NEW YORK MILLS, Minn. (AP) — A Minnesota nonprofit has released its annual philosophy question that will lead to one entrant being named “America’s Greatest Thinker for 2011.”

This year’s debate question is, “Does poetry matter?”

The 2011 Great American Think-Off is an amateur philosophy contest organized by the New York Mills Regional Cultural Center in Minnesota.

Anyone can enter free by submitting an essay of 750 words or fewer. Four finalists will each receive $500. They’ll also debate the question in New York Mills on June 11 before a live audience that decides the winner.

Organizers say they favor contestants who ground their arguments in personal experience.

New York Mills is a farming town of some 1,200 people in central Minnesota, about 170 miles northwest of Minneapolis.

More information is available at http://www.think-off.org.

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