SAN ANTONIO (March 29, 2016) – VIA Metropolitan Transit announced the winners of its seventh annual “Poetry on the Move” contest, held each year in April to celebrate National Poetry Month. Poets read their winning works Tuesday at a reception held in their honor. This year’s winning entries will be featured on interior cards displayed in VIA’s fleet to bring art to the community as part of the transit ridership experience.
“Poetry on the Move is an opportunity to celebrate the inspiring contributions of poets and artists in our region,” VIA President and CEO Jeffrey C. Arndt said. “Now in its seventh year, this event highlights a unique form of art in transit that blends the literary, auditory, and metrical aspects of poetry with the aesthetics of visual art. VIA is a proud supporter of programs to bring art into the community and we are delighted to encourage artistic endeavors as part of our work.”
Poetry on the Move is open to persons living in Central and South Texas, who are at least 18 years old. VIA received 235 entries as part of this year’s contest. The 12 winning poems are listed below. They were illustrated, printed, and distributed throughout VIA bus and van interiors and are available on VIA’s Facebook page at Facebook.com/VIATransit.
• David Lee Bach – “Van Gogh Rides the Bus “
• Diane Gonzales Bertrand – “Abuelita’s Kitchen Table”
• Megan Chandler – “En Pointe”
• Sally Clark – “Old Sheets”
• Cyra S. Dumitru – “View from Mom’s Hospital Window”
• Toni Heringer Falls – “I Like to Think”
• Michael Goins – “Statement”
• Laura Guli – “How to Eat the Texas Sky”
• Douglas W. Johnson – “In the Inky Iraqi Stillness”
• Tom Keene – “How Poems Happen”
• Linda Simone – “My Son Moves to San Antonio”
• Brian Kenneth Swain – “The Final Performance”
In addition to the 12 poems received in the VIA contest, another 10 were accepted from the San Antonio Public Library’s Young Pegasus program. The 22 poems were sent to four area art programs where they were illustrated for the VIA bus interior cards. The participating artist programs included the North East School of the Arts, the Edgewood Fine Arts Academy, SAY Sí Youth Arts Program, and the Henry Ford Academy: Alameda School for Art + Design.
VIA Metropolitan Transit provides public transportation services to 13 cities in the Greater San Antonio Region and the unincorporated areas of Bexar County. VIA operates seven days a week on 90 routes, and provided 41 million rides across the region in 2015. VIA’s mission is to enhance the community’s quality of life by providing regional and customer-oriented public transportation that is dependable, cost-effective and enticing to more riders. VIA’s AAA bond rating reflects the organization’s sound management and financial practices. Visit www.VIAinfo.net for more information. Follow us on www.Facebook.com/VIATransit, www.Twitter.com/VIA_Transit, and www.Instagram.com/VIATransit.