Hexameter for air travelers
In the U.S., large companies improve their literary image with poetry books
In the U.S., major companies are using poetry books to improve their literary imageby Thérèse Balduzzi To celebrate National Poetry Month in America, American Airlines (AA) is distributing poetry books to its passengers. Previously, VW, Amtrak and AT&T have used poetry as a marketing strategy, with great success.
The anthology "Songs for the open Road: Poems of Travel & Adventure," distributed during one month on all international AA flights, contains 90 poems by 50 poets. Among them are those by notable greats of the past and present such as Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson, William Butler Yeats, James Joyce, Elizabeth Bishop and E.E. Cummings. The book is published by the nonprofit American Poetry and Literacy Project in Washington. The organization was founded by Nobel Prize winner Joseph Brodsky with the goal of bringing poetry to the people.
AA is not the first company to take an interest in poetry. Railroad company Amtrak, hotel chain DoubleTree Hotels and supermarket chain Safeway recently distributed the same book to their customers. Last year, VW put 40000 copies in the glove compartments of their new cars. Daimler Chrysler sponsored five poetry readings in 1999 and published its own volume of poems by participating authors. Other companies, such as the telephone company AT&T and the health insurance company Blue Cross, have recently invited poets to give lectures to their managers instead of management consultants.
A flight attendant worried about the reading of the passengers
Flight attendant Eric W. Bergman from Chicago came up with the idea of distributing "Songs for the open Road" on AA flights because passengers often ask for reading material. He had heard about the nonprofit's actions and suggested it to his superiors. Finally, the book of poetry, of which AA plans to give away 100,000 copies, is specifically tailored to travelers: "AA is the first airline to distribute the book. We are very excited about giving it away on international flights because it contains poetry from all over the world," says Andrew Caroll, director of the American Poetry and Literacy Project.
AA and most other companies receive the books for free and only cover the distribution costs. While it may seem odd that a small nonprofit would donate books to large companies, Andrew Caroll is pleased. His goal is to have the poetry book in every hotel room in America, but for that he needs the help of established companies.
According to Caroll, companies are often dismissive of the promotion at first, but then agree to try it out on a small scale. "Usually the enthusiasm from customers is so great that we can hardly keep up with the orders."
The anthology "Songs for the open Road: Poems of Travel & Adventure," distributed during one month on all international AA flights, contains 90 poems by 50 poets. Among them are those by notable greats of the past and present such as Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson, William Butler Yeats, James Joyce, Elizabeth Bishop and E.E. Cummings. The book is published by the nonprofit American Poetry and Literacy Project in Washington. The organization was founded by Nobel Prize winner Joseph Brodsky with the goal of bringing poetry to the people.
AA is not the first company to take an interest in poetry. Railroad company Amtrak, hotel chain DoubleTree Hotels and supermarket chain Safeway recently distributed the same book to their customers. Last year, VW put 40000 copies in the glove compartments of their new cars. Daimler Chrysler sponsored five poetry readings in 1999 and published its own volume of poems by participating authors. Other companies, such as the telephone company AT&T and the health insurance company Blue Cross, have recently invited poets to give lectures to their managers instead of management consultants.
A flight attendant worried about the reading of the passengers
Flight attendant Eric W. Bergman from Chicago came up with the idea of distributing "Songs for the open Road" on AA flights because passengers often ask for reading material. He had heard about the nonprofit's actions and suggested it to his superiors. Finally, the book of poetry, of which AA plans to give away 100,000 copies, is specifically tailored to travelers: "AA is the first airline to distribute the book. We are very excited about giving it away on international flights because it contains poetry from all over the world," says Andrew Caroll, director of the American Poetry and Literacy Project.
AA and most other companies receive the books for free and only cover the distribution costs. While it may seem odd that a small nonprofit would donate books to large companies, Andrew Caroll is pleased. His goal is to have the poetry book in every hotel room in America, but for that he needs the help of established companies.
According to Caroll, companies are often dismissive of the promotion at first, but then agree to try it out on a small scale. "Usually the enthusiasm from customers is so great that we can hardly keep up with the orders."
