Poems on the Underground
Encyclopedia
Poems on the Underground is a project to bring poetry
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...

 to a wider audience by displaying various poems or stanzas on advertising boards across the London Underground
London Underground
The London Underground is a rapid transit system serving a large part of Greater London and some parts of Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex in England...

 rapid transit
Rapid transit
A rapid transit, underground, subway, elevated railway, metro or metropolitan railway system is an electric passenger railway in an urban area with a high capacity and frequency, and grade separation from other traffic. Rapid transit systems are typically located either in underground tunnels or on...

 network.

History

Launched in 1986, the Poems on the Underground programme was the idea of American writer Judith Chernaik whose aim was to bring poetry to a wider audience. Together with poets Gerard Benson and Cicely Herbert, Chernaik selects poems for inclusion in the programme, and London Underground donates space on its fleet of trains.

Sponsors for Poems on the Underground, apart from London Underground itself which assists with artwork and production, include the Arts Council of England, the British Council
British Council
The British Council is a United Kingdom-based organisation specialising in international educational and cultural opportunities. It is registered as a charity both in England and Wales, and in Scotland...

, London Arts and the Poetry Society
Poetry Society
The Poetry Society is a membership organisation, open to all, whose stated aim is "to promote the study, use and enjoyment of poetry".The Society was founded in London in February 1909 as the Poetry Recital Society, becoming the Poetry Society in 1912...

.
Some themed projects have also been sponsored by the British Tourist Authority and the Commonwealth Institute
Commonwealth Institute
The Commonwealth Institute was an educational charity connected with the Commonwealth of Nations, and the name of a building in West London formerly owned by the Institute...

.

The programme

A series of different poems are displayed at any given time, ranging from classical and historical works by famous names such as Blake
William Blake
William Blake was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his lifetime, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of both the poetry and visual arts of the Romantic Age...

, Shakespeare and Shelley
Percy Bysshe Shelley
Percy Bysshe Shelley was one of the major English Romantic poets and is critically regarded as among the finest lyric poets in the English language. Shelley was famous for his association with John Keats and Lord Byron...

, to contemporary and emerging poets from around the world. The displayed works are generally changed three times a year and have proved extremely popular with the travelling public.

London Transport began publishing anthologies
Anthology
An anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler. It may be a collection of poems, short stories, plays, songs, or excerpts...

of Poems on the Underground and these have currently reached their tenth edition.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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