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

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

Book Description

Publication Date: October 2002

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.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Seen on the racks above the other riders' heads for the last 10 years, the excerpts and full short poems of the Poetry Society of America's Poetry in Motion program inject verse into the lives of 13 million public transportation riders (and L.A. drivers) a day. Edited by the PSA's Elisa Paschen and Brett Fletcher Lauer, Poetry in Motion from Coast to Coast complements Poetry in Motion, which published the first 100 poems from the New York program. It includes 120 poems that appeared in 12 cities by poets living and dead, with some poems as short and incisive as N. Scott Momaday's "The Gift": "Older, more generous,/ We give each other hope./ The gift is ominous:/Enough praise, enough rope."
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Brett Fletcher Lauer, director of the Poetry Society of America Poetry in Motion™ program, lives in New York City.

Elise Paschen, executive director of the Poetry Society of America (1988-2001) and co-founder of Poetry in Motion™, lives in Chicago.

Product Details

• Paperback: 180 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company; 1 edition (October 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393323765
• ISBN-13: 978-0393323764
• Product Dimensions: 5.3 x 8 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,369,666 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars In a station of the metro..., February 24, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Poetry in Motion from Coast to Coast: 120 Poems from the Subways and Buses (Paperback)

This little anthology is such a treat to have on my bookshelf! It's has all the best poems from the wonderful Poetry In Motion program. I always look forward to finding these poems on my commute, and now I can take them home with me. It's a beautiful book, I'd recommend it to anyone, subway rider or not!