The Association of Book Publishers of BC (Books BC) is excited to announce the 2024-25 Poetry in Transit program.
Now celebrating its 28th year, this community-engagement project, made possible through a partnership with TransLink and BC Transit, is an opportunity to showcase B.C.’s regional poets. Each year, we invite submissions of B.C.-authored poems from Canadian publishers and select 10 local poets to be featured in the campaign.
A collection of bus cards featuring the poetry selections are produced and placed on transit vehicles across the province for riders to discover on their daily commutes. Each bus card now features the cover art of the book in which the selected poem was first published.
Poetry in Transit Covers
The 2024-25 Poetry in Transit selected poets and featured books are:
Michelle Brown, Vancouver, B.C. — Swans (Palimpsest Press)
Dina Del Bucchia, Fruitvale, B.C.— You’re Gonna Love This (Talonbooks)
Justene Dion-Glowa, Kamloops, B.C. — Trailer Park Shakes (Brick Books)
Svetlana Ischenko, North Vancouver, B.C. — Nucleus: A Poet’s Lyrical Journey from Ukraine to Canada (Ronsdale Press)
Donna Kane, Rolla, B.C. — Asterisms (Harbour Publishing)
Christopher Levenson, Vancouver, B.C. — Moorings (Caitlin Press)
Bradley Peters, Chilliwack, B.C.— Sonnets from a Cell (Brick Books)
Michelle Poirier Brown, Vernon, B.C. — You Might Be Sorry You Read This (University of Alberta Press)
Andrea Scott, Victoria, B.C. — In the Warm Shallows of What Remains (Raven Chapbooks/Rainbow Publishers)
Tiffany Stone, Maple Ridge, B.C. — Super Small: Miniature Marvels of the Natural World (Greystone Books)
Poetry in Transit has been running since 1996, making it the longest-running poetry on transit program in Canada. Poems eligible for the project must be by BC-based writers and published in book form by Canadian publishers. Poems are submitted by publishers and selected by a jury. The 2024-25 jury included Vancouver poets Evelyn Lau and Rob Taylor.
Join us in celebrating the 28th year of Poetry in Transit at “Poetry Bus!”, the campaign launch event at the Word Vancouver Festival at UBC Robson Square. On Saturday, September 28 at 12:30 p.m., join us to hear featured poets Michelle Brown, Bradley Peters, Tiffany Stone, Christopher Levenson, Dina Del Bucchia, Svetlana Ischenko, and Andrea Scott read from their work, followed by a short discussion and Q&A in which you can engage with the poets over your love of the written verse! Hosted by former Vancouver Poet Laureate Evelyn Lau. Attendees can also view the complete collection of selected poems displayed onboard the Poetry Bus parked at the venue.
We invite you to share your sightings of the 2024-25 Poetry in Transit bus cards throughout Metro Vancouver and B.C. using the #PoetryInTransit hashtag on social media channels. Find us @readlocalbc on Instagram, X, and Facebook.
