Winning Poems to Be Printed on VTA Buses

Santa Clara County will celebrate National Poetry Month by featuring five residents' contest-winning poems on Valley Transportation Authority buses and trains.

The five winning poems of the "Poetry on the Move" contest were chosen from more than 100 submissions by readers and final judge Jennifer Sweeney, said the Santa Clara County Office of Public Affairs.

The poems, which have been printed with a visual design meant to convey a sense of movement, come from residents of several cities throughout the south bay, according to the office of public affairs.

The poems will be featured on VTA surfaces that usually contain advertisements as well as in public libraries, said Gwendolyn Mitchell at the Santa Clara County Office of Public Affairs.

Each poem is comprised of 50 words or less and was chosen based on its ability to convey something about the identity of Silicon Valley, said the public affairs office.

"I believed these five poems best captured the daily human experience ... while celebrating the locale in a striking way," Sweeny said.

The contest was funded by City of San Jose Office of Cultural Affairs and space for the poems was donated by the VTA, Mitchell said.

- Bay City News Service