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UPCOMING EVENTS
With John Fox & The Institute for Poetic Medicine


January 14, 2010
John's Schedule At A Glance


THE HEALING ART OF POEM-MAKING
and
POETRY, COMMUNITY & THE FLOURISHING HEART
March 26-27
Auburn, CA


FINDING THE WORDS TO SAY IT
May 5
Tucson, AZ


THE HEALING ART OF POEM-MAKING
and
POETIC MEDICINE: A WRITING WORKSHOP
May 7-8
Tucson, AZ


THE NATURE OF POETRY:
EXPLORING THE BEAUTY WAY
May 25-June 1
Canyon de Chelly, AZ



THE HEALING ART OF WRITING
June 27- July 2
San Rafael, CA


SEEING TAKES TIME
June 30-July 4
Bowen Island, B.C.
Canada


THE JOURNEY OF THE UNDIVIDED LIFE
Sept. 10-12
Burlingame, CA


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Bryce Canyon Winter


January 14, 2010
 
Dear Friend of The Institute for Poetic Medicine,
 
We are aware, as we prepare to send this Constant Contact about my schedule, of the earthquake devastation in the country of Haiti. 

My thoughts and prayers immediately went to my friend Dr. Diane Allerdyce, Chief Academic Officer for a remarkable charter school, Toussaint L'Ouverture High School for Art and Social Justice that serves the Haitian communities of Delray and Boynton Beach in Florida.  Please read past my letter here to learn more about this school, her students and how you may support their response to the tragedy in Haiti. 

(There are inspiring links including an NPR broadcast of poems written by Toussaint students.)

While our eyes are on Haiti now, when the news lessens, how can we continue to pitch in to help others in need?  How can we draw closer to one another and be more cooperative on this small planet? 

We may pray for solace and aide to touch Haitian people experiencing trauma and grief.  May our prayer remind us of our own fragility and the great difference made by a simple gesture of support.   We will be moved by acts of courage in the face of tragedy.  Let us allow courageous acts to inspire and motivate the choices we make.

May all this stir in us a daily question:  how shall I live? 

Whatever challenges you face or goals you set for yourself in 2010, I believe you possess the resilience and creative spark necessary to keep stepping forward.  If some unknown is large before you, may your depth and courage help you honor silence and the grace to pause and wait, for guidance, for rest.  It is in that pause, in that rest place, where you might listen for a poem that is yours. 

This silent pause, this listening space, is what holds our words.  We, and those people we may be blessed to work with, can speak and listen to this heart language to foster truth-saying, release, insight, remembrance and renewal.   
 
This Constant Contact contains my current schedule for 2010!  I will offer programs in Tucson, AZ; Auburn, CA; Canyon de Chelly, AZ; Bowen Island near Vancouver, Canada and a co-led retreat with Sally Hare in the San Francisco Bay area.  I'll also participate on the faculty with David Watts, Rachel Naomi Remen and Jane Hirshfield at The Healing Art of Writing conference at Dominican College in San Rafael, CA.   
 
Look for future schedule updates on my web site.  If you are interested in bringing "poetic medicine" to where you live, let us know.   We can work with you to make this happen!   
 
I believe the essence of community and poem-making is this: that each one of us brings something irreplaceable to life's circle.  Your irreplaceable nature and voice is what makes the whole sacred. The expressive arts have a knack for teaching us about the sacredness of the person, the value of receptivity and a deep sense of community.  
 
Let's travel this journey with that kind of sensibility in our hearts. I hope to meet you along the way. 
 
Sincerely,
 
John Fox
for The Institute for Poetic Medicine
_________________

Which memory compelled the poet
     to write her first poem?
Which poem compelled the poet
     to remember her first memory?
Which memory broke into words without effort?
 
~ Emily Warn
from The Word Between the World and God

 
To Visit Emily Warn's Website:  (Click Here)

 
HOW  YOU  CAN  HELP


TOUSSAINT L'OUVERTURE HIGH SCHOOL
for Arts & Social Justice

Touissant School

Boynton Beach, Florida

(See Inspiring Links Below
About the School and Its Students!)


Dr. Diane Allerdyce is a dear friend I met in 1996 when she attended a poetic medicine workshop I facilitated at Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, NY.  Following that experience, Diane trained in poetry therapy and more recently served as President of the National Association for Poetry Therapy.  We have worked closely on various projects.  At Diane's invitation, I have twice enjoyed working with the wonderful students at Toussaint L'Ouverture.   

