Poetry makes everything better, and the TTC knows a thing or two about that.
Toronto residents can expect a poetic commute thanks to a long-lost program that’s making a major comeback.
Poems in Passage, an initiative not heard or seen since 2012, was revived on Monday and already has installations underway across 75 per cent of the TTC’s bus and train system.
The project aims to push out original work by diverse emerging and established poets much like it did 12 years ago when the project was dubbed “Poetry on the Way.”
More than a decade later, two Scarborough natives and childhood best friends would work tirelessly to bring it back to life.
Latif Murji, a practicing physician and health equity advocate, and Addesse Haile, a consultant, are spearheading the relaunch of the beloved program as a means to uplift more diverse Canadian voices.
In fact, Poems in Passage’s selection process prioritizes voices from traditionally underrepresented and equity-seeking groups.
The duo also hopes to eventually spotlight translated poetry in other languages and dialects in its upcoming series.
“The idea of Poems in Passage was born out of nostalgia and a deep-seated belief in the power of words,” Haile said in a press release. “We wanted to resurrect a cherished memory from our youth, turning it into a conduit for creativity and representation for our city,” Haile added.
The first series of poems includes works by the following poets:
● Growing Old(er) by Lillian Allen
● Love Speak by d’bi.young anitafrika
● ALT-Spring by Britta B.
● Song of Sheba by Adebe DeRango-Adem
● Seed Cycle by Martin Gomes
● I text my love at Old Mill Station by Andrea Josic
● afkaaga by Furqan Mohamed
● I Am Both by Latif Murji, who also co-founded the program
● Reflection by Ikenna Onyegbula
● Footnotes for the Toronto Sky by Pujita Verma
● To all of the Lights by Najwa Zebian
For more information on the featured artists, click here.
