Writing on the Line

Welcome to Writing on the Line - Rhetoric in Boston's Southwest Corridor. Over twenty years after the 1987 Boston Contemporary Writers' contest, a Northeastern University English Senior Seminar class set out to examine the large granite slabs along the Orange Line in Boston's Southwest Corridor. We began to raise questions about their existence and about the rhetorical nature of the prose and poetry carved on their surfaces. Divorced from their original historical context, the monuments' purposes seemed vague at first... YET, together we learned--and hope to show--that the monuments can and do:

• effect an understanding and appreciation of rhetorical language at work in the city
• make a positive contribution to a sense of community
• initiate varying questions about the poetry and prose including...Does it cease to be effective or engaging as times change? Do the stories, songs, and verses carved on the monuments affect today's Bostonians? Would they be important even if a Bostonian didn't read the engravings?

Enjoy the journey as you explore our site to learn more about the monuments. Keep in mind that these monuments were meant to enhance their communities, as citizens contributed to the design of a public space made possible by their successful protest of a highway project that threatened to damage their neighborhoods. You will find a variety of writing styles here because we chose to respect and honor our individuality. Click on any Orange Line Station link on the right of each page and it will direct you to pictures and information about that station's monuments. Click on the bottom links to find out more about the historical context, neighborhoods along the Orange Line, more about us, and our own rhetorical commentaries.