Poetry in Motion: For You
Being in the right place at the right time tomorrow is all you need to have a poem written for you alone.
At the Fulton Center, between 11 am and 6 pm this Thursday, more than 20 poets will gather for Poetry in Motion: The Poet Is In, a special event organized by the MTA Arts & Design and the Poetry Society of America.
Inspired by Lucy, of the Peanuts, famous for setting up a free advice booth, they will write a poem for anyone who steps up and asks.
Among the poets to assemble for this National Poetry Month event are New York State Poet Laureate Marie Howe, Pulitzer Prize-winner Sharon Olds, and Bob Holman, founder of the Bowery Poetry Club.
They will be accompanied by musicians from the MTA’s Music Under New York program, who will take turns making this event a festive gathering. For a full schedule of events, go here and here.
Sightseeing
MTA (2014) © Frank Viva. Commissioned by MTA Arts & Design.
To make this event an artistic as well as a literary feast, MTA Arts & Design is featuring artwork and digital animation by Frank Viva on the big screens at Fulton Center. His Sightseeing MTA (above) is one of three commissioned works of art currently on display in subway cars and buses throughout the city. Copies of this subway art card will be available for purchase at the event and at Transit Museum Stores.
“We loved working with artist Frank Viva and the team at Viva & Co. on this commission for the New York subway system,” said Amy Hausmann, Deputy Director of MTA Arts & Design.
“Celebrating the people who make up our city, Viva depicts a wide variety of straphangers riding the subway and buses while local landmarks, historic buildings and snippets of nature roll by outside, reminding us of all the incredible and inspirational places that mass transit can take you," she continued. "We are especially pleased to showcase Frank’s work for the Poetry in Motion event so that we can enjoy all of his characters, brought to life on the big screens at Fulton Center.”
Poetry in Motion: The Poet Is In takes place on Thursday, April 23, from 11 am to 6 pm at Fulton Center, Broadway between John and Fulton Streets. Directions.
In addition, you can meet Frank at signings for his new book, Outstanding in the Rain (Lilttle Brown Books/Young Readers, 2015) on Saturday, at Books of Wonder, in Manhattan, and on Sunday at powerHouse/on 8th, in Park Slope.
Read Frank’s DART Q&A here.
