've reached a new level where literature is concerned.

The University of Minnesota's MFA program in creative writing has been steadily rising in national prestige, as has Hamline's MFA track. The indefatigable Eric Lorberer and his Rain Taxi crew have been a national force in experimental and otherwise challenging literature for many years now, and their ever-growing Twin Cities Book Festival is now held—I love this—on the state fairgrounds.

A "Poetry Row" has emerged on 13th Avenue in Northeast, anchored by Matt Mauch's live programming at Maeve's Café and readings at the Rogue Buddha gallery. The lively crew of poets and artists who gather under the brand-new banner of the JoyFace Poetry and Arts Collective (covered here in this space) are in search of a permanent home for their activities. And, of course, the pioneering Loft goes on teaching and encouraging everybody who wants to write.

Lit Seen for the Lit Scene

The synergy this has brought about has also meant that we're seeing many more major national and international writers stop off to read or teach in the Cities than, say, ten years ago. And keeping tabs on all this live action—readings, seminars, festivals of the word—is a nine-month-old web site, Lit Seen. It's not a guide to upcoming events—Rain Taxi has that covered with its Twin Cities Literary Calendar —but rather a chronicle and review of readings, book launches, etc., as they happened. And right now, the site offers you a chance to review the events of 2012 and vote for your faves.

And what a solid year it was. We had visits from A-list novelists like Zadie Smith, Ian Frazier, Junot Diaz, and Sherman Alexie, and from the brilliant British fiction-and-nonfictioneer Geoff Dyer. And the locals provided some memorable events too—like the launch party for the highly energized new online-and-print journal Revolver, which was held at the Uppercut Boxing Gym, and the cookie-themed holiday party of alt-lit powerhouse Coffee House Press, which featured local artist-critic-essayist-polymath Andy Sturdevant leading Christmas carols, accompanied by Dylan Hicks.

It's a bracing reminder of how much we have going on, and it offers readers the opportunity to chime in on events they may have attended and to assess the state of live letters in our corner of the world.