Enter "Poems of Gratitude: The Fourth Annual Common Good Books Poetry Contest."

Our crush on poetry continues unabated here at Common Good Books, and to prove it the proprietor is putting his money where his mouth is. Garrison Keillor is offering five thousand dollars in prize money to the seven winners of “‘Poems of Gratitude: The Fourth 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.

This year, we are switching from the epistolary theme. Entries to “Poems of Gratitude” may be any form, but they should give thanks for something good. Mail your poem to Common Good Books, postmarked no later than April 15, 2016.

The rules at a glance

• Entries must be mailed to Common Good Books (38 S Snelling Ave, St Paul MN 55105), postmarked no later than April 15, 2016. Please send two copies of your poem. Please include your contact information on each copy of your poem.

• Entries must be a single poem.

• The poem must be a declaration of gratitude.

• The entries must be original work, previously unpublished, and the author must have full rights to the material.

• Only one entry per person is permitted.

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

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, May 1.