Bookworms in Singapore now have more choice as the National Arts Council (NAC) has teamed up with SMRT Trains and Stellar Ace to create "Poems on the MRT" campaign, which will continue until Oct 30, 2025.
Designed by Sing Lit Station (SLS), the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) network has been turned into a mobile library, allowing commuters to immerse themselves in the depth of Singaporean literature (Sing Lit) on their daily journey. The stations also provide a multilingual literary experience that reflects the city's diverse culture.
In order to highlight talents of local poets, the concept trains on the East-West, North-South, and Circle Lines will display excerpts from over 100 Sing Lit poems in English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil, as well as animated videos created by local artists and video interviews with local poets discussing their inspirations.
The poems were selected by prominent members of the literary community and Sing Lit Station to bring together beautiful, inspiring, and introspective samples from Singapore poetry. The full list of poems and translations are available at go.gov.sg/potm, and passengers may access them by scanning QR codes on train panels.
"Poetry has the power to transport readers beyond the everyday. By embedding Singapore poetry on MRT journeys, Sing Lit Station aims to elevate the daily commute and showcase our rich literary landscape in bite-sized, accessible passages. We hope 'Poems on the MRT' will inspire and intrigue commuters to find out more about our local poets, and the light that their work sheds on our unique Singapore culture at the end of each tunnel," said Fiona Chan, a chair and station director of SLS.
Until Dec 31, passengers can participate in the Poems on the MRT Bingo Competition on the website go.gov.sg/potm and Sing Lit Station's social media pages by downloading a digital copy of the bingo card, capturing three poems on the MRT panels that match the card's various categories and uploading their entries via a Google Form. The first three complete submissions will win an attractive prize of a Kobo reader preloaded with Sing Lit titles.
The Poems on the MRT campaign Sing Lit Station
The Poems on the MRT campaign Sing Lit Station
The Poems on the MRT campaign Sing Lit Station
