Poetry in Healthcare
After observing the impact poetry had in my psychotherapy practice and informally with friends, I saw that poetry had a place in health. Poetry, like scent, goes directly to the core.
Ronna Bloom talks about using poetry in healthcare. Videography by: Sore Thumb
The Spontaneous Poetry Booth &
Rx for Poetry
What if, in the middle of a lobby, a person seated at a table asked you if you needed a poem? And what if, in the middle of that lobby, they wrote it, and gave it to you? This is one of the things I do. It's called The Spontaneous Poetry Booth.
“My motto: everyone who is alive could use a poem. Whether they want one is a different matter.”
Rx for Poetry is a similar process that emerged from The Spontaneous Poetry Booth, where instead of writing a new poem on the spot, I prescribe an existing one.
Both of these are ways to involve people in a moment of self reflection that results in a poem. The process is simple: after asking you two or three questions, I will offer or write you a poem—in five minutes or less. When a poem works, it can reflect an experience that has not yet been articulated.
Rx for Poetry has appeared at hospitals, fundraisers, book stores and street fairs across Canada and abroad.
Listen to the 5 minute audio documentary produced by CBC Radio q in April 2018, Prescription for Poetry?
Read a piece on Lit Hub about poetry prescriptions in hospital waiting rooms.
Poetry for Health Care Professionals and other teams:
As Poet in Residence at Sinai Health from 2012-2019, I developed a range of writing workshops, poetry booths and site specific events to offer staff, patients and visitors in hospital opportunities to express their experiences through poetry. Beyond Sinai, I worked with practitioners at UHN, Toronto, Western and St. Michael’s. Hospital.
In late 2023 and early 2024, I had the opportunity to go to Thunder Bay, to the Seven Generations Institute in Fort Francis, and to the Sioux Lookout to work with doctors, nurses, and students in those regions.
In 2023, Dr. Mary Elliott, Psychiatrist and Psychotherapist at Princess Margaret Hospital and I had a conversation about “Poetry as Medicine.”
Here are a few related articles: First ever Poet in Residence at Mount Sinai Hospital Helps Health Care Workers, Toronto Star, MSH Poet helps staff build resilience, Canadian Jewish News, On Prescribing Poetry in Hospital Waiting Rooms, The Literary Hub. “How to use therapeutic writing for empowerment without revisiting trauma.”
If your team needs a way of coming together in presence and creativity, contact me. I am doing workshops via Zoom and in person, as circumstances allow.
Popular Poetry Workshops in Health Care
Awake at Work — Writing into Presence
Postcards from the Edge: Addressing Compassion/Covid Fatigue in Note Forrm
Writing Your Way Out of a Paper Bag
Be Good to Yourself Whoever You Are
See detailed descriptions of a few of these workshops. For information on others, contact me below.
