Reading Arthur W. Frank’s astonishing At the Will of the Body recently has given me pause to reflect on the relationship … More
Tag: poetry and illness
Poetry and illness
Medicine The black hair of my Chinese doctor gleams like combed ink as he leans over his desk, with quick … More
The cancer World Cup
The ward is a void without him. Football blares in the corner, the monotonous roar of the crowd unleavened by … More
Lifesaving Poems: Alison Mosquera’s ‘Tamoxifen’
Earlier this year I ran a Poetry School course about poetry and health called Written on the Body. It was … More
Lifesaving Poems: Jane Kenyon’s ‘Let Evening Come’
Let Evening Come Let the light of late afternoon shine through chinks in the barn, moving up the bales as … More
Lifesaving Poems: Brendan Kennelly’s ‘May the Silence Break’
May the Silence Break Because you do not speakI know the shockof water encountering a rock. Supremacy of silence is … More