Favorite Poem Project

Favorite Poem Project The Favorite Poem Project is dedicated to celebrating, documenting and encouraging poetry’s role in Americans’ lives.

05/29/2026

Roxbury-based Rev. Michael Haynes’s brother, Roscoe Baker, passed away on May 17th, 2026. We at the FPP are thinking of the Haynes and Baker families.

Watch this video to hear Rev. Haynes read Longfellow’s “A Psalm of Life.”

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05/26/2026

‘s Artemis II lunar fly-by was conducted last month. Astronauts on a 10-day mission splashed down in the Pacific Ocean back in April. In September 2026, the Artemis III lunar landing will take place, sending astronauts to the South Pole of the moon.

All this excitement about reminds us of the Friendship 7 mission, piloted by John Glenn back in 1962. In 2005, Glenn held a news conference in space aboard the “Discovery.”

Robert Pinsky, then-Poet Laureate and founder of the Favorite Poem Project, read excerpts from Dante’s Inferno and Tennyson’s Ulysses in honor of Glenn and his space adventures. This clip originally aired on Jim Lehrer’s NewsHour on May 5th, 1998.

Tell us: what poems (or poets!) remind you of space or ? Are there lines that make you want to roam, explore, or take risks? Share in the comments below, or send us a Direct Message. We’d love to hear from you.

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We’re participating in by diving into the Favorite Poem Project archive. Check out this article from Washington Univer...
05/21/2026

We’re participating in by diving into the Favorite Poem Project archive.

Check out this article from Washington University Magazine and Alumni News from Fall 1998!

The article covers an April 1998 reading - a “Midwest kickoff of [Robert Pinsky’s] Favorite Poem Project.” Swipe to read.

Poems read included “Next Day” by Randall Jerrell, read by Kay Bonetti Callison; “Lovesong” by Ted Hughes, read by Sara Ann Jones; “Deferred” by Langston Hughes, read by Clarence Harmon; and “An Invitation to Miss Marianne Moore” by Elizabeth Bishop, read by Agnes Wilcox.

Tell us: Do you, like Kay Bonetti Callison, agree that reading a “‘sad poem [...lifts] yourself out of yourself”? What poems, when read aloud, become “a kind of magic” for you?

Share in the comments below, or send us a DM. We’d love to hear from you!

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05/15/2026

If Boston-based Jacques Pépin could pair Rimbaud’s “Le Dormeur du Val” with a good dish, “[i]n some ways it would be a simple roast chicken, which can be done in different ways. [...I]t can be very simple home cooking. However, if you start adding mushrooms and other things, it could be brought to another level.”

Pépin, cofounder of Boston University’s Certificate Program in the Culinary Arts and Master’s in Gastronomy, has been cooking for over 70 years.

He first encountered Rimbaud’s poem around this time. “At the Plaza Athénée, [...] we had a library for the employees, and that’s where I started borrowing books.” For Pépin, who did not attend school past the primary/elementary level, this education was huge.

To hear Pépin read Rimbaud’s poem in French, and to watch the rest of the video, visit the link in our bio. Our Poetry Archive contains countless similar videos, in which Americans share their favorite poems and why they love them.

Tell us: If your favorite poem could be paired with a dish, what would it be, and why? Share in the comments below, or send us a Direct Message. We’d love to hear from you.

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Poetry often serves as a powerful artistic vessel for grief. Reading and writing poetry help memorialize those who have ...
05/06/2026

Poetry often serves as a powerful artistic vessel for grief. Reading and writing poetry help memorialize those who have passed, as well as help someone process grief.

Swipe to check out parts of our Poetry and Loss lesson plan. This is geared towards high school students, but can be modified for students of all grade levels and needs.

To access the rest of our lesson plans (including Part I of Poetry and Loss), visit our Classroom Resources page. Educators can find free materials for teaching poetry to elementary, middle, and high school/college students.

