Dear Friend of Poetic Medicine,

As my day unfolds, I often think of exciting news I'd like to share with you regarding how poetry is healing in the world. It's my good fortune to act as a catalyst for some of these stories and for so many more to learn of them through you and this fine community interested in the activities of The Institute for Poetic Medicine.

Constant Contact communications reach teachers, hospice staff & volunteers, nurses, pastoral counselors, physicians, community activists, cancer & wellness support people and a wide range of individuals around the world who have discovered, are uncovering in their lives, poetry as healer. We know poetry as healer encourages wholeness, relieves pain, evokes insight, stirs conscience and brings comfort.

In this world troubled with environmental short-sightedness and rife with injustice, we are a community of people who wake up to make a difference; aware that poetry and the arts are essential to being human, we dream of a blue planet where life flourishes.

Recent news includes the PBS broadcast of Healing Words: Poetry & Medicine at some stations across the country. You can view a list of the stations/times that we are currently aware of by going here:
CLICK HERE!
(Scroll part way down the page)

If you'd like to visit the PBS link about the film and view a trailer of this fine production:
CLICK HERE!

Please check out a new feature on the home page of the Institute. A Community of Poets will unfold with more contributions as time moves along. To view it:
CLICK HERE!

What follows is a Calendar of Events where I will teach during the coming months. Please scroll down for more detailed description and important links.

Sincerely,
John Fox, CPT

P.S. I welcome your feedback and ideas!

CALENDAR OF UPCOMING EVENTS:

Finding the Words To Say It: The Healing Art of Written Expression
Presented by John Fox, CPT
(Two Programs for Cancer Survivors, Their Families and Caregivers):

~The Gathering Place
Beachwood, OH
For Information & To Register:
(216) 595-9546
Friday, July 25th: 1:30pm - 4:30pm
Saturday, July 26th: 9:00am - 1:00pm

~The Wellness Community of Greater Columbus
Dublin, OH
For Information & To Register:
(614) 791-9510
Thursday, Sept. 4th: 1:00pm - 4:00pm

Columbus Book Festival
(Sponsored by Writer's Ink)
Martin Luther King Arts Complex
Columbus, OH
For Information:
(614) 493-3298
Saturday, Sept. 6th: 9:30am - 6:00pm

Finding What You Didn't Lose: Uncover Your Hidden Wholeness Through the Healing Power of Writing
Presented by John Fox, CPT & Sally Z. Hare, PhD
Presentation Retreat Center
Los Gatos, CA
For Information & To Register:
(843) 238-9291
Friday, Sept. 12th (Evening) - Sunday, Sept. 14th (Noon)

Creative Healing: Healing From the Inside
Presented by a collaboration of artists, teachers, physicians & healers, including John Fox, CPT
El Camino Hospital Cancer Center
Mountain View, CA
For Information & To Register:
(650) 988-8011
Sunday, Oct. 26th: 8:30am - 4:30pm

Poetry, Community & the Flourishing Heart
Presented by John Fox, CPT
Rivendell Retreat Center
Bowen Island, British Columbia - CANADA
For Information & To Register:
(604) 408-4457
Friday, Jan. 16th (2:00pm) - Sunday, Jan. 18th (Noon)

PROGRAM DESCRIPTIONS:

FINDING THE WORDS TO SAY IT: THE HEALING ART OF WRITTEN EXPRESSION

Join John Fox, CPT, in July and September in Ohio at two support centers for cancer survivors, their families and caregivers. (See individual center information below).

John, who has presented frequently at both centers, returns to Ohio to offer another poetic medicine workshop at these excellent centers.

As a poet and certified poetry therapist, John creates an inviting space where those who are struggling with cancer may express themselves through the healing act of poem-making. Regardless of whether you have attended in the past, this program will offer new material and a time of renewal. If you are new to this, John creates a safe and encouraging environment. No prior experience is necessary!

"Many brave and beautiful poems came to life yesterday, for which I'm grateful - also that wonderful packet of poems we read together and can go on rereading." ~Libba Winston, Moffett Cancer & Research Center,
Tampa, FL

Please Note: The Gathering Place and Wellness Community Workshops Are FREE; However Pre-Registration is Requested!

THE GATHERING PLACE

Dates:
Friday, July 25th: 1:30pm - 4:30pm
Saturday, July 26th: 9:00am - 1:00pm

(Note: You may attend one or both classes.)

Address:
23300 Commerce Park
Beachwood, OH
For Information & To Register::
(216) 595-9546

To View A Full Flyer of Information:
CLICK HERE!

To Visit The Gathering Place Website:
CLICK HERE!

THE WELLNESS COMMUNITY OF GREATER COLUMBUS

Dates:
Thursday, Sept. 4th: 1:00pm - 4:00pm

Address:
5500 Frantz Rd., #115
Dublin, OH

For Information & To Register:
(614) 791-9510

To View A Full Flyer of Information:
CLICK HERE!

To Visit The Wellness Center of Greater Columbus' Website:
CLICK HERE!

COLUMBUS BOOK FESTIVAL

Dates:
Saturday, Sept. 6th:
9:30am - 6:00pm

Address:
Martin Luther King Arts Complex
876 Mt. Vernon Avenue
Columbus, OH

For Information: (614) 493-3298

This FREE Event Includes Featured Authors/Speakers:
Jesse Lee Kercheval, Author and Co-Director, The Program in Creative Writing and Director, The Wisconsin Institute for Creative Writing, Wisconsin University; John Fox, Poet, Certified Poetry Therapist, Author, and Head and Founder of the Institute for Poetic Meditation in Palo Alto, California; Cherry Kelly, Author, Creative Writing Program in Wisconsin University, Eudora Welty Professor Emerita of English and Evjue-Bascom Professor Emerita in the Humanities; Paul Brett Johnson, Children's Book Author and Illustrator and School Author extraordinaire.

