5 May 2006

Chief Minister to take poetry to the buses

| johnboy
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Bus users report they’re not seeing as much advertising on buses as they used to. Particularly the green buses seem to be completely devoid of advertising.

Perhaps to fill this gap the Chief Minister has published a media release announcing the empty space will soon be filled with poetry.

Chief Minister and Minister for the Arts Jon Stanhope said he hoped the initiative would help introduce many Canberrans to the pleasure and accessibility of poetry, and re-ignite the interest of others who may not have read much poetry since their schooldays. Commuters who wanted to read more of Ms Lawson’s work would be directed by the posters to the ArtsACT website, where her poem Blue Poles, a winner in the 2005 ACT Poetry Prize, could be found.

Mr Stanhope said the initiative was part of the ACT Government’s push to take the arts to Canberrans where they lived, worked and played.

Perhaps even more exciting, for some, he goes on.

Mr Stanhope announced that the Poetry in ACTION would return – next time as a sonnet competition open to all Canberrans, with the winning sonnet displayed on buses.

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LadyoftheLake4:13 pm 06 May 06

I love this idea… poetry in motion! but… I do agree, selection is everything. What / Who should go up?
and what, certainly, should not?

“As I was walking up the stair. I saw a man who wasn’t there. I saw that man again today. Oh, how I wish he would go away”

barking toad3:46 pm 05 May 06

suggestion for last line evil one :

“pandering to the arty farty”

Press Release – A Poem:

Paper, paper sent through fax
Barely containing any facts.
More propaganda from Sonic’s party,
To drive the Media bloody balmy!

In the dim dark days of my youth it was famous australian poets like CJ Denis and Banjo Paterson.

I think poetry recitals on the morning commute could lead to extreme violence.

Maybe tape the incidents and syndicate the show internationally to close the budget deficit?

I seem to remember this poetry in buses business from a few years back — they’d had some competition and the winners got their poems displayed in the buses. Except there wasn’t very may poems (I think maybe four) so the regular bus passenger got bored quickly.

How bout employing local fledgling poet laureates to ‘hop on and hop off’ the buses reciting some of their works…

How about a Haiku?

Sonic pulls out his chequebook
Magical busway
Trees growing in a glass box

I hope this one makes it…

Young Carer Trip to Canberra – July 05
There once was a bus driver called Ray
Who took us to Canberra to see a play
When he took us there
He took a great dare
Cause we annoyed him all of the way!

barking toad1:19 pm 05 May 06

Oh for fucks sake!

With every new press release I keep getting this feeling of deja vu all over again and think it’s April 1st.

No doubt each sonnet will be subject to legal opinion to ensure it complies with the Bill Of Rights.

This bit of Morrissey’s poetical musings might be a fitting addition to an ACTION bus (and may well reflect Jon’s mood):

You shut your mouth
how can you say
I go about things the wrong way
I am human and I need to be loved
just like everybody else does

How about saving the money and instead of turning it into poetry they use it to investigate why they’ve got no money in the coffers.

Silly little projects like this one spring to mind.

Slinky the Shocker1:03 pm 05 May 06

But only the classics, not any of that postmodern crap…

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