Poetry in Motion, the poems on buses and bus stops, is returning to Portland–and Portlanders get to choose which poems!
This year, in partnership with TriMet and the Poetry Society of America, Literary Arts will be placing poetry on bus stop benches and transit shelters–where the poems will be seen not only by TriMet users, but by all Portlanders on a daily basis–helping to create a national readership for both emerging and established poets.
Portland is one of only twenty cities in the country with this program. Launched in 1992 by the Poetry Society of America and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Poetry in Motion is today one of the most popular public literary programs in American history.
Portlanders can cast their vote on which poems they want displayed across the metropolitan area by clicking here. The eligible poems include work by Aracelis Girmay, Tracy K. Smith, Mary Ruefle, Seamus Heaney, Jim Moore, Jeffrey Yang, Kay Ryan, and Izumi Shikibu. Public voting will be open until May 16, 2014.
Even if you don’t vote, the voting link is a great way to sample some fresh poems.