Since their opening just a couple of months ago, the folks at SubText bookstore in St. Paul’s Cathedral Hill neighborhood have hit the ground running, hosting a slew of events with some of the area’s most notable literary talent. Recent appearances include award-winning authors like Ed Bok Lee and Charles Baxter; fairy-tale expert Jack Zipes; and poets Todd Boss, Kathryn Kysar, Carol Connolly, Heid Erdrich and many more.

John Medeiros. Photo courtesy of the author.

The bookshop has particularly tapped its connections with writers in the Twin Cities’ diverse poetry community, becoming the go-to spot to hear both established voices and up-and-comers alike, often reading side-by-side. Case in point: Tonight at SubText, four poets will be reading together, any one of which would be worth the trip to hear.

Katrina Vandenberg. Photo by Euan Kerr, courtesy of Minnesota Public Radio.

Three of tonight’s readers are well established and likely already familiar to local poetry lovers: Katrina Vandenberg, who’ll be reading from her new, critically acclaimed collection, “The Alphabet Not Unlike the World;” John Medeiros (whose eloquent, candid nonfiction is also well worth seeking out) will be on hand as well, reading from his new book, “couplets for a shrinking world;” poet Kris Bigalk, too, will share some pieces from her latest collection, “Repeat the Flesh in Numbers.”

Kris Bigalk. Photo courtesy of the author’s website.

I’m especially eager to hear the fourth writer of the night, two-time National Poetry Slam winner and St. Paul spoken word artist Sierra DeMulder. Her work is just ferocious, impassioned and bristling with smarts, and hearing her read live is always memorable. DeMulder’s second poetry collection, “New Shoes on a Dead Horse,” was just released this spring by Write Bloody Publishing.

Sierra DeMulder. Photo courtesy of the author and Write Bloody Publishing.

Katrina Vandenberg, John Medeiros, Kris Bigalk and Sierra DeMulder will read from their new poetry collections tonight, August 15, at 7 p.m. at SubText Bookstore, 165 Western Ave., St. Paul; 651-493-3871. The event is free and open to the public. (A hat-tip to the indispensable resource St. Paul Spot for calling this reading to my attention.) For more information, visit the bookshop’s Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/SubTextaBookstore.