March 12, 1998
Press Contact: Yvonne French (202) 707-9191
Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky Launches Favorite Poem Project in Five Cities During National Peotry Month
Library of Congress Reading Scheduled for April 2
Poet Laureate of the United States Robert Pinsky will
launch his main endeavor as Poet Laureate, the Favorite Poem
Project, with poetry readings in New York, Washington,
Boston, St. Louis and Los Angeles during April, National
Poetry Month.
The project will create audio and video archives of
Americans of all ages, backgrounds and walks of life reading
aloud their favorite poems. The Favorite Poem Project is
rooted in Mr. Pinsky's belief that poetry is meant to be
read aloud.
"The archives will be a record at the end of the
millennium of what we choose and what we do with our voices
and faces, when asked to say aloud a poem that we love,"
said Mr. Pinsky, who was appointed Poet Laureate in 1997 by
Librarian of Congress James H. Billington.
The Favorite Poem Project's two long-term goals are to
promote reading and appreciation of poetry and to encourage
the teaching of poetry in schools nationwide. Collaborating
with Mr. Pinsky on this project are the New England
Foundation for the Arts, which will administer the project,
and the Library of Congress, the home of the Poet Laureate.
The Library is participating in the project as part of its
bicentennial commemoration in the year 2000.
The Favorite Poem Project highlights two things: the
new millennium, represented by the project's 1,000 audio
participants; and the Library of Congress's bicentennial
celebration, reflected by the project's 200 video
participants. The tapes created for the project will become
part of the Library of Congress's Archive of Recorded Poetry
and Literature.
"It will be a gift to the nation's future: an archive
that may come to represent, in a form both individual and
public, the collective cultural consciousness of the
American people at the turn of the century," said Mr.
Pinsky, a professor of English and creative writing at
Boston University.
The first reading will be at 8 p.m. April 1 at Town
Hall in New York. Readers include Ed Bradley, co-host of
"60 Minutes," Garrison Keillor, host of "A Prairie Home
Companion" and musician Suzanne Vega, in addition to New
York City elementary and high school students and an adult
literacy student. Press inquiries may be directed to Matthew
Brogan at the Academy of American Poets, (212) 274-0343,
extension 12.
"Washingtonians Read Their Favorite Poems" will be held
April 2 at the Library of Congress and is expected to
include members of Congress, a school principal, a police
officer, several students and a cabdriver. It will begin at
6:45 p.m. in the Montpelier Room of the James Madison
Memorial Building, 101 Independence Ave. S.E. The reading is
being organized by poet David Gewanter. The public may call
(202) 707-5394 for information.
Other April Favorite Poem events, which are being co-
sponsored by the Center for the Book in the Library of
Congress, are as follows:
- On April 8, Mr. Pinsky's fellow Bostonians
will read their favorite poems at 6:30 p.m. at
Boston Public Library. The reading is being
organized by Favorite Poem Project Director Maggie
Dietz and the New England Foundation for the Arts.
For information, the press may call Ms. Dietz at
(617) 353-2821.
- On April 25, a reading organized by Witter-Bynner
Fellow Carl Phillips will be held at 2 p.m. at
the May Auditorium, Owens School of Business,
Washington University, St. Louis.
- On April 26, Mayor Richard J. Riordan and others
will read their favorite poems at the Los Angeles
Times Book Fair in Los Angeles. The reading will be
held at 11 a.m. on the UCLA campus. Witter-Bynner
Fellow Carol Muske is organizing the event.
Mr. Pinsky will introduce all programs except for the
one in Los Angeles. Submission forms for individual
participation in the recorded portion of the project will be
available at the five readings. It is hoped that the
recorded archives will include readers from all 50 states
and people with a range of ages, occupations, backgrounds
and levels of education. To represent the civic presence of
poetry, Mr. Pinsky also has invited eminent Americans such
as the president, members of Congress, governors and other
leaders. President and Mrs. Clinton have expressed
interest, and Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) has offered to read
aloud T.S. Eliot's "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock."
Mr. Pinsky, who is the editorial and artistic director
of the project, will select the participants. The New
England Foundation for the Arts will assume responsibility
for production, sponsorship and fund-raising. Boston
University has donated a grant to the program to facilitate
the collection and processing of submissions.
The Favorite Poem Project events in April are designed
to encourage similar readings at libraries and arts
organizations in cities and towns nationwide. The Center for
the Book will distribute instructional packets, including
submission forms, to state Centers for the Book and public
libraries. For information, contact the Center for the Book
at (202) 707-5221.
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PR 98-045
3/12/98
ISSN 0731-3527