Poetry on the Streets / Bringing People's Words into Public Spaces & Engaging Communities Through Stories. Founded by Melanie Pappadis Faranello in CT. - Poetry on the Streets: Everyone Has a Story, Everyone Has a Poem Inside

a collage of four photos showing people on the street writing poetry, one woman at a typewriter, one woman at a bus stop, one man holding his poem up on sidewalk, three people on a bench

Poetry on the Streets: Inviting Expression and Connection Between Strangers in Everyday Spaces

How many strangers do we pass by each day? How many stories, memories, thoughts, desires, fears, hopes, dreams...What if we stopped to listen?

Founded by writer, Melanie Faranel lo in 2017, Poetry on the Streets began by setting up a typewriter around the city—street corners, bus stops, parks— and inviting passersby to pause, reflect, and write a poem based on a human emotion word.

From all different walks of life, people wrote about love, loss, pain, hope, joy...

Strangers shared emotions, stories, and moments of unexpected connection.

Poetry on the Streets expanded and evolved developing projects that continued the invitation for everyday people to pause, reflect, express themselves, and to recognize each other's humanity by bringing people's words into public spaces, a reminder that we are more connected than we often feel.

Explore the many projects by visiting each page, including poetry murals, bus wraps, public exhibits, transit stories, refugee stories, and more.