You might think that the Minnesota Book Awards is a cut-throat affair, with finalists eyeballing each other balefully when they happen to meet, dissing each other's work, hiding their rivals' books in bookstores....

No, no! This is Minnesota! And this is writers we're talking about!

The four finalists for poetry--Dore Kiesselbach, Todd Boss, Jim Johnson and Patricia Kirkpatrick--have banded together to give readings across the Twin Cities during the weeks leading up to the awards ceremony in April. (Johnson, who lives in Duluth, might not make it for every appearance; the other poets will read his work in his absence.)

Here are the dates:

7 p.m. March 14, SubText Bookstore, 165 Western Av. N., St. Paul (the former Common Good Books space).

7 p.m. March 18, Barnes and Noble Roseville, HarMar Mall.

7 p.m. April 8, Common Good Books, 38 S. Snelling Av., St. Paul (the current Common Good Books space).

Come listen to them read, and then root and whoop for the winner on April 13 at the 25th annual Minnesota Book Awards gala event at the Hilton Hotel in downtown Minneapolis.