Robert Pinsky, a three-time U.S. Poet Laureate and a Boston University professor, led a discussion Saturday about the ‘Favorite Poem Project,’ which he founded in 1997 to celebrate and document poetry’s role in the Americans’ lives.

About 60 parents, students and faculty gathered in the College of Arts and Sciences for the discussion, which was included in the Homecoming College Series of faculty-led seminars for the second year.

Pinsky gave a short speech explaining the history behind the project’s creation and the ideas which drove its inception. He said he believed poetry’s importance to ordinary Americans was based on two related concepts.

‘The first idea is that the art of poetry is a bodily art,’ Pinsky said. ‘The medium of poetry is not words, not images … but the human voice. My breath, my body presents the artist’s work. Poetry is the most bodily of all the arts.’

Demonstrating this idea, Pinsky performed lines from Robert Frost’s poem ‘To Earthward,’ emphasizing that poetry’s power originates from performance and ‘by nature of the medium, by interaction on a human scale.’

Pinsky said most Americans defy common stereotypes with a deep-seated love and appreciation of culture and a history of celebrating artistic achievements.

‘Instead of worshipping royalty, we have performers, athletes and singers,’ Pinsky said. ‘This is a vast improvement, as it is far better to admire someone for their ability to throw a ball than for who their grandfather was.’

According to Pinsky, poetry has a tremendous appeal for people on an individual level, and technology has enabled a massive expansion of cultural exposure. Pinsky said he wanted to test the appeal of poetry to the average American, and this desire resulted in the ‘Favorite Poem Project.’

The project involved creating a database to organize 18,000 responses from Americans asked to submit their favorite poems, along with a few lines explaining why they appreciate the works.

Pinsky said he had limited funds to promote the project, but word of mouth helped knowledge of it spread. As its notoriety grew, Pinsky received grants to continue the project, as well as support from celebrities and politicians.

BU provided most of the original funding, and student interns helped edit and post submissions, he said. Many submissions were later included in two published Norton anthologies, ‘Americans’ Favorite Poems’ and ‘Poems to Read.’ Pinsky said a third anthology is currently being compiled.

Pinsky showed video clips from the ‘Favorite Poem Project’ videos, a collection of 50 short documentaries featuring individual Americans discussing the poems they chose and reciting them.

These included recitations by a Brighton construction worker, a Cambodian college student and a Seattle glass-blower.

‘The criterion for the project, on which poems were selected to be included in the videos and in the anthologies, depended on the level of interest concerning the relationship between the person and the poet,’ Pinsky said.

Pinsky’s student interns used a system of ranking to rate the poems, but he said he had ultimate authority on what poems made it to print. No poem was excluded from display on the database, which continues to receive thousands of submissions.

‘I’ve had the same poem submitted by an 80-year-old woman and an 11-year-old girl,’ Pinsky said. ‘I received a letter from someone who submitted the poem that her mother asked to have read to her on her deathbed.’

Pinsky answered questions from the audience and displayed one last video clip before the discussion ended. College of Communication junior Kristin Ingraham said both Pinsky and the project impressed her.

‘I thought he was fascinating,’ Ingraham said. ‘I definitely want to take his class. My aunt’s a librarian and she told me I absolutely had to go and hear him speak.’

Visiting parents who included the seminar in their weekend agenda also seemed to appreciate the discussion. Anne Ippolito, a New Jersey teacher, said she planned to share Pinsky’s methods and videos with the English department at her school.

‘As a teacher, I am always looking for new ways to expand student’s understanding,’ she said. ‘I think it would be a wonderful thing for kids to how everyday people appreciate poetry and find it relevant to their lives.’

Her daughter, CAS freshman Annie Ippolito, said she had heard Pinsky speak at the Dodge Poetry Festival in New Jersey, and he partially inspired her to apply to BU.

‘Knowing that he taught here was a definite inspiration to come here,’ she said. ‘I would enjoy taking his class and working with him.’