Poems on the Underground turns 25

One of the most satisfying moments on a crowded Tube Train is when suddenly you stop thinking of the Aussie controlled haversack banging into you every time its owner moves or the blast of sound from the zombie commuter with the ridiculous headphones unconscious of your presence. Between the strap hangers your eyes alight on a Poem on the Underground cab card and as you read you are transported to a different place where there are fields of daffodils, floating clouds and babbling brooks. You have discovered, been delighted and most possibly gone on your way happier because of one of the most successful Public Art programmes, London’s famous “Poems on the Underground.”



In fact, this is a scheme which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. Poems on the Underground were launched in 1986. The programme was the brainchild of American writer Judith Chernaik, whose aim was to bring poetry to the wide ranging audience of passengers on the Underground. Judith Chernaik, together with poets Cicely Herbert and Gerard Benson, continue to select poems for inclusion in the programme which provides relief and interest to the commuters who make over 3.5 million journeys on the Underground each weekday.

For more on Poems on the Underground see;

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2008/06/poems-on-underground.html

Love or hate poetry, its aim was certainly met, with the ninth edition of the scheme’s eponymous book, Poems on the Underground (published 1999) having sold more than a quarter of a million copies and followed shortly by a tenth edition in 2001 – a definite indicator of Poems on the Underground’s success. The poetry programme’s success was such that since then, public poetry is now shown on public transportation systems around the world, from New York to Shanghai, including Dublin, Paris, Athens, Stuttgart, St. Petersburg, Moscow, San Francisco and Barcelona. A newly compiled volume, Best Poems on the Underground, was released in 2009.

Verses from John Keats, Thomas Hardy and Seamus Heaney are among those to be displayed on Tube trains as part of a project its 25th year. Extracts are printed on cards above the seats on trains, and this year's selections will appear from this month.



Among the works is Lines to a Movement in Mozart's E-flat Symphony, which Hardy wrote after hearing the minuet from the composer's Symphony No 39. The Keats poem featured on London Underground trains will be an excerpt from Endymion, written nearly 200 years ago. And there is a translation of Loving the Rituals, by the 4th Century Greek poet Palladas. The organisers have asked two poets who were included in the first year of the scheme to be part of the latest collection.

Seamus Heaney's work Colmcille the Scribe is reprinted, while Grace Nichols appears again with For the Life of This Planet. Riddle by Gerard Benson, the poet laureate for Bradford, completes the list of six poems.



In addition to Poems on the Underground, the LU hosts Art on the Underground – a scheme launched 11 years ago that has enabled artists to produce original artwork to brighten up the Tube network. You can see the artwork on various billboards that occupy the walkways in stations, as well as covering the long station tunnel paths, and on the pocket paper Tube maps that are issued every month or so. Just like its sister scheme, Art on the Underground also gave rise to a book [Platform for Art, Art on the Underground]. And who could forget the buskers that line the subways? There are around 39 busking pitches across the Tube stations showcasing a variety of music throughout the week.



But are these schemes necessary, or just a waste of LU time and commuters’ money? Judging the public reaction the Underground is right to spend a little on cultural activity such as these. Poems like Out There by McKendrick have the ability to make a big impact on its readers, just as music and artwork can have a profound effect on its consumers. Whilst poems on the London Tube are not necessary, they certainly make a welcome change from the hoards of adverts we are constantly bombarded with. And whilst Terry the tone-deaf trumpeter might not be the next Louis Armstrong, he certainly makes the daily London commute a less boring affair. As a commuter myself I know the Triffids need extra stimulation on their daily trudge!

Though we take it for granted, and frequently curse it to high heaven, the London Underground is a wonder. The Tube network is the oldest and longest underground railway system serving a major city. Its history goes back to 1863, its conception even earlier.

For the full story see;

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2008/01/great-circle-line-journey.html