Pattison Outdoor Launches Poetry in Transit in Buses Across Canada

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - June 26, 2013) -

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Pattison Outdoor Advertising, in collaboration with the League of Canadian Poets launches a year-long program, Poetry in Transit on July 1, 2013, introducing poems by 15 award-winning and internationally renowned Canadian writers in 13 cities across the country.

Celebrating the work of Canadian poets and offering an engaging diversion for millions of commuters, Pattison Outdoor's new initiative Poetry in Transit revitalises and expands on the popular public transit poetry programmes that ran in various Canadian cities starting in 1996, increasing the readership for emerging and established poets. Toronto's version, entitled 'Poetry on the Way' ran from 1998 to 2011.

Pattison Outdoor is placing one poem per bus in the overhead spaces between ads, creating moving venues for verse and providing commuters the opportunity to encounter some of the best poetry Canada has to offer. This broad-reaching literary initiative will be on all buses in Halifax, Moncton, Saint John, Durham, Oakville, Ottawa, Toronto, Thunder Bay, Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton, Lethbridge, and Medicine Hat throughout the coming year.

"Pattison Outdoor is pleased to partner with the Canadian League of Poets to present Poetry in Transit across Canada. I hope sharing these verses by great Canadian poets will engage readers and serve as an inspiration to commuters," said Randy Otto, President of Pattison Outdoor Advertising.

"We at the League of Canadian Poets are delighted to be involved in the Poetry in Transit project. It is part of our vision to see poetry displayed in places where it may find a new audience. What better place than the buses that so many of us use every day? We are grateful to the Canada Council for the Arts and Pattison Outdoor for being our partners in this wonderful endeavour," said M. E. Csamer, President, League of Canadian Poets.

The poetry selections were chosen by a jury made up of members from the League of Canadian Poets, and include verses by the following:

George Amabile "Horizon" The Presence of Fire (McClelland & Stewart, 1982) b. 1936 Jersey City, NJ, USA - residence Winnipeg, MB

Bill Bissett "IT USD 2 B" scars on th seehors (Talonbooks, 1999) b. 1939 Halifax, NS - residence Toronto and Vancouver

Dionne Brand "I Have Been Losing Roads, I v" Land To Light On (McClelland & Stewart, 1997) b.1953 Trinidad - residence Toronto, ON

Elizabeth Brewster "Daphne" Jacob's Dream (Oberon Press, 2002) 1922 Chipman, NB - 2012 Saskatoon, SK

George Elliott Clarke "Translated from the Spanish" Wylah Falls (Gaspereau Press, 2010) b. 1960 Three Mile Plains, NS - residence Toronto, ON

Lorna Crozier "In Moonlight" The Garden Going On Without Us (McClelland & Stewart, 1985) b. 1948 Swift Current, SK - residence Victoria, BC

Marilyn Dumont "Hastings" green girl dreams Mountains (Oolichan, 2001) b. 1955 Olds, AB - residence Edmonton, AB

George Johnston "Us Together" Endeared by Dark (The Porcupine's Quill, 1990) 1913 Hamilton, ON - 2004 Hinchinbrook, QC

Robert Kroetsch "Playing Cards with My Sisters" Too Bad: Sketches Toward a Self-Portrait (University of Alberta Press, 2010) 1927 Heisler, AB - 2011 Edmonton, AB

M. Travis Lane "The Cove" The All-Nighter's Radio (Guernica Editions, 2010) b. 1934 San Antonio, TX, USA - residence Fredericton, NB

P. K. Page "This Heavy Craft" The Hidden Room: Collected Poems, Volume Two (The Porcupine's Quill, 1997) 1916 Swanage, Dorset, UK - 2010, Victoria, BC

Patrick M. Pilarski "Pelicans" huge blue: western canadian travel sketches (Leaf Press, 2009) residence, Edmonton, AB

Joseph Sherman "The Rim" American Standard and Other Poems (Oberon Press, 2001) 1945 Bridgewater, NS, - 2006 Charlottetown, PEI

Glen Sorestad "Aide Memoir" Leaving Holds Me Here: Selected Poems (Thistledown Press, 2001) b. 1937 Vancouver, BC, residence Saskatoon, SK

Anna Yin "Still Life" Wings Toward Sunlight (Mosaic Press, 2011) b. China - residence Mississauga, ON

Poetry in Transit is a new program initiated by Pattison Outdoor, in partnership with the League of Canadian Poets. The program has received financial support from the Canada Council for the Arts.

Poetry in Transit is part of Art in Transit, Pattison Onestop's year-long arts and culture programme, presenting thought-provoking projects that enhance our shared environment and transport city-dwellers, if only momentarily, out of our daily routines. For more information on Poetry in Transit, visit the Art in Transit website. www.artintransit.ca

About The League of Canadian Poets - www.poets.ca

The League of Canadian Poets is the professional organization for established and emerging Canadian poets. Founded in 1966, the league nurtures the advancement of poetry in Canada, and the promotion of the interests of poets. The League serves the poetry community and promotes a high level of professional achievement through events, networking, projects, publications, mentoring and awards. It administers programs and funds for governments and private donors and encourages an appreciative readership and audience for poetry through educational partnerships and presentations to diverse groups.

About Pattison Onestop - www.pattisononestop.com

Pattison Outdoor Advertising is Canada's largest Out-of-Home advertising company, serving over 100 markets coast-to-coast. Pattison Onestop, a division of Pattison Outdoor, is a world leader in the development and operation of Digital Out-of-Home Media (DOOH) for mass transit, mall, retail, hospitality, residential, office, and outdoor environments. Art in Transit represents Pattison Onestop's ongoing arts and culture programme. www.artintransit.ca.

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