In a world of miracle drugs and advanced medical technology, we can easily forget some of the most basic elements of health and wellness: the power of art, and how the beauty of words and images can help heal us. For over 20 years, Bellevue Literary Review has published contributions by those on the front-lines of healthcare—be they medical providers, patients, families, or caregivers. Learn how art and literature provide a bulwark against the vicissitudes of human frailty, with dispatches from the Covid Era and beyond.
Join the Editor-in-Chief of Bellevue Literary Review and BLR writers in an exploration of the power of art to help both the ill and their health providers grapple with the medical and psychological challenges of illness.
This panel will explore BLR’s long history of providing artistic relief to the medical community, first-responders, the general public, and those in need of curing. The panelists will discuss their own first-hand experiences with the power of art and literature to wrestle with the existential issues of human life, and provide the creative depth often missing in our societal discourse about healthcare.
The event will include live performances by the panelists as they discuss how the “Health Effect of Art” can be understood from personal, professional, and societal perspectives. A follow-up Q&A period will allow audience members to interact with the artists.
Learn more about Bellevue Literary Review. You can catch BLR’s recent 20th anniversary celebration, featuring Abraham Verghese, Edward Hirsch, Jill Lepore, Kelly AuCoin, Lisa Sanders, and others.
Looking for a gift for yourself or your friends? In honor of its 20th anniversary, BLR is offering 20% off all of its subscriptions. Use code 20for20.
Participants must register by NOON on January 25th to receive details on joining the discussion. The Zoom link will be sent out 24 hours before the event.
Please note that no refunds will be issued.
Speaker
Physician, Writer, Public Speaker
Danielle Ofri is editor-in-chief of BLR, and a primary care doctor at Bellevue Hospital. Early in the pandemic she wrote about the first Covid surge for The New Yorker, as well the unexpected role of music for The Lancet. She also is a frequent contributor to The New York Times, and The New England Journal of Medicine. Her newest book is When We Do Harm: A Doctor Confronts Medical Error. www.danielleofri.com
Speaker
Assistant Poetry Editor at Bellevue Literary Review
Abba Belgrave is Assistant Poetry Editor of BLR. She was born in Trinidad but calls Brooklyn her hometown. Her work has been anthologized in Why I Am Not a Painter and journals such as Bellevue Literary Review and Phantom Books. Her self-censorship essay appears on the VIDA Women in the Literary Arts website. She is a graduate of The Juniper Summer Writing Institute.
Speaker
Associate Professor of English, DePauw University
Samuel Autman is a professor of creative writing at DePauw University. His essays focus on identity, places and pop culture. His writing has appeared in The Best of Brevity, The Kept Secret, The Chalk Circle, The St. Louis Anthology, Sweeter Voices Still, Bellevue Literary Review and Ninth Letter. www.samuelautman.com.
Speaker
Medical Social Worker
Sharon Pretti’s work appears in Spillway, JAMA, Bellevue Literary Review, Schuylkill Valley Journal and elsewhere. She’s a Pushcart Prize nominee and works as a medical social worker in a San Francisco nursing home. She has had the great pleasure of leading poetry groups for her patients for over 20 years. www.SharonPretti.com
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