FREE, but tickets required

Come to hear members of the community including the Mayor, city councilors, school administrators, students, old-timers, and new-comers read a diverse selection of their favorite poems with poems in Swedish, Japanese and more written by poets both traditional and non-traditional.

Everyone is welcome to attend… even if you think you don’t like poetry! You might find yourself surprised!

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.