Bus Lines Reading

media release: The Madison poet laureate invites you to celebrate the poets on November 9 at 6:30pm.

The city of Madison is excited to announce the selected poets for the 2023 Bus Lines poetry project. Poems by six poets were selected, including:

• “Land and People” by Rudy Bankston
• “To my children in our garden” by Daniela Chandler
• “Madison Metro” by Harmony, 3rd grader at Lincoln Elementary
• “Trees in the Wind” by Kael, 3rd grader at Lincoln Elementary
• “Remember” by Nola Pastor
• “Solid Gold” by Mary Louise Peters

The selected poems can be seen in the attached images or PDF. 61 poets applied, submitting 130 short poems that celebrated the environment, including composting, gardening, upcycling and recycling, the importance of mass transit, and more. Bus Lines is made possible by a partnership between the Madison poet laureate and Metro Transit, with support from the Madison Arts Commission.

Selected poems will be placed on Madison buses beginning in late November, and the poets will be honored at a celebratory reading of their work at Pinney Library, Thursday, November 9, at 6:30PM.

Madison poet laureate Angela Trudell Vasquez shared, “during my entire term as the Madison Poet Laureate, we were unable to put the poems on the buses during the pandemic. I am so happy that in my fourth and final year as poet laureate the poems are back on the buses. The entire city will now be able to see the rich creativity and spirit of their fellow Madisonians. Poetry brings us closer together, just like public transportation.”

About Poetry in Madison

The city of Madison poet laureate position was created in 1977 by then Mayor Paul Soglin. The poet laureate is an honorary position that guides and nurtures the development of the poetry community in Madison thereby enriching our culture. The poet laureate leads the Poetry in Common Council series, the Bus Lines project, and mentors the city of Madison youth poet laureate. The Bus Lines program was started in 2009 by then poet laureate Fabu. This program creates an opportunity for Madison residents to display their poems on Metro Transit buses and brings poetry before city residents in a creative way.