FAITH LAPIDUS: Mister Rodney said that Sylvia Plath helped open up the wider world of poetry to him.

The Favorite Poem Project produced two books of poems, as well as a DVD. You can see more Americans reading and talking about poetry on the Web site, www.favoritepoem.org. The Favorite Poem Project also has teaching materials.

STEVE EMBER: Poet Laureate Ted Kooser also had ideas about expanding the reach of poetry. He served as Poet Laureate from two thousand four to two thousand six. Mister Kooser has family in the news business. So his poetry project was connected to the media. Ted Kooser started a weekly poetry column he provided free to newspapers and online media. He uses poems by current poets. Most of the poems are short and not complex.

Mister Kooser’s project is called American Life in Poetry. He launched it in two thousand five with support from the Poetry Foundation. He said he wanted to show average Americans that there is something in poetry for them.

Ted Kooser says there was a time when poetry was a usual feature in newspapers. People would cut out poems they liked and save them.

In a recent American Life in Poetry column, he writes about the poem “Betrayal” by Andrea Hollander Budy. He says the poet shows a married couple suffering from things done and undone. Here is part of the poem.

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FAITH LAPIDUS: The current Poet Laureate, Kay Ryan, opened this year’s National Poetry Month April first with a videoconference call to four American community colleges. The event was broadcast live on the Internet. April first is National Community College Poetry Day.