SAN ANTONIO (March 31, 2017) – VIA Metropolitan Transit announced the winners of its eighth annual “Poetry on the Move” contest, held each year in April to celebrate National Poetry Month. Poets recited their winning works Thursday at a celebration held in their honor. Winning entries are brought to life with illustrations provided by artists from four area programs. The pieces will be featured inside buses, throughout VIA’s fleet.

“VIA is proud to support the arts community and provide a vehicle for our customers to experience art in transit through Poetry on the Move,” VIA President and CEO Jeffrey C. Arndt said. “Art, literature, and public transportation together have the power to transport our community and connect our region in exciting ways.”

Poetry on the Move is open to persons living in Central and South Texas who are at least 18 years old. Past Poetry on the Move winners include San Antonio Poet Laureate Jenny Brown, Texas Poet Laureate Karla Morton, and award-winning children’s book author, Diane Gonzales Bertrand.

VIA received 266 entries for this year’s contest. The winning selections are listed below.

• Megan Allen – “Tiny Screens”
• Marjorie Brody – “Letters”
• Gerald Cedillo – “There are almost certain remedies”
• Sally Clark – “Roadrunner”
• Sarah Colby – “Hurricane Letters”
• Cyra S. Dumitru – “My Name is Written in Arabic on Ash Wednesday”
• Anthony Gordon – “Eastside”
• Lupe Ruiz-Flores – “El Gallo, the Rooster”
• Agnes Eva Savich – “wind roils”
• Patricia Spears Bigelow – “Finding A Way”
• Eduardo R. Vega – “Viejito with a cane”
• Christine Wenk-Harrison – “airborne cowboy”

An additional 10 entries were received through the San Antonio Public Library’s Young Pegasus program. A total of 22 poems were sent to the following local art programs, where they were illustrated for VIA bus interior cards: 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 regional multimodal transportation options that connect our community to opportunity, support economic vitality and enhance quality of life throughout our region. VIA, recognized by the Texas Transit Association as the outstanding Metro Transit Authority of the year, serves 14 member cities and the unincorporated areas of Bexar County, operating seven days a week on 90 routes. In 2015, VIA provided 42.2 million rides across the region. VIA’s AAA bond rating reflects the organization’s sound management and financial practices. Visit VIAinfo.net for more information. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.