Poetry Passages Hits the Road in Santa Barbara Throughout the Month of April

Honoring National Poetry Month, SBMTD Buses Sport Poems by S.B. Poet Laureates

The Line 11 poem by Melinda Palacio, for Poetry Passages | Photo: Leslie Dinaberg

There are lots of good reasons to ride public transportation, especially this month when, in honor of April as National Poetry Month, Poetry Passages is bringing local poetry to the public through Santa Barbara Metropolitan Transit District (SBMTD) transit routes.

This month-long celebration blends inspiring poetry with our transit system, featuring panels adorned with poetry couplets in English and Spanish inside SBMTD buses.

Inspired by Poetry in Motion, an initiative pioneered by the Poetry Society of America in New York, the Poetry Passages project marks its inaugural year in Santa Barbara. Led by Project Administrator Lea Williams and current Santa Barbara Poet Laureate Melinda Palacio (who also is the Poetry Connection columnist at the Santa Barbara Independent), the initiative reimagines the concept by spotlighting local poets and their experiences.

Santa Barbara Poets Laureate both past and present crafted poems inspired by SBMTD routes. Each piece is even dedicated to a specific SBMTD route. The program is funded through a City of Santa Barbara Community Arts grant.