As part of its fiftieth anniversary celebration, the University of Alaska Anchorage wants to know: What's your favorite poem? And what does it mean to you? When it comes to mind, where do you find yourself? In the ancient forests of Xanadu, sleeping on the banks of the sacred river Alph? Standing in the Mudville grandstands, cheering yourself hoarse with Casey at the Bat? Hiding from the merciless sun in the shadow of The Waste Land’s broken red rocks?

Nothing reflects our individuality and personality like our taste in poetry. To celebrate these unique perspectives, UAA is inviting all Alaskans to participate in a “Favorite Poem” project inspired by former U.S. Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky.

 Pinsky, a professor at Boston University and poetry editor of the online magazine Slate, will visit UAA for an Oct. 8 lecture and book signing to mark the Grand Opening of the new UAA/APU Consortium Library.

He is perhaps best known for a nationwide initiative inviting Americans to talk about their favorite poems. To celebrate his visit, UAA is organizing a similar project.

 To participate: All you have to do is type (or copy-and-paste) your favorite poem into an e-mail message and send it to Poem by 5 p.m. Oct. 8.

 Submissions must include your name, age and occupation. They must also include the name of the poem, the name of the poet and a brief statement explaining why you chose that particular poem as your favorite. Selected submissions will be posted on UAA’s website beginning Sept. 13.

 In addition, several submitters will be invited to read their favorite poems aloud at an Oct. 21 reading sponsored by UAA’s Department of Creative Writing and Literary Arts, Student Activities and the Alaska Quarterly Review.