The 21st Annual Greater Newburyport Favorite Poem Project June 17th
June 14, 2023For you poetry gluttons, The 21st Annual Greater Newburyport Favorite Poem Project, will take place on Saturday, June 17 at 2 pm at the Firehouse Center for the Arts. This celebration of poetry has become an annual treasure for many in our community and beyond. You will hear a wide range of poems read by such notables as our Mayor, city councilors, school officials, elementary school students, high school students, parents, grandparents and more, including one poem in Swedish and one in Japanese. Each reader will briefly state why the chosen poem has particular significance to him/her/them. This event is free of charge, but the Firehouse does request that you get a ticket at the box office (or online) before entering the theater for their head count.
The brainchild of former U.S. Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky, The National Favorite Poem Project was
launched in 1997 to celebrate the sheer pleasure of poetry with the public at large. Pinsky put out a call
for favorite poems and received 18,000 responses from Americans of diverse regions, ages, and
backgrounds. For the past twenty years, the Creative Writing Class at Newburyport High School has
curated the Favorite Poem Project of Greater Newburyport, ensuring a platform for a wide variety of
voices.
This uplifting event has become popular among many locals and visitors through the years. The audience
is always delighted to hear a wide range of community members read poems that have made an impact on
them. By the end of the program, we all feel enriched by each other’s stories and the power of poetry to
connect us all.
