Got a Favorite Poem? The Walt Whitman Birthplace Association Wants to Hear About It.

The Walt Whitman Birthplace Historic Site has launched its free community-wide Favorite Poem Project and is calling on all poetry enthusiasts to submit a poem and attend the event on April 17.

The Favorite Poem Project is designed to encourage participants of all ages and from all walks of life to send in their favorite poem with a brief explanation of why it is significant and to attend the poetry reading event at the WWBA Interpretive Center. Elisa DiStefano news personality from Cablevision News 12 Long Island will emcee the event.

“On the day of the event 25 participants will read the poems they submitted and explain why they find them significant. We will videotape the readings and incorporate them in future exhibits at our Interpretive Center to serve as unique archival ‘documents’ for WWBA, scholars, and visitors. And we will honor all participants by displaying their submissions at our Interpretive Center for the day of the event,” said WWBA Executive Director Cynthia Shor.

The Favorite Poem Project was founded by former US Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky shortly after the Library of Congress appointed him to the post in 1997. Pinsky created the project to celebrate, document, and encourage poetry’s role in American lives. When Pinsky put out a nationwide call for Americans from all walks of life to send in their favorite poems (a classic published poem, not self-written), he received over 18,000 responses. Pinsky’s project ignited a fire that spread across the country with communities holding their own Favorite Poem poetry readings. The Library of Congress videotaped for their archives 50 individuals from these communities reading their favorite poems . The WWBA Favorite Poem Project will be following in their footsteps.

“Robert Pinsky’s Favorite Poem Project and the resultant videotaping and preservation of the readings encouraged everyday people to see poetry as accessible and relevant. We encourage community members to join us for this free event and be a poetic voice in a historic narrative of Long Island American lives,” said Shor.

Favorite Poem Submission Deadline: April 10, 2016

Send Submission to: administrator@waltwhitman.org (Please write Favorite Poem Submission in the subject line.)

Event Date: Sunday, April 17, 2016, 2-4 PM

Event Place: Walt Whitman Birthplace, 246 Old Walt Whitman Rd., Huntington Station, NY