Despite tremendous challenges, Diane (formerly an English Professor at Lynn University) has done a courageous job in founding this charter high school for art and social justice.  She and her co-founder, Joseph Bernadel (a native Haitian), are selflessly dedicated to education for the most disadvantaged and marginalized, and in the words of their mission statement, desire that their young students "have a voice in co-creating a world they can believe in."  

Family members and friends of Toussaint L'Ouverture students, those who live in Haiti, are deeply impacted by this tragedy.  Diane and Joesph are directly involved in relief efforts on their behalf.  They will make your contribution work.  Diane said to me:  "Donations will be used for medical relief efforts first and foremost, and also for food and water." 
There are many ways people are drawn to contribute in tragedy.  Because of the relationship I (and The Institute) have with Diane Allerdyce and her work for art and social justice, we are doing our part by letting you know that this is one way you may offer support. 

You Can Send a Donation To:

Toussaint L'Ouverture High School
for Arts & Social Justice
Attn:  Lauren Keller - Relief Effort for Haiti
1325 Gateway Blvd.
Boynton Beach, FL  33426


(Note:  Please specify that your donation is for the earthquake relief effort and that you are a friend of
The Institute for Poetic Medicine
).


Here is a letter that Diane wrote to me on the morning of January 13, 2010:

"Thank you so much for your prayers and message of support - it means a lot, John. We are here at school keeping a contact point open for the community and held an assembly this morning for the students and faculty including poetry from
Giving Sorrow Words while efforts continue to help them get in touch with family members in Haiti.  We have had counseling here and more on the way for the students. We've set up an access line to Haiti for community members to use the phone lines for free and are waiting for service to resume.

We're having a press conference and community meeting to organize relief efforts here at 5 PM today. Donations will be used for medical relief efforts first and foremost, and also for food & water. I am thinking of you in this new year and can feel your energy and love."

Namaste,
Diane

__________________________________

Toussaint Kids

Diane Allerdyce on far left in yellow jacket;
Joseph Bernadel on far right in blue jacket


__________________________________


Oh my Dear Flag

your colors shine more than the moon in the sky
you are beautiful like a rainbow in the sky
you are not something that we can buy
and then when you float you are not shy
you dance like trees in the time of earthquake
your shape is nice like the shape of a rectangular cake
your color is not orange
but you are sweet like an orange
your words are never changed
it's time you talk
you always say that everything will be arranged

~ Sherly Luc, Touissant student

(Written in 2004 in a poetry therapy class with Diane Allerdyce just after the terrible flood devastation in Haiti.)


Visit the School's Website:         (Click Here)

TO Hear an Audio Postcard on NPR Featuring Poetry by Students Sherly Luc and Vanessa Ramier, as Well as a Church Choral From Touissant's Girls' Choir:                  (Click Here)




John's 2010 Schedule To Date
MARCH

March 26 - 27, 2010
Offered by John Fox, CPT

Sponsored by
Sierra Foothills Unitarian Universalists
Auburn, CA


Red Tipped Leaves

INTRODUCTION TO POETIC MEDICINE:
The Healing Art of Poem-Making (3/26/10)
and
POETRY, COMMUNITY &
THE FLOURISHING HEART (3/27/10)


"The only thing that can save the world is the reclaiming of the awareness of the world. That is what poetry does."
~ Allen Ginsberg


         
INTRODUCTION TO POETIC MEDICINE:
The Healing Art of Poem-Making


Date
:
 

March 26, 2010
Friday7:00PM - 9:00PM

Fee:
$25.00

This evening program is open to all. It will be useful and inspiring for those who would like to consider writing as a path for self-expression and as a way to stand for justice. It will focus on sharing the ways that poetry can be a catalyst for healing and transformation of the person and community.
 
Atl WC


Poetry, Community & the Flourishing Heart

Date
:
March 27, 2010
Saturday9:00AM - 4:00PM

Fee:
$75.00

The making of poems is a way to express our uniqueness and find common ground with others. It gives us a chance to listen in a generative and
refreshing way. A poem can help us to feel and care for what is really going on with the person whose shoulder is next to ours. Poetry gives voice to a spirit of community and the miracle of each individual.  This workshop requires no experience with writing.  Beginners are welcome and it is also appropriate if you already write.  Anyone in the helping professions will benefit and find practical support for their work.  It will inspire and give workable tools to anyone with a desire to express their truth and creativity.

