SUBWAY - Anastasia Suen

Writing a Small Poem

What’s the story? We didn’t have any subways nearby when I was growing up, so riding a subway was something I did years later when we went on a family vacation with our children. On one of those vacations, I thought about writing a small poem about the ride, but that was hard to do when I was back home.

After two post-vacation writing attempts, I realized that I needed to write the poem while I was riding the subway. So that’s what I did! Each time we rode the subway during our next vacation, I jotted down a few lines about what we did and how it felt. (I always keep a small pad of paper in my purse to capture ideas.)

When we got back home I used those small notepad lines to write this 169 word picture book poem. As you can see from the book announcement postcard above, Subway was published in 2004.

A few years later, the publisher asked me to tighten the poem so it could be reprinted as a board book. After the 2008 board book appeared in Amazon’s Top 100 for Children’s City Life Books, Amazon made a preview video for it! That’s my TRAVEL story.

Now it’s your turn! What is your TRAVEL story?

11 Comments

Denise Krebs Posted on7:29 pm - March 23, 2023

Nice travel story that includes published books! I love the hop, hop, hop onto the subway, and that you wrote it while you rode on the subway. My travel story today is driving to the airport, flying to my grandson’s city, and then taking the bus to his house. I do it as often as I possibly can!

Rose Cappelli Posted on4:44 am - March 24, 2023

What a fun book you created, Anastasia! I loved your story of the need for personal research to write what was happening as it happened. Loved the video, too! On my first ever plane ride (I was in my twenties), the plane returned to the airport after about 15 minutes in the air because of a malfunction. We were delayed several hours but finally took off. Luckily, that first experience with air travel didn’t ruin it for me!

Linda Baie Posted on8:35 am - March 24, 2023

I’ve only ridden the subway twice & it was fun, wishing I could stay longer and actually get used to it. I had help but still felt anxious about getting off at the right time! My travel stories most often include beaches, Anastasia, though I love our mountains, I wish the beach was closer! How fun that this turned into a board book!

Sarah Grace Tuttle Posted on1:55 pm - March 24, 2023

That’s so fun! Thank you for sharing your publication journey with this one… it’s so interesting to see how many different ways there are into print!

Laura Shovan Posted on5:03 pm - March 24, 2023

This is awesome, Anastasia! I was a subway rider during my college years. Your poem and the illustration capture the excitement of a little one riding the subway.

Alan j Wright Posted on8:48 pm - March 24, 2023

I lived and worked in NYC for six years, so the subway became a daily part of my life. It provided stories and inspiration for my poetry (including a subway poem). It threw up unforgettable characters, and pinch me moments. I once encountered a man dressed as a medieval knight, complete with chain mail armour, sword and scabbard when returning from a Bushwick school one afternoon. The only jarring aspect of his outfit was the fact he was wearing a baseball cap! That’s one of my many travel stories. Anastasia, thanks for sharing your subway story and prompting me to recall one of mine.

Mary Lee Hahn Posted on4:28 am - March 25, 2023

What a fun story! Your poem nailed what it’s like to ride the subway, especially that rush of air!

PATRICIA J FRANZ Posted on11:31 am - March 25, 2023

Love this, Anastasia – I had to travel to Saguaro National Park to pull inspiration for my desert poems. And now I’m sitting in mountain snow writing them!

Karen Edmisten Posted on5:51 pm - March 25, 2023

What a fun look back, Anastasia! I don’t think I had ever ridden a subway until I took a college theatre trip to NYC my freshman year. I should write a poem about that experience. 🙂

Laura Purdie Salas Posted on7:38 pm - March 25, 2023

I love that! I often have to use visuals and notes to put me back in the moment to write a poem. How fun that yours turned into a board book, Anastasia!

Bridget Magee Posted on2:26 am - March 26, 2023

Living in Europe for the last 5 years without a car has given me an amazing appreciation for public transportation (on a daily basis). Your poem/picture book/board book speaks to wee ones about the experience perfectly. 🙂