Festival Announces “Favorite Poem Project”

Celebrate poetry during the 2009 International Festival of Arts & Ideas! The public is invited to attend an organizational meeting for the "Favorite Poem Project" on Friday March 13 at 9am at the International Festival of Arts & Ideas, 15th Floor conference room of the New Alliance Bank Building in New Haven, located at 195 Church Street. The "Favorite Poem Project" is dedicated to celebrating, documenting and encouraging poetry's role in Americans' lives. Please RSVP to amatthews@artidea.org to attend the organizational
meeting, or if you’d like additional information about the "Favorite
Poem Project".

Robert Pinsky, the 39th Poet Laureate of the United States, founded the "Favorite Poem Project" in 1997, and will officially launch the Festival's program at the Connecticut Library Association Conference on Wednesday April 29. People across Connecticut will be invited to submit their favorite published poems to the Festival for inclusion in an anthology. During the Festival in June, a selection of readers from throughout the state will share their favorite poems in a community reading hosted by Pinsky.