June 5, 2007
Dupont Metro Gets Poetry
Thus in silence in dreams' projections,
Returning, resuming, I thread my way through the hospitals;
The hurt and wounded I pacify with soothing hand,
I sit by the restless all dark night - some are so young;
Some suffer so much - I recall the experience sweet and sad...
Walt Whitman, from Leaves of Grass, 1876
The selection actually cuts off the last two lines of the poem, which read, in a parenthetical: "(Many a soldier's loving arms about this neck have cross'd and rested, Many a soldier's kiss dwells on these bearded lips.)" We want to believe the omission was related to space and not because city leaders thought it was too gay.
Another poem, "We Embrace" by Howard University Professor E. Ethelbert Miller, is also being installed at the station on a large round bench near the entrance of the station. It will read:
We fought against the invisible
We looked to one another for comfort
We held the hands of friends and lovers
We did not turn our backs
We embraced
We embraced
© E. Ethelbert Miller, 2005
UPDATE: In response to questions in the comments, the WMATA board approved the addition of the carved poems back in February, and it's being funded by the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities. Metro is paying for the large circular bench, which it seems still hasn't been installed. The two poems were picked by a "committee of community and local art and design professionals," which included Council member Jim Graham (D-Ward 1), and they were chosen around the theme of people who care for others suffering from devastating illnesses.
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great idea...but who decides on the author, location, etc. ?
I think we should petition to have this line in the Farragut North station pop up during the daily 15 minute rush-hour delay: "the people expect too much of the government"
Bearded lips in Dupont Circle!! Fantastic!
Seriously, though: This is a far better use of our Smart Trip dollars than the overtime racket detailed on the front page of today's Post.
That is mighty gay. It's a damn shame they couldn't / wouldn't put the whole quote up. Imagine how pissy it would make right wing fundie visitors to our fair city....
Maybe Borf will fill in the blank.
Yeah....space....that's the ticket.
What "large round bench"? Where the heck did this come from? Are things planned for other stations?
Too gay? For the Dupont Circle Metro stop? I knew that damn Ann Taylor Loft would ruin EVERYTHING!
who is paying for this?
Not that I'm a big fan of Ezra Pound's to begin with, but perhaps this poem is more appropriate:
In a Station of the Metro
The apparition of these faces in the crowd;
Petals on a wet, black bough.
Google is your friend.. "The D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities funded both projects. Metro is paying for the large circular bench at the Dupont Circle station at a cost of several thousand dollars."
www.wmata.com/about/met_news/PressReleaseDetail.cfm?ReleaseID=1114
What, Whitman, gay? Next you'll be telling us that there are gays on Broadway.
From the Metro Weekly, February 24, 2006:
Dupont Circle station will benefit next from Metro’s art program. Last week, the Board approved an art project for the station’s north entrance at Connecticut Avenue at Q and 19th streets. [The Metro entrance is at Q & 20th Streets.]
The project entails carving the words from two poems, the “Wound Dresser” from Walt Whitman’s
Leaves of Grass and “We Embrace,” by Howard University Professor E. Ethelbert Miller.
Miller’s poem will encircle a large round bench, which will be placed near the entrance. Whitman’s words will wrap around the circular entrance.
The D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities funded the Congress Heights and Dupont Circle art projects. Metro will pay for the bench at Dupont Circle.
Damn, that's a depressing inscription to have to view every time I ascend from the Dupont station.
Also see "Art Installed" at:
(insert http here)://content.wmata.com/board_gm/board_docs/TransmittalDocs/022406_Metro_Weekly.pdf
Whitman is an American genius and all, but I gotta go with C on this one, and second the notion this is depressing as hell.
Couldn't we have gotten something a bit more lighthearted than a quote about dying young soliders......
i agree, depressing! i mean this is something we see every day, couldn't they have chosen something more uplifiting? very poor choice, i love the concept, but what a shame they picked that poem.
Totally depressing. And nowhere near gay enough.
I agree that it's a strange poem to choose...but it does, at least, have a Washington connection. The hospitals Whitman is talking about are in DC during the Civil War, when he was here visiting and nursing soldiers. One of the places he did this was in the old Patent Office Building, where you can see an inscription carved by a soldier housed there if you look closely in the 3rd floor's Lincoln Gallery.
m'kay - Yes, because life is all happiness and light and one long Hello Kitty infomercial. /snark
I couldn't think of a better poet for Washington or for times that Washington lives through. The full quote would have been nice too.
I'm glad someone cleared that up! I've been wondering what was going on with the random words on the wall.
Much as I love Whitman, though, I'm kind of 'eh' about the quote. Seems kind of random (probably makes more sense in the context of the entire poem), and while it may be applicable to DC history, what's it got to do with Dupont? Were there any war hospitals there?
Yeah, I got no beef with Whitman, but that does seem to be an odd choice to be forever on that Metro station. Wouldn't something remotely connected with transportation be more appropriate? (although perhaps the theory is to refresh the connection between Dupont Circle and Admiral Dupont).
I also think it may take away from the clean design.
If the city government has enough money to start carving depressing poetry into existing stonework all over the city, why not just cut taxes? I’ve seen people make a lot of complaints about Metro, but lack of poetry was never in those lists.
"If the city government has enough money to start carving depressing poetry into existing stonework all over the city, why not just cut taxes?"
Yea, if the city has enough money to buy some books for a library why not cut taxes, if the city can fund park maintenance, cut taxes... Seriously?
The poster who wrote that should pack up and move to Mississippi where they pay almost no taxes, and get almost nothing for them, or even better yet, Brazil or Ecuador- almost no taxes, and almost no carving!
DC needs so much more of this sort of thing it is sad, I agree that the choice of verse is a bit odd for Dupont station, but this city needs more poetry carved into freaking walls, and anything else remotely soulful to be a vibrant capitol city.
I like the idea of poetry at the station, but this particular stanza seems an odd choice for a metro station.
I, for one, love it. I wish there were more public displays of darkness in this city. We have public inspiration all over, but at least now we have some other real emotion. I'm glad we can publicly accept people as complex characters. Thank you, Walt, WMATA, and the friendly engravers for painting my neighborhood in shades of reality and beauty.
I've been complaining about the lack of poety on Metro for 16 years. The bastards finally did something! You crabby citizens have me to thanks!