Braving a torrential storm, more than 1,200 people packed New York City's Town Hall for the official launch of the Favorite Poem Project.

The April 1 event featured readings by well-known artists, television and radio personalities and civic, religious and community leaders, as well as schoolchildren and an adult literacy student.

The event was hosted by The Academy of the American Poets and sponsored by the New York Times advertising department.

	My Last Duchess by Robert Browning Read by Mike Wallace SureStream audio		If Rudyard Kipling Read by Geraldine Ferraro SureStream audio
	Dancer and Choreographer Bill T. Jones renders his "favorite poem" in dance. 28.8k video 56k video		Little Brown Baby Paul Lawrence Dunbar Read by Dr. Calvin O. Butts, III SureStream audio