These autos are poetry in motion

All this month, poetry has been hitting the streets. And the car doors, and the hood....

In honor of National Poetry Month, Volkswagen and Magnetic Poetry have teamed up to make poetry more hands-on. Three Volkswagen Beetles - all white - are traveling to 30 cities in search of young poets.

Day-long "poetry outbreaks" at schools, parks, and other sites are coordinated by Emergency Metaphor Technicians. The EMTs are happy to provide inspiration and help those who get stuck. Children can create poems right on the cars. Or they can play interactive word games and then make their poems on paper.

This "bug" was in Boston on March 30. It will end its run in Cambridge, Mass. (Harvard Square), on April 30.

For more information and a schedule of stops, go to www.poetrybug.com

Since they began their month-long trips, the Beetles have been helping nearly 2,000 children a day.