Poetry Soon to Greet British Straphangers

Londoners accustomed to ads for liquor and toothpaste on their subway trains soon will have something different to read--poetry.

Starting in February, five different poems will appear among the advertisements on 1,000 subway cars. The poems will change every two months, and the first selection will include works by such English poets as John Keats and Percy Bysshe Shelley.

“Poetry breaks down barriers between people,” said Judith Cherniak, a professor of English literature who conceived the plan for poetry in subway cars.