Favorite Poem Project: Chicago
Chicagoland Residents Are Invited to Share Their Favorite Poems
CHICAGO — The Favorite Poem Project and Chicago’s own Poetry Foundation are seeking to document the role of poetry in the lives of Chicagoans. Residents of the city and suburbs are invited to submit their favorite poems to Favorite Poem Project: Chicago. Five Chicagoans and their favorite poems will be featured in videos that will launch during National Poetry Month in April 2014.
With Favorite Poem Project: Chicago, the Poetry Foundation brings poet Robert Pinsky’s original initiative as U.S. Poet Laureate (1997–2000) home. Pinsky’s Favorite Poem Project celebrates poetry as a vocal art.
“A favorite poem can be a talisman or mantra, a clue, exemplar, landmark or guiding star, and dwells deep down in our psyches,” said Poetry Foundation president Robert Polito. “The readings on the videos will be investigative, probing, revelatory, and ultimately autobiographical and moving. Chicago possesses a rich poetry tradition, so we are expecting a lot here from our fellow citizens.”
Favorite Poem Project: Chicago is eager to receive Chicagoans’ favorite poems from across the city and the suburbs. To be considered for inclusion, Chicago-area residents can submit favorite poems online at poetryfoundation.org/favoritepoemchicago. Include the title and author of the chosen poem and a few sentences about why this poem resonates. Five poems will be featured in a series of videos that will launch during National Poetry Month in April 2014.
Entries from Chicago-area residents only will be considered.
Postmark entries no later than November 30, 2013. For more information and to submit your favorite poem, visit poetryfoundation.org/favoritepoemchicago.
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About the Poetry Foundation
The Poetry Foundation, publisher of Poetry magazine, is an independent literary organization committed to a vigorous presence for poetry in our culture. It exists to discover and celebrate the best poetry and to place it before the largest possible audience. The Poetry Foundation seeks to be a leader in shaping a receptive climate for poetry by developing new audiences, creating new avenues for delivery and encouraging new kinds of poetry through innovative literary prizes and programs. For more information, please visit poetryfoundation.org.
About the Favorite Poem Project
The Favorite Poem Project is dedicated to celebrating, documenting and encouraging poetry’s role in Americans’ lives. Robert Pinsky, the 39th Poet Laureate of the United States, founded the Favorite Poem Project shortly after the Library of Congress appointed him to the post in 1997. During the one-year open call for submissions, 18,000 Americans wrote to the project volunteering to share their favorite poems — Americans from ages 5 to 97, from every state, of diverse occupations and backgrounds. From those letters emerged several enduring collections: three anthologies and fifty mini-documentaries, which are available for viewing at favoritepoem.org.
Follow the Poetry Foundation and Poetry on Facebook at facebook.com/poetryfoundation or on Twitter @PoetryFound.
POETRY FOUNDATION | 61 West Superior Street | Chicago, IL 60654 | 312.787.7070
Media contacts:
Elizabeth Burke-Dain, [email protected], 312.799.8016
Kristin Gecan, [email protected], 312.799.8065