A collective hush filled Heritage Hall, punctuated only by scattered remarks of enlightenment, in response to the words of Robert Pinsky, poet laureate of the United States.

But Pinsky wasn't reading a poem.

"Emily Dickinson's medium," he said, "is your breath."

At the Department of English's second annual Emily Dickinson Lecture in American Poetry Wednesday night, Pinsky spoke about "The Favorite Poems Project," an audio-visual compilation of Americans reading their favorite poems, emphasizing that the poetry is a bodily art. And that body can belong to anyone reading a poem.

The project grew out of the increasing popularity of poetry in the U.S., Pinsky said. He said he suspects Americans have an artistic "craving for something that is on an individual scale." Pinsky spoke of poetry as an art form that many people enjoy on a personal level. "Art is not located in performance or show biz," he said, " it's located in the individual."

When Pinsky began the Favorite Poems Project in 1997, he had no idea it would reach the scope it has achieved today. The project began as Pinsky's call for American's favorite poems. He said he asked that people send the title of a poem they loved, the author, and a few sentences about why they love the poem. The only requirement was that those who wanted to participate not be poets or professional critics, as Pinsky said he wanted to represent life outside of the poetry world.

He received 18,000 letters and e-mails.

"Within a budget of about $30!" he said jokingly, Pinsky suddenly had a major project on his hands. He began setting up poetry readings around the country and so far, 50 videos have been shot from the readings, with the goal to represent the entire country.

Pinsky said The National Endowment of the Arts is helping to fund the Favorite Poems Project, and has named it an official millennium project. Pinsky said he hopes the finished product will be a picture of what this country was like in the year 2000 for all Americans, so the project presents a broad range of ethnicities, ages, professions, and of course, poems.

When a group of people share their favorite poems, Pinsky said, something special happens in the audience. In what he described as almost a "tribal feel," the audience is made to feel more like one unit in response to the person reading the poem. It's as if the reader, with his or her personal attachment to the poem, is saying, 'I have a treasure. I would like to show you my treasure,'" Pinsky said.

On an even larger scale, Pinsky said he'd like to think the project might benefit the nation, allowing a greater sense of Americans existing as "a people." In the encouragement and camaraderie Pinsky has observed among people participating at the readings, he said they are "good for communities in ways I had not expected."

The poet laureate, whose term ends on Oct. 12, challenged Penn State to organize such a reading.

Pinsky's vision has also been captured in book form. Americans' Favorite Poems is an anthology of the project, made up of both the poems themselves, as well as the letters and emails people wrote about the poems.

James Brasfield, senior lecturer in English, said Penn State was very fortunate to have Pinsky visit. "Poetry is something beyond just a small academic circle," Brasfield said. Introducing the art form into the lives of students "is very healthy," he said.

Removing poetry from the realm of academia is an important part of Pinsky's project. Julia Kasdorf, associate professor of English and a poet herself, described Pinsky as "so passionate about poetry, its intoxicating and catching." She said Penn State is especially lucky to have Pinsky speak because of the English departments current efforts to extend poetry out into the Penn State community.

A steady rumble of conversation followed Pinsky's lecture, and a line of people stretched all the way through Heritage Hall, books tucked under arms, for Pinsky to sign.

Kate Farrington (junior-psychology) said she really appreciated Pinsky's perspective on poetry. "I love poetry but I don't consider myself a poet," she said, "he makes it accessible." Meg Freund (junior-psychology and Spanish) echoed this admiration. She said she loved the idea of the Favorite Poems Project because it "makes poetry less exclusive, it belongs to everyone."