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Metro Arts In Transit to Host 2010 Poetry in Motion Reading and Reception
Fourteen talented poets will take the stage to share their poems with the public on Thursday, May 20, as part of the 2010 Poetry in Motion Reading and Reception. These literary artists from the bi-state area were recently selected as winners of Metro’s fourth-annual Poetry in Motion contest.
The special event will take place at the Regional Arts Commission, located at 6128 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63112. Doors open at 6 p.m. featuring music by Essence East. At 6:30 p.m., the program will open with a welcome and introduction by David Allen, Director of Arts in Transit (AIT). Hip-hop poet Jason Braun will serve as emcee for the evening.
The crowd will be treated to special readings from renowned poet, and the event’s guest of honor, Sally van Doren. In 2007, van Doren was presented with the Walt Whitman Award from the Academy of American Poets for her first collection of poems. The St. Louis native also teaches creative writing in the St. Louis Public School District and curates the Sunday Poetry Workshops at the St. Louis Poetry Center. Readings of the winning poems by the poets will follow.
“We are excited to give our winning poets the chance to read their work in a public setting,” said David Allen of AIT. “Each poet submitted outstanding poems worthy of recognition and this event gives us the opportunity to honor our winners for their artistic contributions.”
The fifteen poems, which were selected by an elite panel of judges convened by AIT and the Regional Arts Commission, will be published and reproduced on posters that will be displayed on MetroLink trains and MetroBus vehicles for up to one year. Winners also receive a $50 cash prize, in addition to having the unique opportunity to read their poems during the Poetry in Motion Reading and Reception event.
The event is made possible with financial support from the Regional Arts Commission and the Missouri Arts Council, a state agency. A complete list of the 2010 winning poems is attached and also can be viewed at www.artsintransit.org, along with winning selections from the past three years.
Poetry in Motion is sponsored by Metro Arts in Transit in partnership with the Poetry Society of America’s Poetry in Motion Program. Funding for this program is provided by the Regional Arts Commission (RAC) and the Missouri Arts Council (MAC), a state agency.
To learn more about Poetry in Motion or for more information on Metro Arts in Transit, call (314) 982-1412.