Poetry in Transit Program at Risk
In partnership with TransLink and BC Transit, Books BC produces a collection of poetry car cards annually, featuring the work of BC-authored and Canadian-published poets. This project, which launched 30 years ago, is an opportunity to share poems with the larger community.
Earlier this year, Books BC was informed that TransLink will be unable to secure continued funding in support of the Poetry in Transit program after 2027.
Poetry in Transit Program at Risk
Inspired by Poetry in Motion in New York City and similar projects in Montréal and London, Poetry in Transit launched in 1996 to connect BC riders with poetry by BC poets. Since then, the program has featured hundreds of poems from established and emerging writers.
Local poets have come together to form The Committee to Save Poetry in Transit through this online petition. According to the petition site, TransLink indicated that it will not provide ad space on its buses after the 2026-27 season, citing budgetary constraints. TransLink’s financial contribution to the Poetry in Transit program comes in the form of donated advertising space, which could theoretically be otherwise sold.
“In buses cluttered with ads and safety instructions, Poetry in Transit is the one positive motivation I have to look up,” says poet Rob Taylor. “Every ad I’ve ever read on transit has been next to a Poetry in Transit poem.”
About the Program
The program invites submissions of BC-authored poems from Canadian publishers. A jury of two poets and a TransLink representative selects 10 BC poets to be featured in the campaign. These jury-selected poems, in the form of interior bus cards, are displayed on TransLink buses in Vancouver for one year and on BC Transit buses throughout the province indefinitely from the following year. In addition, Books BC also runs a campaign of 10 transit shelter ads in Vancouver during the launch month of September every year.
2026-27 Featured Poets
- Cynthia Woodman Kerkham, Victoria, BC
- Water Quality, McGill-Queen’s University Press
- Elizabeth Bachinsky, New Westminster, BC
- Real Grownup, Nightwood Editions
- Eve Joseph, Victoria, BC
- Dismantling, Anvil Press
- Fenn Stewart, Vancouver, BC
- women and roosters, Book*hug Press
- George Bowering, Vancouver, BC
- Pearl, Talonbooks
- Jónína Kirton, New Westminster, BC
- Save Your Prayers – Send Money, Talonbooks
- Murray Mann, Cowichan, BC
- poem featured in Sublime: Poems for Vanishing Ice, Caitlin Press
- Renée Sarojini Saklikar, Vancouver, BC
- Bramah’s Discovery, Nightwood Editions
- Russell Thornton, North Vancouver, BC
- Two Songs: Selected Poems 2000-2025, Harbour Publishing
- Wendy Donawa, Victoria, BC
- The Time of Falling Apart, Harbour Publishing
“Since it is made possible largely in part due to our partnership with TransLink, it is likely that 2026-27 will be the final year of Poetry in Transit in Vancouver,” says Asna Shaikh, Program Manager at Books BC, the Association of Book Publishers of BC.
“Poetry in Transit has significant cultural value to the city and the province. It puts Vancouver on the global map with other major metropolitan cities that have similar poetry programs. Without it, we will lose the opportunity to bring local poetry to tens of thousands of bus riders annually, the BC public will no longer be able to enjoy homegrown art for free as they go about their daily lives, and the city will lose yet another art and public engagement initiative.”
The public can follow the campaign to save the program on Instagram, and share their thoughts with Books BC directly through this form.
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