Happy Friday, everyone!
A collection of poems based on stories from health care professionals has been published as part of the AAMC's Fundamental Role of Arts and Humanities in Medical Education initiative. The Good Listening Project and the AAMC have partnered to provide faculty and constituents at the nation's medical schools and teaching hospitals with a listening poet experience. To do this, the Good Listening Project conducts a call with a health professional or trainee and subsequently transforms the conversation into a work of original poetry. More than 200 poems to date have been created through this effort.
My favorite poem from the collection is "The Magic of Creation," what's yours?
I love to create–
build, manifest, fabricate
all kinds of things
like furniture, longbows
meals, tree forts, clothes
halloween costumes, santa hats,
snow sculptures, plush fur scarves
Up next:
a knee-length peacoat
or maybe,
a lightsaber…
anything is possible!
and it would be so much fun
……………………..to be a Jedi–
Notes from the interview that inspired this poem:
He was a physician who loved the process of creating things. He told me he loved puzzles, problem-solving, and breaking down the base components required to get to an end goal. "I love the opportunity and possibility in creation," he said. "Anything is possible." He told me about different things he had made over the years, and described how much satisfaction he got from the process of taking an idea from inception to creation. He also had an incredible appreciation for the fun and the magic of life. "I never grew out of loving the magic of the lights and snow, and all that comes with the Christmas season…or of the excitement from the music at the beginning of Harry Potter," he said. This also fueled his love for creation, prototyping, and inventing.
Interviewee: Anonymous, Physician
Listener Poet: Jenny Hegland
Let's get a game of "tag" going ---
@Lisa Howley, what poem or story is your favorite that you can share with the community?
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Stephanie Weiner
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