The Favorite Poem Project was founded in 1997 by

Robert Pinsky Robert Pinsky (born October 20, 1940) is an American poet, essayist, literary critic, and translator. From 1997 to 2000, he served as Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress. Pinsky is the author of nineteen books, most of ...

shortly after he was appointed 39th

Poet Laureate of the United States The Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress—commonly referred to as the United States Poet Laureate—serves as the official poet of the United States. During their term, the poet laureate seeks to raise the national cons ...

by the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

. During the one-year open call for submissions, 18,000 Americans wrote to the project volunteering to share their favorite poems. Submissions came from Americans ages 5 to 97, from every state, of diverse occupations, education and backgrounds. The project has prompted hundreds of Favorite Poem readings in cities and towns across the country. These readings gather individuals from different corners of a single community to share their favorite poems with each other, revealing personal ties to specific poems. With the

Boston University School of Education Boston University Wheelock College of Education & Human Development is the school of education within Boston University. It is located on the University's Charles River Campus in Boston, Massachusetts in the former Lahey Clinic building. BU Whee ...

, the project has hosted five week-long summer poetry institutes for educators. Led by Pinsky, the institutes emphasize vocal and personal connections as a starting point for more intense study of poems. Additional faculty have included

Frank Bidart Frank Bidart (born May 27, 1939) is an American academic and poet, and a winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. Biography Bidart is a native of California and considered a career in acting or directing when he was young. In 1957, he began to s ...

Mark Doty Mark Doty (born August 10, 1953) is an American poet and memoirist best known for his work ''My Alexandria.'' He was the winner of the National Book Award for Poetry in 2008. Early life Mark Doty was born in Maryville, Tennessee to Lawrence an ...

, David Ferry,

Louise Glück Louise Elisabeth Glück ( ; born April 22, 1943) is an American poet and essayist. She won the 2020 Nobel Prize in Literature, whose judges praised "her unmistakable poetic voice that with austere beauty makes individual existence universal". He ...

, Gail Mazur,

Heather McHugh Heather McHugh (born August 20, 1948) is an American poet notable for the independent ranges of her aesthetic as a poet, and for her working devotion to teaching and translating literature. Life Heather McHugh, a poet, translator, educator and ...

and Rosanna Warren . The Favorite Poem Project's archives include original letters, e-mail printouts, and both raw and edited versions of audio and video recordings. The archives are housed by Boston University's Mugar Library, at the

Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center The Mugar Memorial Library is the primary library for study, teaching, and research in the humanities and social sciences for Boston University. It was opened in 1966. Stephen P. Mugar, an Armenian immigrant who was successful in the grocery b ...

. These materials, along with the project's database of nearly 25,000 letters written by American readers, are used by scholars and researchers. Production of the Favorite Poem Project video anthology was overseen by executive producer Juanita Anderson. Video directors include Juanita Anderson, Natatcha Estébanez, Emiko Omori, d.b.Roderick, Debra Farrar-Parkman and Maria Theresa Rodriguez. Final versions of the fifty Favorite Poem Project videos are kept at the Library of Congress Archive of Recorded Poetry & Literature.

References

{{Reflist Poetry organizations