Poems on the Underground 

The first set of Poems on the Underground in 2013 has been specially chosen to reflect London as it was and London as it is now, in celebration of the 150th anniversary of London Underground.

The six poems reflect typical aspects of London as seen by Londoners and visitors to London, past and present. We also feature the immigrant experience which was so important to postwar London (and the Tube in particular), in London poems by Ghanaian Nii Ayikwei Parkes and the distinguished Jamaican poet Lorna Goodison.

Buy the poster set.

 

The poems and poets

  • A description of London in 1805 by Wordsworth, (‘The river proudly bridged’), shown alongside a 2012 drawing of bridges across the Thames by David Gentleman, the artist who designed the Charing Cross mural at Charing Cross Tube station
  • ‘Vacillation’ by the great Irish poet W.B. Yeats, an intensely personal account of the experience of ‘a solitary man’ in wartime London (1915)
  • ‘Stations’ by the Londoner Connie Bensley, with typical humour describing love on the Northern Line
  • ‘Gherkin Music’ by the award-winning London poet Jo Shapcott, capturing the iconic shape of the modernist City building in a vivid celebration of architecture, science, poetry, and music
  • ‘Barter’ by Nii Ayikwei Parkes, a poignant account of a young Ghanaian immigrant, longing for human contact, trying to find his way in a cold London winter
  • ‘Bam Chi Chi La La: London, 1969’ by Lorna Goodison, the title taken from a popular Jamaican children’s rhyme, describing the dreams of a Jamaican teacher working as a charwoman in the West End.

We hope in this selection of poems to entertain Tube travellers with personal accounts of real London life, images of the great city in all its variety, ending always on a note of hope.

 

About Poems on the Underground

 
The Poetry Society and Poems on the Underground join forces to promote one of Britain's most successful public art projects. As well as being displayed on underground trains throughout the capital, school members of the society and subscribers receive a sets of Poems on the Underground Posters each time they are released.

You can also order individual posters or sets through our shop; we ask for a £3 for an invidual poster or £9.99 for a set in order to cover the storage, handling, postage and packing costs.

Poems are selected by writer Judith Chernaik and poets Gerard Benson and Cicely Herbert. Posters are designed by Tom Davidson.

The tube display is generously funded by London Underground; the programme receives additional support from Arts Council England and the British Council, with support for Young Poets on the Underground from the Foyle Foundation.