EAST LANSING, Mich. – “Poetry in Motion,” a nationwide public arts program designed by the Poetry Society of America, is coming to Michigan State University and the greater Lansing area in February.
The program places poetry in the transit systems of cities throughout the country and has been featured on the subways, trains and buses of cities like Chicago, Denver and New York. And now it’s coming to the Lansing area courtesy of the RCAH Center for Poetry at Michigan State University and the Capital Area Transportation Authority.
Stephanie Glazier, assistant director for the Residential College in the Arts and Humanities (RCAH) Center for Poetry at MSU curated a selection of poems for the area’s first “Poetry in Motion” program, which launches Feb. 1 aboard select CATA bus routes.
“As a CATA rider myself, I have wanted to coordinate this program in Lansing for a long time,” Glazier said. “I’m thrilled that CATA was eager to be a part of the project. It’s a great example of the kind of collaboration that can happen around the arts: a lot of different kinds of talent came together to make it possible.”
Excerpts of the selected poems were designed into placards, many by students from the MSU College of Communication Arts & Sciences in a design class taught by Paula Storrer, assistant professor in advertising. The placards will be on display through May 1 on select CATA routes.
A moving reception will launch the program Jan. 26, beginning at 10 a.m. at Snyder-Phillips Hall on the campus of MSU. Invited participants will board a “Poetry in Motion” CATA bus, stopping at key locations including Everybody Reads, the Michigan Humanities Council, Downtown Lansing Library and the Women’s Center of Greater Lansing. The moving reception will feature poetry readings at various stops along the route and a chance to view the poetry placards displayed on buses.
“We are honored to be part of a program that helps to raise awareness about the value of arts and culture in the communities we serve,” said Sandy Draggoo, CATA CEO/Executive Director. “In addition, we’re sure that the poems and designs will enhance the overall CATA experience and offer our riders a different perspective and insight.”
The Poetry Society of America garnered permissions to print the poems in the collection, which represent a large cross-section of diversity in voices, geography and styles of poetry. Funding for this project came from the Michigan Humanities Council.
For more information on the national “Poetry in Motion” program visit http://www.poetrysociety.org/psa/poetry/poetry_in_motion/.