In a city where phones often pull people into endless scrolling, work messages, delivery updates and missed calls, one Hong Kong number now leads somewhere quieter. Instead of another notification to clear or another screen to refresh, it offers a short pause through poetry.
By calling +852 3009-9386, the public can listen to recorded poems by 30 local poets and musicians, performed in Cantonese, English and Mandarin. The idea is simple: pick up the phone, listen, and let a short piece of spoken word interrupt the pace of the day.
The hotline gives poetry a different setting. It does not require a seat in a theatre or a printed book in hand. A poem can arrive during a lunch break, while waiting for a bus, or in the middle of an ordinary afternoon. Through voice, pauses, accents and rhythm, each recording gives listeners a more intimate way to encounter language.
The project also reflects Hong Kong’s multilingual soundscape. Instead of presenting poetry as something distant or formal, it brings local voices closer to daily life, turning a phone call into a small cultural encounter.
The hotline is part of Dial-A-Poem Hong Kong, presented at M+ until August 30.
Header Image Credit: M+