Poetry in Motion
Begun as a public art project in 2019, Poetry in Motion became an annual program, running until 2023, its fifth and final year. At the core of Poetry in Motion is the installation of short poems on transit ads in the fall of each year.
Poetry in Motion has provided a unique opportunity for transit passengers to look up from their screens; to recognize how they move among their fellow residents and visitors; and to think about how a place becomes exceptional, why local history should be honoured, and what aspirations they have for their region.
Because they are so crucial to our lives, it is easy to overlook how unique transit buses are as public spaces: they are intimate microcosms of their city, accidental gatherings of diverse residents, and paradoxical spaces that both define and transcend the cartographic and geographic spaces between communities. For these reasons, the daily bus ride is a singular opportunity to surprise, inspire, and provoke reflection through encounters with public poetry.
Each year of the program, 10 poems by Nova Scotia residents have been installed in ad spaces aboard Halifax Transit buses. Eligible poems were 10 lines or fewer, including stanza breaks; both unpublished and previously published entries were accepted. There was no entry fee, and authors of the selected poems each received a $250 honorarium.
In 2021 and 2022, Poetry in Motion partnered with Meals on Wheels programs in Halifax, Dartmouth, and Sackville/Bedford to deliver poems over 10 weeks to Meals on Wheels recipients.
In 2023, the final year of Poetry in Motion, poems from all five years of the program will be published in a bound anthology, printed by Gaspereau Press and available for purchase in the fall of 2023.
The 2023 submission theme, “joy,” was open to broad interpretation—including happiness, delight, glee, festivity, or ecstasy; the objects, causes, or sources of joy; the joystick, the joyride, the killjoy, schadenfreude, or other complications of joy; and other meanings, qualities, and impacts of joy.
Selected poets: to be announced in late August.
Jury: Marilyn Smulders (WFNS Executive Director), Andy Verboom (WFNS Program Manager), and Nayani Jensen.
The 10 chosen poems will appear inside Metro Transit buses from October, 2023, into spring of 2024. They will also be printed (along with the 40 poems selected from the previous four years of Poetry in Motion) in a retrospective anthology, which will be printed by Gaspereau Press and available for purchase through our online shop. Poem ads will be designed and illustrated by Sarah MacDonald.
The 2022 submission theme, “water,” was open to broad interpretation—including fresh or salt water, water protection, water as livelihood or life, the element or natural force of water, fluidity or adaptability, erosion or sedimentation, and other meanings, qualities, and impacts of water.
Selected poets: Rose Adams, Tammy Armstrong, Douglas Burnet Smith, Dian Day, Michael Goodfellow, Nayani Jensen, Annick MacAskill, Briony Merritt, Shannon Webb-Campbell, and Margo Wheaton.
Jury: Andy Verboom (WFNS Program Manager), Jaime Forsythe, and Christina McRae.
The 10 chosen poems appeared inside Metro Transit buses from October, 2022, into spring of 2023. They were also printed on postcards, which were delivered to Meals on Wheels clients in the Halifax area—one poem per week over 10 weeks—and are available for purchase through our online shop. Poem ads and postcards were designed and illustrated by Sarah MacDonald.
Click on a poem below to view a larger version.
The 2021 submission theme, “connection,” was open to broad interpretation—including belonging, nearness or distance, friendship or kinship, correspondence or coincidence, physical or virtual contact, literal or metaphorical passageways, ecological or social responsibility, or other kinds of connectivity.
Selected poets: Deborah Banks, Brian Bartlett, Joanne Bealy, Susan Drain, Anna Elmira, Carole Glasser Langille, Christina McRae, Robin Metcalfe, Martha Mutale, and Leanne Schneider.
Jury: Marilyn Smulders (WFNS Executive Director), Tiffany Morris, and Evelyn C. White.
The 2021 Poetry in Motion Celebration was held virtually on November 16, 2021, and featured readings by all ten selected poets.
The 10 chosen poems appeared inside Metro Transit buses from October, 2021, into spring of 2022. They were also printed on postcards and delivered to 450 Meals on Wheels clients in Halifax, Dartmouth, Sackville, and Bedford—one poem per week over 10 weeks. Poem ads and postcards were designed and illustrated by Sarah MacDonald.
Click on a poem below to view a larger version.
The 2020 submission theme, “journeys,” was open to broad interpretation—including journeys outward, journeys back home, the passage of time, and other forms of travel, transportation, & exploration.
Selected poets: Sue Goyette, Asha Jeffers, Nanci Lee, Vanessa Lent, Tiffany Morris, Nolan Natasha, Lorri Neilsen Glenn, Anna Quon, Samantha Sternberg, and Evelyn C. White.
Jury: Karen Dahl (of Halifax Public Libraries), Jaime Forsythe, and Sylvia D. Hamilton.
In 2020, with pandemic conditions prohibiting the annual Poetry in Motion Celebration, we shared the work of participating poets in video form. View the full reading, or jump to a specific poem by clicking any video below.
In October, 2020, posters were installed on Halifax Transit buses in the HRM and Transit Cape Breton buses in Sydney. Posters were designed and illustrated by Sarah MacDonald.
Click on a poem below to view a larger version.
The 2019 submission theme, “home,” was open to broad interpretation—including ideas of transport, transit, accessibility, the East Coast, city living, coming home, and leaving home.
Selected poets: Afua Cooper, Jaime Forsythe, Sue Goyette, Shauntay Grant, Sylvia D. Hamilton, Shalan Joudry, Cory Lavender, Matt Robinson, Eleonore Schönmaier, and Anne Simpson.
Jury: Karen Dahl (of Halifax Public Libraries), Andre Fenton, Amanda Peters, and Alison Smith.
The 2019 Poetry in Motion Celebration, held at Halifax Central Library on November 4, 2019, and hosted by Alison Smith, winner of the 2019 J.M. Abraham Atlantic Poetry Award. The event featured readings by Afua Cooper, Sylvia D. Hamilton, Cory Lavender, and Matt Robinson.
In October, 2019, posters were installed on Halifax Transit buses in the HRM. Posters were illustrated by Jack Wong.
Click on a poem below to view a larger version.
Investors and Partners
The Writers’ Federation of Nova Scotia is grateful to Arts Nova Scotia for their investment in Poetry in Motion and to Halifax Public Libraries and the Halifax Regional Municipality for their annual partnership is realizing this program.
