Acclaimed poets are showcasing their writing on the Tyne and Wear Metro as part of a new project to bring poetry to a wider audience.
Verses penned by seven published poets are being displayed on large posters on the platforms at Longbenton Metro station in North Tyneside for customers to enjoy.
The new scheme is part of our Art on Transport programme - and a great way to introduce poetry to the public.
Newcastle-based award-winning poet Anna Woodford is a regular collaborator with Nexus on poetry projects at Longbenton, and she invited poets working with the Royal Literary Fund to share their poems.
Longbenton Metro station, which has become a hub for poetry in recent years, has displayed poetry from competition winners since early 2023, and the artwork there has been changed to the new poetry for scores of Metro customers to enjoy.
Anna said: “These poems don’t have any particular theme, but I asked the poets for short poems, or extracts from longer ones, with the idea being that they are easy for people to digest while they are passing through the station.
“We love the displays at Longbenton and have seen some fantastic poetry displayed there in the past. It’s a wonderful way to get poetry out to new audiences and hopefully enrich Metro customers’ journeys.”
Customer Services Director at Nexus, Huw Lewis, said: “We’re thrilled to be displaying works from seven published poets on Metro this summer for our customers to enjoy.
“I’m always really impressed with the standard of poetry we receive for these displays, there’s always something which makes you stop and think, and these short poems are ideal for those travelling through the station.
“Metro has a long history of displaying art on the network. Placing art and poetry in public places like train stations, where people don’t expect to see it, is a great way of introducing it to the public.”
For the last two years Nexus has supported National Poetry Day in October with an open competition, where poems are submitted under a certain theme. The winners are then displayed in the station for approximately six months. Previous themes were ‘Winter’ and ‘Home’
Previous poetry displays and competitions can be found at www.nexus.org.uk/poetry