Poetry in Motion

In 2023, Ireland celebrates 50 years of membership of the European Union. To mark this important anniversary the European Parliament Liaison Office and the European Commission in Ireland invited Poetry Ireland to curate a selection of contemporary European poetry to be displayed on Iarnrod Eireann DART and commuter services throughout summer 2023. Each of the twelve poems was selected with the 2023 Poetry Day Ireland theme “Message in a Bottle” in mind. The theme reminds us, in the words of Paul Celan, that “a poem can be a message in a bottle, sent out in the – not always greatly hopeful – belief that somewhere and sometime, it could wash up on land, on heartland perhaps”.

The idea of a poem as message in a bottle reminds us that no poem is an island, it needs a reader to complete the process. Poems are waiting for the reader to uncork the bottle and rediscover the poem, experience that intimate connection across oceans, and miles, real and metaphorical. A poem must be compact to float within the walls of its container, yet the possibilities are miraculously endless, it’s a song but it can also tell a story or a joke, paint a picture, bring news, pass on wisdom, give shelter, advice or knowledge, travel time, praise, lament or incant – the reader just needs to open that bottle.

Displaying poems from across the EU on public transport enables the reader to, in a real sense, venture on a journey with the poem. Each poem speaks to the theme of “Message in a Bottle” at a time when across Europe, citizens value, more than ever, the sense of identity and community embodied by the EU. Poems written in languages which are not familiar to us throw up intriguing and interesting ideas and ways of seeing the world. Irish and English translations of each poem brings them full circle and enables us to access new poets and perspectives as we go about our daily business.