Calligraphy has long been admired for its aesthetic discipline, but on city walls it is undergoing a radical transformation. Street calligraphers—sometimes called “calligraffiti” artists—are blending traditional scripts with modern street-art techniques, turning letters into large-scale murals. Increasingly, they are also writing full poems, transforming alleys and underpasses into open-air literary journals.
Arabic, Bengali, Devanagari, Chinese and Latin scripts all feature in this movement. Swirling strokes, dripping paint and oversized ligatures give familiar alphabets a new dynamism. Instead of just names or slogans, artists inscribe verses about love, migration, protest or neighbourhood history. Some collaborate with poets, projecting their words in light or embedding QR codes that lead to audio readings.
This evolution from calligraphy to public poetry does more than beautify walls. It democratizes literature, making it accessible to people who might never visit a gallery or buy a book of verse. It also preserves endangered scripts by showcasing them in vibrant, contemporary contexts.
City councils and cultural institutes have started sponsoring calligraffiti festivals, recognising the role of written word as public art. Meanwhile, independent collectives paint clandestine “poetry walls” overnight, reclaiming space from commercial advertising. Social media then amplifies these works, spreading local dialects and stories globally.
By merging the elegance of writing with the immediacy of street art, public poetry on walls invites passers-by to pause, read and reflect. It turns the city itself into a living page where culture, identity and imagination intersect.