To View Information about the Book Festival:
CLICK HERE!

To Visit The Writers' Ink Website:
CLICK HERE!

To Visit The Martin Luther King Arts Complex Website:
CLICK HERE!

FINDING WHAT YOU DIDN'T LOSE: UNCOVER YOUR HIDDEN WHOLENESS THROUGH THE HEALING POWER OF WRITING

Dates:
Friday, Sept. 12th (Evening) -
Sunday, Sept. 14th (Noon)

Address:
Presentation Retreat Center
19480 Bear Creek Rd.
Los Gatos, CA

For Information & To Register:
(843) 238-9291 (Sally Z. Hare)

A Meeting of Poetic Medicine and the Principles of Parker Palmer

John Fox, CPT, and Sally Z. Hare, PhD invite you to join them in the redwoods of the Santa Cruz mountains for reflection, renewal and connection with self and others through the healing power of writing. Grounded in Sally's years of working with Parker Palmer's formation theory, and John's extensive experience with poetry therapy, you will have an opportunity to rejoin soul and role, to reconnect who you are with what you do. This circle of trust retreat is for persons working within education, health care, psychology, law, philanthropy, religious/spiritual life, organizational leadership and nonprofit and community organizations.

"John's process allows individuals to connect more fully to their true selves and invites their voices to be heard in community with others. His gentle encouragement helps even the most reticent participant to feel comfortable and affirmed." ~Elaine Sullivan & the Staff of the Center for Formation and Higher Education

To View A Full Workshop Flyer:
CLICK HERE!

To Visit Sally Hare's Still Learning, Inc.Website:
CLICK HERE!

To Visit The Presentation CenterWebsite:
CLICK HERE!

CREATIVE HEALING: HEALING FROM THE INSIDE
A Day of Integrative & Creative Approaches to Cancer Care

(Presented by The Buchholz Medical Group and El Camino Hospital Cancer Center)

Facilitators Include:

·William M. Buchholz, M.D. (Medical Oncologist); ·Susan W. Buchholz, Ph.D. (Clinical Psychologist); ·John Fox, C.P.T. (Certified Poetry Therapist); ·Allan Chinen, M.D. (Psychiatrist, Author, Specialist in Adult Folktales); ·Jeanne Fournier (Guided Imagery & Hypnotherapy); ·Kait Philbin, Ph.D. (Psychologist & Kripala Yoga Instructor); · Peter Giordano (Musician, Dir. of Story Project); ·Deanna Anderson (Movement Therapist); ·Linda Lum (Professor of Art - Foothill College); ·Skip Cantwell (Professor of Art - Foothill College); ·Rebecca Barbee (Improv Workshop Leader)

Dates:
Sunday, Oct. 26th:
8:30am - 4:30pm

Address:
El Camino Hospital Cancer Center
2500 Grant Rd.
Mountain View, CA

The Symposium is Free; However Pre-registration is Requested!:
(650) 988-8011

John Fox, CPT will join a faculty of teachers, healers, physicians and artists who have collaborated to offer this experiential day-long symposium that will provide a rich atmosphere for inviting you to engage more deeply with your authentic self - the one who desires to thrive beyond the limits of cultural and personal cancer myths, and who instinctively knows what you most need during this challenging period. Through the creative use of art, poetry, storytelling, and movement, you will have an opportunity to regain your personal power, renew your creative skills and find new answers to old problems.

"You listen to poems better than anyone I've ever seen. There is something quite magical in your ability to be with a person and a poem at the same time. To let yourself recede and the other come forward. To respond with your heart first, and then your head" ~ Cortney Davis, Nurse Practitioner, Redding, CT

To View a Full Flyer:
CLICK HERE!

To Visit the Buchholz Medical Group Website:
CLICK HERE!

To Visit the El Camino Hospital Healing Arts Program Website:
CLICK HERE!

POETRY. COMMUNITY AND THE FLOURISHING HEART

Dates:
Friday, Jan. 16th (2:00pm) -
Sunday, Jan. 18th (Noon)

Location:
Rivendell Retreat Center
600 Rivendell
Bowen Island, British Columbia, CANADA

For Information & To Register:
(604) 408-4457 (Ray McGinnis)

John Fox, CPT invites you to join him on beautiful Bowen Island in British Columbia for a time of developing and sharing poemsthat reflect on who we are individually and collectively in community. What may be blocking and/or holding you back from meaningful connections to self and others? How can you say what you discover and know, with beauty and power? Treating these questions as threads in the tapestry that weave us together, we will discover how the responses that emerge in this tranquil, sacred place nourish and strengthen us. This is John's fourth visit to Rivendell. This retreat is sponsored by Ray McGinnis and Write to the Heart.

To View a Full Workshop Flyer:
CLICK HERE!

To Visit Ray McGinnis' "Write to the Heart" Website:
CLICK HERE!

To Visit the Rivendell Retreat Center Website:
CLICK HERE!

"Truth is such a rare thing, it is delightful to tell it."
(Emily Dickinson)

·Please Feel Free to Share this e-mail with Friends, Family and Colleagues by Clicking on the "Forward e-mail" Link Below!

·If you experience technical difficulties that affect the quality of this e-mail, please let us know and we will resend to you.

E-mail us at: programmanager@poeticmedicine.org

(Note: Links are best accessed through Firefox or Safari)