Tell us: have you taught elegies or laments to your students? Wha was that experience like? Share in the comments below, or send us a Direct Message.

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04/29/2026

“About twenty years ago, I used to look upon myself as an ‘in-between person.’ An ‘in-between person’ was a person who’d been brought up in different cultures and who didn’t belong wholly to any one culture,” says New Jersey-based librarian Jayashree Chatterjee.

Due to various circumstances, Chatterjee and her family moved practically every two or three months.

“So there I was, moving from place to place, wondering whether I’d be able to find another house, wondering whether I was being supportive enough of my husband (who had always been very supportive of me) and, finally, agonizing over whether my girls were going to grow up to be the complete human beings that I wanted them to be.”

Four poets gave Chatterjee consolation during this time. Rabindranath Tagore and his poem was one of them.

Visit the link in our bio to access the full video, in which Chatterjee shares the poem’s connection to her life. Our Poetry Archive contains countless similar videos, in which Americans share their favorite poems and why they love them.

Tell us: what poems have offered you the most consolation during times of personal change? Share in the comments below, or send us a Direct Message. We’d love to hear from you.

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Looking for lesson plans to guide poetry-focused classes/assignments to celebrate Poetry Month? Here at the Favorite Poe...
04/22/2026

Looking for lesson plans to guide poetry-focused classes/assignments to celebrate Poetry Month?

Here at the Favorite Poem Project, we believe that every month is Poetry Month!

Our Classroom Resources page has free lesson plans and educational resources for educators. While the website is categorized by age, materials can be modified for students of all ages and needs.

The full lesson plan for Poetry and Culture is available via the link in our bio. There, you’ll find homework ideas and potential next steps, as well as suggestions for Favorite Poem Project resources/videos that might make good accompaniments to this assignment.

Tell us: how are you celebrating National Poetry Month? Are you creating new lesson plans or curriculum for students? Are you reading a poem a day? Share in the comments below, or send us a Direct Message. We’d love to hear from you!

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04/13/2026

In a NewsHour segment that originally aired in May 1998, Favorite Poem Project founder Robert Pinsky paid tribute to Frank Sinatra.

Pinsky read O’Hara’s famous poem about Lana Turner, as well as an excerpt from David Ferry’s translation of Virgil’s 9th Ecologue.

Tell us: are there poems you’ve encountered that you’ve used/seen as “tributes” to someone you love? Share in the comments below, or send us a Direct Message. We’d love to hear from you!

Bonus: visit the link in our bio to watch Richard Samuel, a Seattle-based glassblower, read O’Hara’s classic piece.

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Happy Friday! Today, we’re highlighting John Ashbery’s “The Improvement.” Did you wake up with your “face pressed/in the...
04/10/2026

Happy Friday! Today, we’re highlighting John Ashbery’s “The Improvement.”

Did you wake up with your “face pressed/in the dewy mess of a dream”?

Swipe to read this poem, and swipe to the end of the post for a prompt inspired by “The Improvement.” Visit the link in our bio to hear New York-based salesman Roger Smith read Ashbery’s classic.

Tell us: what natural images stand out to you in this piece? The shards? The smiling beaches? The leopard? Share in the comments below, or send us a Direct Message. We’d love to hear from you!

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Happy Friday! Today, we’re highlighting John Ashbery’s “The Improvement.” Did you wake up with your “face pressed/in the...
04/10/2026

Happy Friday! Today, we’re highlighting John Ashbery’s “The Improvement.”

Did you wake up with your “face pressed/in the dewy mess of a dream”?

Swipe to read this poem, and swipe to the end of the post for a prompt inspired by “The Improvement.” Visit the link below to hear New York-based salesman Roger Smith read Ashbery’s classic.

https://www.favoritepoem.org/poems/the-improvement/

Tell us: what natural images stand out to you in this piece? The shards? The smiling beaches? The leopard? Share in the comments below, or send us a Direct Message. We’d love to hear from you!

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