A new project to be launched in Galway today gives new meaning to the phrase "poetry in motion". A collaboration between the Western Writers' Centre and Bus Éireann, the Poetry on Buses scheme is the first of its kind in the country.
Over the coming weeks, the work of local contemporary poets such as Patricia Burke Brogan and Pete Mullineux will appear on 30 buses throughout the city and Connemara.
For Mr Mullineux, it's a return journey of sorts - in a former life, he worked as a bus conductor in England.
Mr Fred Johnston, of the Galway city based Western Writers' Centre, said the concept was not a new one, but it was the first time in Ireland that it had happened on buses.
Poetry has long been enjoyed in many transport systems and public places across Europe including the Paris Metro, the London Underground and the Dublin DART.
"The aim is simply to spread poetry. I believe it should be out there. It's not an academic pursuit anymore - it belongs to the people, to everybody," said Mr Johnston.
If he had his way, poetry would be featured in shops, taxis and all public places. He has even mooted the idea of providing a poet-in-residence for Galway United.
The poems are displayed on A4 size laminated posters and those on the Connemara routes are in Irish. It is hoped that a booklet of the poetry will be published - if sponsorship is made available. Mr Johnston highlighted his disappointment that the Writers' Centre has been turned down for funding by the Arts Council three times over the past 18 months.
Mr Johnston was co-founder of the Irish Writers' Co-operative in the 1970s, along with Neil Jordan and Peter Sheridan. Since moving to Galway, he has helped to set up the Cúirt Literary Festival and the Western Writers' Centre.
