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Charlottesville Transit Service puts poetry in motion
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I've been on plenty of buses in my lifetime. Cross-country Greyhounds, touring coaches, and lots of city transport. In San Francisco, I rode the Embarcadero loop for the scenery, and the Chinatown bus for entertainment. I probably rode the equivalent of the earth's circumference back-and-forth on Denver's Colfax Avenue route when I lived in that city. It was always a great time for reading. But on occasion, I might forget my book, or finish the newspaper too quickly, and then I was stuck with only the overhead signage for edification. There's really not much beauty or truth to be gleaned from any prose inspired by the local plumber's toilet snake.
That's all going to change in Charlottesville this summer. The Bus Lines poetry project kicked off this morning in an unlikely but very fitting space - the inside of a city bus.
When Susan Berres moved to Charlottesville in 2008, she joined the local Neighborhood Leadership Institute. Her fond memories of poetry snippets seen on the London Underground during overseas trips led her to suggest a similar public service project to the NLI leadership. The concept met with enthusiastic approval from Charlottesville Transit Service and the city school district, and Bus Lines (Poetry in Motion) was born.
Students from Charlottesville's elementary, middle, and high schools submitted 90 poems, which were whittled down to a select group of 48. The works were then printed on glossy cards that will be slotted in next to the advertisements - four to each city bus.
The project was initiated on July 7, outside of Charlottesville's swanky new Transit Center. Local news media crowded onto a stationary coach, along with parents and friends of the poets. A charmingly nervous Berres spoke first, describing her inspiration for the project, and how it came to fruition. CTS spokesperson Kristen Gleason spoke briefly, as did Charlottesville's Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Rosa Atkins. The school district's Literacy Coordinator, Karen Koory, then stepped to the front of the bus to introduce one of the young poets: a rising fifth grader who read from her nature-inspired work, which was greeted with warm applause.
A second poem was read, but not by its author. The proud father of a high school student, identified only by her first name - Logan - read his daughter's lines, explaining that she is spending this month living with a family in Africa. Logan's verse, as well as her cultural mission, drew appreciative murmers from the small group of listeners that had gathered on the hard plastic seats.
The Bus Lines poetry exhibits will enlighten the daily commute for Cville residents from now until September. CTS plans to repeat the exhibition next summer.
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