Snoqualmie resident Becca Hall, 26, has had a passion for writing for as long as she can remember. Before she could even read, she was creating stories for her mother to write down. Now, for the first time, her work will go on the road.

Just recently, one of Hall’s poems was selected for inclusion in the 2007 Poetry on Buses competition. Her poem, inspired by the time she spent in Seattle’s University District, was one of 55 selected this year from more than 3,000 submissions. The selected poets will receive an honorarium of $125.

The poems will be published in an upcoming book and start appearing on placards inside of King County Metro buses this month. Each poem is printed 65 times and distributed throughout the bus fleet. They will continue to be displayed on the buses for about two years.

“It seemed like an interesting place to get published,” said Hall, who entered the contest after seeing the poems from prior years on the bus. “It makes me really happy when I’m riding the bus.”

The 2007 Poetry on Buses competition was open to residents of King, Kitsap, Pierce and Snohomish counties. The theme of the competition this year was “dreams.” Poems were submitted by poets as young as 3 years old up to adults. A panel of regional poets and writers, including Eric McHenry of Seattle, Catherine Wing of Seattle and Zhang Er of Olympia and Tacoma, juried the submissions. Hall wrote the poem specifically for the competition.

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