“Dear You": The Third Annual Common Good Books Poetry Contest

We love poetry at Common Good Books, and to prove it our proprietor is putting his money where his mouth is. Garrison Keillor is offering five thousand dollars in prize money to the seven winners of “‘Dear You’: The Third Annual Common Good Books Poetry Contest.” Three poets will receive grand prizes of $1000 each, and four poets will receive $500 for poems of particular merit.

Last year we asked entrants for love letters. This year, we continue the epistolary theme--entries to “Dear You” should be in the form of a letter to a real person--but love is not required. Entries should be mailed to Common Good Books, post marked no later than April 4, 2015.

The rules at a glance

• The contest is open to anyone living within the United States

• Entries must be a single poem

• The poem must be a letter to a specific, living person

• The entries must be original work, previously unpublished, and the author must have full rights to the material

• Only one entry per person

• Entries must be mailed to Common Good Books (38 S Snelling Ave, St Paul MN 55105), postmarked no later than April 4, 2015

And we’d be remiss if we didn’t point out that you can see what sort of poems touch our proprietor’s heart by checking out his collection of poetry O, What a Luxury: Verses Lyrical, Vulgar, Pathetic & Profound (get yours here) or by listening to The Writer’s Almanac (here).

Winners will be announced Sunday, April 19

Winners will be announced Sunday, April 19 at a celebration of poetry to be held at noon in the chapel at Macalester College.