DASHing Words in Motion Poetry Bus Honors 10 Alexandria Poets, Poet Laureate
ALEXANDRIA, VA–April is National Poetry Month, so the DASHing Words in Motion poetry contest, an annual contest that welcomes poetry from those 16 and older, was held to commemorate that in our city.
On April 15, ten local poets were honored by the Alexandria Transit Company and The City of Alexandria Office of the Arts for their poetry submissions. Their winning submissions are posted inside each bus of the entire DASH bus fleet and on the Office of Arts website.
Maureen Sturgill, Special Events Manager for the City of Alexandria, comments, “We are happy to have this program. It started in 2014 and continued even through COVID… All of the poems have been placed on the DASH buses, so anyone within the city can get on a DASH bus and check out the poetry.”
This year, the winners and their poems are:
Charlene Murphy, Field Trip
Veeteebee, I’m Moving
Betty Jo Middleton, King Street After Hours
James W. Colby, One Haiku
Devin A. Reese, Pandemic Bus Refuge
Zeina Azzam, The People’s Bus
May-Mei Lee, the things they carry
Susan Clark Behnke, The Web Masters
KaNikki Jakarta, Poet Laureate of Alexandria, Virginia, also authored a poem, titled Granted Privilege, which can be read inside each DASH bus, along with this year’s winners.
As the winners posed outside of the DASH bus with their winning poems, Poet Laureate Jakarta stated, “I am happy to be amongst these amazing poets, so happy to be a part of DASHing Words in Motion, just happy that poetry is being celebrated even in the time of COVID.”
Poetry is something to be celebrated indeed. It has a way of cheering and comforting. The DASHing Words in Motion poetry contest is a creative way to spread that cheer and comfort throughout the city, especially in a time when it is needed most.
For more information on the poets and their poetry, biographies can be found here.
