The beginnings of Poems on the UndergroundPoems on the Underground started life in 1986 as an experiment by three friends, me (the writer Judith Chernaik) and the poets Cicely Herbert and Gerard Benson, all of us keen poetry lovers. We persuaded London Underground to post a few poems on its trains, to the delight of bemused commuters. London Underground has supported the programme ever since, enabling us to offer the best poetry of all times and places to six million daily travellers on London’s Underground system.The British Council has supported the programme from the start, sending our posters to its offices abroad and inspiring similar programmes in cities across the world. Indeed, the British Council has enabled us to ‘exchange’ poems with the public transport systems of Dublin, Paris, New York, Oslo, Helsinki, Warsaw, St Petersburg and Beijing. The idea of offering poetry on public transit has proved immensely popular, a tribute to the universal appeal of poetry and its power to reach the heart.After five years on the tube, we returned the poems to the printed page as 100 Poems on the Underground, which quickly became a best-seller. Our latest collection, Poems on the Underground: A New Edition, is now a Penguin Classic. Recently we have added free leaflets of poems on special themes, available at station platforms, public libraries and museums.Poems on the Underground during covid-19During the current crisis we’ve been paused on London’s Underground cars, with... Continue reading at 'British Council global'
[ British Council global | 2020-05-04 14:39:46 UTC ]
Written By: Benedicte Page Publication Date: Wed, 13/04/2011 - 11:06 Library campaigner Tim Coates called on publishers to get involved in the fight to save public libraries, warning that the 500 currently threatened with closure will be followed by many more without action to protect the... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Beginning in March, ebooks from HarperCollins may be lent by public libraries only 26 times before the license expires. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2011-02-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this