Community members gather to share poems they love for the My Favorite Poem Project, which is back at the University of New Mexico, Thursday, April 2 beginning at 6 p.m. in Zimmerman Library's Willard Reading Room in the historic west wing. 

Confirmed readers include Nathaniel Denetdale, Mary Alice Tsosie, Belinda Wallace, Gary Harrison, Chishi Montoya, Carolyn Gonzales, Gail Turley Houston, Sandra Begay-Campbell, Daniel Berger, Mikki Carroll and Julius Devila.

The My Favorite Poem Project is based on former U.S. Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky’s initiative in 1998 that was held in major cities and featured thousands of readers from all walks of life including school children, business owners, civic leaders, teachers, college students, spiritual leaders, ranchers and media personalities.

The reading is directed by Navajo Poet Laureate and UNM professor Luci Tapahonso and hosted by the UNM English Department and Zimmerman Library.

Tapahonso, who previously organized Favorite Poem projects in Santa Fe, Tucson and Lawrence, Kansas, said that the readings reveal the importance of poetry in our daily lives and show how sharing poems can strengthen a community’s sense of culture and place.

“We often turn to poetry in moments of elation, loss, fear or gratitude; this is a wonderful opportunity to share how these particular poems speak to us,” Tapahonso said.