Commuters on Shanghai's metro now can get a little English
culture on their way to work with a display of poems by famous
British writers, which began on Wednesday.
Visiting London Mayor Ken Livingstone officially kicked off the
"Poems on the Underground" in Shanghai Tuesday, which is part of
the efforts to strengthen cultural exchanges between Shanghai and
London.
Posters showing the English and Chinese translations of the
British classics include Auguries of Innocence by William
Blake, Daffodils by William Wordsworth, Butterfly by
Michael Bullock, and The Blue Boat by Kathleen Jamie.
In February, four poems of three ancient Chinese poets Li Bai,
Du Fu and Bai Juyi of the Tang Dynasty (618-907), were posted in
the metro of London.
"Poems on the Underground" was launched in London, 1986, with
the aim to bring poetry to a wider audience.
"We hope to bring poetry from libraries into daily life with
such events," said an official with the Cultural and Education
Section of the British Consulate General in Shanghai.
(Xinhua News Agency April 14, 2006)
