As is the case every spring, there are scads of literary events going on in and around Minneapolis-St. Paul in honor of National Poetry Month. One of my favorites this year comes out of Greater Minnesota, actually: the students and faculty of the English Department at Minnesota State University, Mankato are sharing a new video daily throughout the month – 30 poems in all, a different poet’s work each day, read by 30 students. The short readings are simply shot, beautifully recorded and read, and surprisingly moving. (You can watch them online here.)

The Cracked Walnut Literary Festival, run by Satish P. Jayaraj, is back again this year, featuring 24 near-daily readings and 100-some local writers at coffee shops, bars and neighborhood storefronts throughout the state — in and around the Twin Cities metro, Duluth and Rochester —  all April long. (Find an up-to-date list of readings/readers and venues on the Facebook page for the festival.)

This Saturday, the Friends of the St. Paul Public Library will hold the 26th Annual Minnesota Book Awards Gala in Lowertown’s recently restored Union Depot. Readers and writers will gather to celebrate local books with wine and live music, and an awards ceremony emceed by “Wits” host John Moe to announce the 2014 Minnesota Book Award-winners selected from the pool of this year’s nominees.

Share what you love about your local branch on social media all month using the hashtag #BecauseOfTheLibrary.

On a related note: The Friends have also just launched a savvy social media campaign, #BecauseOfTheLibrary, to raise awareness about all the things St. Paul Public Libraries offer to their communities. Patrons are encouraged to post on Twitter or Facebook, using the given hashtag, to tell bite-sized stories of what they and their families are able to accomplish because of the libraries in their communities – beyond the librarians themselves and all the various books and media resources available to borrow, there are a bevy of neighborhood reading series and story times, computer literacy classes and job search programs, tutoring and fun after school and summer programs for kids, live music events, Books & Bars. Find a full listing of the Friends’ varied ongoing series and the St. Paul Public Library system’s range of classes and programs on the web.

Find event information and ticket details about the Minnesota Book Awards Gala on Saturday, April 5 and about the #BecauseOfTheLibrary awareness campaign on www.thefriends.org.