The Best of Poetry in Motion: Celebrating Twenty-Five Years on Subways and Buses

by Alice Quinn (Editor), Billy Collins (Foreword)

It would have pleased Walt Whitman, that poet of urban motion, to envision
his words coursing by electrified rail through a diverse, global city of 8 million souls.
Since 1992, with the presentation of an excerpt from Walt Whitman’s “Crossing Brooklyn Ferry,” the Poetry in Motion program—co-sponsored by MTA Arts Design and the Poetry Society of America—has brought more than 200 poems, in whole or in part, before the eyes of millions of subway and bus riders, offering a moment of timelessness in the busy day. The poems are by an eclectic mix of writers, from Sappho and Sylvia Plath to W. H. Auden, Rita Dove, Seamus Heaney, Nikki Giovanni, Patrick Phillips, and Aracelis Girmay. Each of the 100 poems gathered here has, in sixteen lines or less, the power to enliven the quotidian, provide nourishment for the soul, and enchant even the youngest among us.

Genres: Poetry, New York

192 pages, Hardcover

Published September 26, 2017

About the author

Alice Quinn, the executive director of the Poetry Society of America for eighteen years, was also the poetry editor at The New Yorker from 1987 to 2007 and an editor at Alfred A. Knopf for more than ten years prior to that. She teaches at Columbia University’s School of the Arts and is the editor of a book of Elizabeth Bishop’s writings, Edgar Allan Poe & The Juke-Box: Uncollected Poems, Drafts, and Fragments, as well as a forthcoming book of Bishop’s journals. She lives in New York City and Millerton, New York.

Reviews

[Danielle Palmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. Bite sized pieces of poetry that would speak to a wide audience. Highly recommend

[Kerfe · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I step into a subway car and--instead of the usual ads for injury lawyers, questionable medical procedures, trade schools, "if you see something, say something" or mysterious graphics for websites whose reason for being is hard to ascertain--I see "Poetry in Motion"--well, that's a good day.

The marriage of image and words never ceases to delight. From Yeats to Maya Angelou, Sappho to Tracy K Smith, William Carlos Williams to William Blake, Emily Dickinson to Issa--the poems and illustrations always generate emotions, associations, memories, daydreams.

That I had so many post-its in this book is a tribute to the quality of this program. If you don't have your own subway commute for a daily fix, just peruse its pages. It's worth the price of admission.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Had fun inviting my grandkids to read it with me.

[Leonard · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like to see poetry displayed in public transportation. The poems in here were longer than I expected. The ones I've seen on the buses of my home town of Boise were shorter, but there should be a mixture of short poems like haiku and longer ones also. I think it should be a permanent part of every bus, trolley, ski lift gondola, passenger train car, etc. including school buses, with new ones replacing the previous ones every month or two. It's a lot like thick chocolate fudge on vanilla ice cream. It enriched everything and can make your day. It's as good as having live professional entertainment on public transportation.

[vicki honeyman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Of the thousands of reasons I love NYC, riding the subway is at the top of my list. This book . . . and project . . . is the reason why. Imagine you are standing or seated in a crowded dank subway, trying to not read the awful ads above the seats, making sure to avert your gaze from other riders, when your wandering eyes alight on a framed poem attached to the subway car wall. Oh what a treat! I search for this brilliant art installation every time I ride the subway, especially for my most favorite, that I've sat next to on many subway rides. It never fails to remind me how rich life can be. Turn to pages 98/99 for former poet laureate Tracy K. Smith's poem, "The Good Life." Right?

[Lili Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love seeing poems in the subway!

My favorites: "Awaking in New York," "Speech to the Young," "Please Give This Seat to an Elderly or Disabled Person," "Subway," and "If there is something to desire".

[alisha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent poetry collection!