The Lawrence Transit Poet Laureate program is pleased to announce five writers whose work stood out among the submissions in the third annual poetry contest. Bus riders will soon be able to find their poems on Lawrence Transit’s electric buses for the duration of the year.

The 2026 Lawrence Transit Poets Laureate are:

• Sneha Nair – Poet Laureate of Route 11
• Jen Fernandez – Poet Laureate of Route 12
• Alice Pulsinelli – Poet Laureate of Route 2
• Megan Gragg – Poet Laureate of Route 1
• Whit Bell – Poet Laureate of Route 8

To read their poems, please visit: https://assets.lawrenceks.org/transit/2026Poems.pdf

Poem selection was led by poet and professor, Megan Kaminski.

“The 2026 poets laureate have given us poems that transform the everyday experience of transit into something luminous—celebrating the familiar faces, the meaningful stops, and the quiet moments of connection that make our routes through the city feel like routes home,” said Kaminski. “These works remind us that belonging is something we create together through our daily encounters, through the simple act of making space for one another as we move through our city. Our buses carry stories in every language, lives traveling toward hope and home, and these poems honor that beautiful complexity.”

Inspired to ride and don’t know where to start? Try our free Travel Training program! Visit this page to find our request form: https://lawrencetransit.org/travel-training.

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