Poetry in Motion® Project Brings Poetry to FAX Buses

An effort by a California State University, Fresno professor and two graduate students to expose Fresnans to poetry will bring the Poetry in Motion® project to FAX buses starting Saturday, May 25.

Posters featuring the work of six poets with national and international reputations - including three former or current Fresnans - will be installed in the buses as part of the project sponsored by the Poetry Society of America.

"We are excited that Fresno is one of 14 cities nationwide that is participating in Poetry in Motion®," said Dr. Connie Hales, an English professor and co-coordinator of the Master of Fine Arts program in Creative Writing at Fresno State.

"This is a wonderful opportunity to add a little culture to the daily commute for FAX riders, and to bring great poetry to the community."
Each bus will have two different poetry posters in it and the posters will be rotated quarterly, on an on-going basis.

Poetry in Motion® is a program that was developed by the Poetry Society of America and the MTA New York City Transit in 1992 to make bus and subway riding a more pleasurable and enlightening experience. Inspired by a similar program in the London Underground, the program places poem-placards in the spaces usually reserved for advertisements in subway cars and buses. Since its founding 10 years ago, the program has expanded across the country, reaching 13 million people daily.

Featured in the FAX buses will be works of three poets with Fresno State connections: Philip Levine ("You Can Have It"), Peter Everwine ("Night") and Gary Soto ("The Starlings"). Levine, a Pulitzer-Prize winner, and Everwine, are Emeriti professors of English at Fresno State; Soto is a native of Fresno and an alumnus of the university.

Also featured will be "Hermandad/ Brotherhood," a bilingual poem by Octavio Paz, "Grace" by Jeffery McDaniel and "Delta" by Adrienne Rich.

Hales and Master of Fine Arts students Stephen Barile and Elliott McDow began their efforts last October. After receiving help from City Councilman Tom Boyajian and the approval of FAX directors, the Fresno State trio solicited sponsorships and professional volunteers to get the posters made.

Local graphic designer Chris DuBurg, who teaches part-time at Fresno State, coordinated the design project, designed two of the posters and arranged for assistance on the others from graphic designers Chris DuBurg, Enrico Limcaco, Rachel Acton, Stephanie Stanislaw and Stephanie Barkema.

Funds for printing the posters were provided by the College of Arts and Humanities at Fresno State and Barnes and Noble Bookstore. FAX is donating the space in the buses and the labor to install the posters.

To view the posters, see www.FresnoStateNews.com.

For more information about Poetry in Motion® see the Poetry Society of America Web site, www.poetrysociety.org/motion/about-pim.html.

Public Affairs contact: Shirley Melikian Armbruster (559) 278-2795