Favorite Poem Project

Description: Set up during the 2008 Summer Institute of the Favorite Poem Project (FFP) at Boston University, this group shares titles of value for the reading and teaching of poetry in k-12 classrooms.

As of July, 2008, this group is open to anyone who wants to join. (Full disclosure: There's a remote possibility that, in the future, we may limit membership to FFP Summer Institute participants.) To contribute, follow these steps:

1. Join Library Thing. It's free, easy and secure.

2. After you join, and while you're logged in, click on tab labeled "Groups" at the top of your Library Thing home page.

3. A new page will appear. Cursor to the yellowish box in the right hand column. Type "Favorite Poem Project" into the Search for Groups box in that right hand column.

4. A new page will appear. Find and click the hot link to Favorite Poem Project in the long list of groups on that page.

5. A new page will appear. Find and click the "Join this Group" link that appears in the yellowish right hand column. Voila! You're now a member of the FPP Library thing community.

6. To really contribute, start adding titles to your personal library and read the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section of Library Thing. If you get desperate for help, email Pat Delaney at delaneyp@galileoweb.org

Enjoy.

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. (Check out FPP's YouTube collection of videos.)

With the Boston University School of Education, the project has also hosted five week-long summer poetry institutes for educators. At each institute, elementary, middle and high school teachers attend seminars taught by renowned poets, looking closely at a broad range of poems and into various ways of reading and teaching poetry. Participants also receive valuable classroom materials and take part in workshops with trained lead teachers to develop poetry curricula. Led by Robert Pinsky, the institutes emphasize vocal and personal connections as a starting point for more intense study of poems. Additional faculty have included Frank Bidart, Mark Doty, David Ferry, Louise Glück, Gail Mazur, Heather McHugh and Rosanna Warren. Selections from the lesson plans developed by teachers at the institute are available on this website.