Poetry in Motion is an arts program collaborative which displays poems by prominent authors in advertising space on the buses and subways. The program was launched by New York's

Metropolitan Transportation Authority The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is a public benefit corporation responsible for public transportation in the New York City metropolitan area of the U.S. state of New York. The MTA is the largest public transit authority in t ...

and the

Poetry Society of America The Poetry Society of America is a literary organization founded in 1910 by poets, editors, and artists. It is the oldest poetry organization in the United States. Past members of the society have included such renowned poets as Witter Bynner, Ro ...

History

Poetry in Motion was developed in 1992 by the

and the

and aimed to make the use of

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

public transportation Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typical ...

more enjoyable and enlightening. The program was originally based on the

British Council The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language (and the Welsh la ...

program

Poems on the Underground Poems on the Underground (POTU) is a project, started in 1986, to bring poetry to a wider audience by displaying various poems on the London Underground rapid transit network and participating websites. Poems on the Underground displays poems by ...

, and was launched to reach the nearly 7 million daily commuters of New York City. The first set of poems was "Crossing Brooklyn Ferry" by

Walt Whitman Walter Whitman (; May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892) was an American poet, essayist and journalist. A humanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. Whitman is among ...

, "Hope is the Thing with Feathers" by

Emily Dickinson Emily Elizabeth Dickinson (December 10, 1830 – May 15, 1886) was an American poet. Little-known during her life, she has since been regarded as one of the most important figures in American poetry. Dickinson was born in Amherst, Massac ...

, "When You Are Old" by

William Butler Yeats William Butler Yeats (13 June 186528 January 1939) was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer and one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was a driving force behind the Irish Literary Revival and became a pillar of the Irish liter ...

, and "Let There Be New Flowering" by

Lucille Clifton Lucille Clifton (June 27, 1936 – February 13, 2010) was an American poet, writer, and educator from Buffalo, New York. From 1979 to 1985 she was Poet Laureate of Maryland. Clifton was a finalist twice for the Pulitzer Prize for poetry. L ...

. Since then, poems by more than 100 different authors have been featured.

Expansion

Originally designed for New York's MTA system, Poetry in Motion expanded to cities including: *1996 -

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

and

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...

*1997 -

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

and

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populou ...

*1998 -

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,71 ...

, and

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

*1999 -

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

*2000 -

Pioneer Valley The Pioneer Valley is the colloquial and promotional name for the portion of the Connecticut River Valley that is in Massachusetts in the United States. It is generally taken to comprise the three counties of Hampden, Hampshire, and Frankl ...

, Austin,

Fort Collins A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facer ...

Houston Houston (; ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in Texas, the Southern United States#Major cities, most populous city in the Southern United States, the List of United States cities by population, fourth-most pop ...

, and Ohio State University's public transportation. Poetry in Motion also appeared in Milwaukee, New Orleans, Salt Lake City, St. Louis, as well as Boise, Idaho; Denver, Colorado; Fresno, California; Hartford, Connecticut; Jacksonville, Florida; and Little Rock, Arkansas. At peak, Poetry in Motion reached 13 million commuters daily in 14 American cities. The program was launched statewide in Rhode Island in 2017.

Poetry in Motion awards

Poetry in Motion has received numerous awards for design and utility, including: *The New York Press Club’s "Heart of New York Award" – 1994 *The Municipal Art Society’s Certificate of Merit – 1994 (Awarded jointly to Poetry in Motion and Arts for Transit) *A proclamation from the Council of the City of New York that honored Poetry in Motion for its "invaluable contribution to the people of New York City" – 2000

Poetry in Motion publications

''Poetry In Motion: 100 Poems from the Buses and Subways'' was published by W.W. Norton in 1996 and was selected as a Best Book for Young Adults by the Young Adult Library Services Association and the American Library Association. ''Poetry In Motion From Coast to Coast'' was published by W.W. Norton in 2002 and includes 120 selections from buses and subways across the country. The book was noted praiseworthy "for its populist approach to poetry." ''The Best of Poetry in Motion: Celebrating 25 Years on Subways and Buses'' by Alice Quinn with a foreword by Billy Collins was published by W. W. Norton & Company in 2017.

Poetry in Motion today

In the Spring of 2009, Poetry in Motion was temporarily suspended in New York. The

will relaunch the NYC branch in the summer of 2010, returning poems to the city bus system. Today the program is active in Dallas, Denver, St. Louis, and Los Angeles, as well as several Canadian cities.

References

{{reflist, 2

External links

Poems Previously Appearing in Poetry in MotionPoetry Society PageReasons to Love New York - 21. Because We Fight Over Poetry
American poetry