Poetry in Motion from Coast to Coast: 120 Poems from the Subways and Buses

by Elise Paschen (Introduction), Brett Fletcher Lauer (Editor)

An all-new worthy successor to the immensely popular anthology of display placards in public transportation. Originated in 1992 in New York City, the Poetry in Motion™ program traveled to Chicago and now appears in eleven cities nationwide, from Baltimore to Houston; Portland, Oregon; and Los Angeles. The wonderfully diverse poets represented include Sherman Alexie, William Blake, Billy Collins, Sharon Olds, Langston Hughes, Pablo Neruda, and Joy Harjo, among many others. Read this volume and re-create the feeling of being captured unexpectedly―for a special moment―by the truth or wit of these brief poems. As in the previous edition, the editors spent countless hours selecting out of hundreds of possibilities from the varied voices of poets ranging from the ancients up to the present time. Elise Paschen introduces the collection; William Louis-Dreyfus contributes its preface. Poetry in Motion™ is in these cities: New York; Washington, D.C.; Pioneer Valley, Massachusetts; Portland, Oregon; Chicago; Dallas; Los Angeles; Austin, Texas; Baltimore; Philadelphia; Iowa City; Des Moines.

Genres: Poetry, Anthologies

180 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2002

Reviews

[Stacey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the variety and accessibility of the poetry and the reminder I will that words travel with us both literally and figuratively.

[Julie Henson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m not much of a poetry person, but I do like the concept of Poetry in Motion. I did enjoy some of the poems in this book, but many of them just didn’t interest me that much.

[Nathaniel · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love the concept, but the execution was not to my taste (I only liked a baker's dozen of these 120 poems).

[Niki · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm a huge fan of the Poetry in Motion program. It was always fun to read the little gems of poetry, smooshed there between the PSA announcements about keeping your headphones turned down low and the reminder not to leave your umbrella behind. (These poems were particularly appreciated when I'd forget my book at home.)

Everything included in this anthology is mostly sections from long, famous works or lesser known works by famous poets. I think the anthology would have been better if they'd included the poems written by regular people - particularly children. I saw the poem below on a bus in Denver, and have never forgotten it:

I have these two cats, Pounce and Buster
and they are nice
and black and white.
But they are black at the top,
and they sleep on the stairs at night,
so people step on them.
-Ryan Jones, 13

What a gem, right? Would have been perfect, smooshed there between Gwendolyn Brooks and Robert Frost.

[Melanie Schalles · Rating 2 out of 5]

Was one of those "on a whim" buys and it turned out to be much better than I anticipated, for the most part. Still there were quite a few poems that didn't really strike a chord with me.