Atl WC


Location of Both Events
:

Sierra Foothills Unitarian Universalists of Auburn
190 Finley St.
Auburn, CA  95604

Fee Note: 
You can attend Friday evening, all day Saturday, or both days.  Fee if attending both programs is $90.00.
 
For More Information:
Please Contact John Bowman at:
Phone:  (916) 751-9189
E-mail:   [email protected]


FOR A FLYER/REGISTRATION FORM:
(Click Here)  


MAY


May 5, 2010
Offered with John Fox, CPT


An Inservice for Healthcare Providers
and Those in Helping Professions

Tucson Osteopathic Medical Foundation
Tucson, AZ

Cactus against pastel sky

FINDING THE WORDS TO SAY IT:
The Healing Art of Written Expression

For people who work in helping professions and healthcare, poetry and poem-making are an excellent treatment modality. Research has shown that poetry, used in this therapeutic way, can provide emotional resilience and meaningful connection. For caregivers, whether they be family or professional, the reading or writing of poems can be part of a practice of self-care and a way to avoid burnout. For the one coping with illness or distress and for the one who receives that care, poetry can be like a friend who helps to recognize and affirm a whole person.

Date
May 5, 2010
Wednesday:  2:00PM - 5:00PM

Fee: 
$45.00

Location
Tucson Osteopathic Medical Foundation
3182 N. Swan Rd.
(at Swan & Camp Lowell, in the Village Offices complex)
Tucson, AZ  85712

For More Information:
 
Please contact Barbara Stahura at:
Phone:  (520) 575-9650
E-Mail[email protected]
 
(There may be CEU's available for this program. Please contact Barbara to find out).

FOR A FLYER/REGISTRATION FORM:   (Click Here)
 


"John Fox is the quintessential group facilitator. Having over ten years' experience of leading groups in the difficult task of lifestyle behavior change, I left Fox's workshop on the healing art of poem-making with profound patient-empowering skills. With Fox's skillful guidance, poem-making takes our impediments to growth and turns them into catalysts."
 
~ Peg Baim, RN, NP, Clinical Director
   Center for Training
   Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine   
   Massachusetts General Hospital




May 7 - 8, 2010
Two Special Presentations with John Fox, CPT

Tucson Osteopathic Medical Foundation
Tucson, AZ

Cactus against sunset


INTRODUCTION TO POETIC MEDICINE:
The Healing Art of Poem-Making (5/07/10)
and
POETIC MEDICINE:
A Writing Workshop (5/08/10)


INTRODUCTION TO POETIC MEDICINE:
The Healing Art of Poem-Making


Date:
May 7, 2010
Friday:  7:00PM - 9:30PM

Fee:
$25.00

Location:
Tucson Osteopathic Medical Foundation
3182 N. Swan Rd.
(at Swan & Camp Lowell, in the Village Offices complex)
Tucson, AZ  85712

John will focus on ways poetry and poem-making act as a catalyst for healing and transformation. He will show how poetry and poem-making can help you to release pain and discover meaning. You are invited to hear stories of how poetry is a catalyst for making connections. This evening program is open to all.
No prior experience with writing or poetry is necessary.

Atl WC

POETIC MEDICINE:  A Writing Workshop

Date
:

May 8, 2010
Saturday:  9:00AM - 4:00PM

Location:
Tucson Osteopathic Medical Foundation
3182 N. Swan Rd.
(at Swan & Camp Lowell, in the Village Offices complex)
Tucson, AZ  85712

Fee:
$95.00

What do you want to say about your experience of life? What do you want to say about what matters to you? What is it like for you to be deeply listened to?  John Fox will show how your own words can deepen feeling and understanding, provide comfort and bring relief. Finding the words to say what is in your heart  can lighten the load and bring a new sense of meaning, purpose and direction.  John creates a safe environment to explore this empowering process of self- expression. No prior experience is necessary. If you have attended workshops with him in the past, this program will offer time to write and share in community.



For More Information About Both Events:

Please Contact Barbara Stahura at:
Phone:  (520) 575-9650
E-Mail[email protected]

Fee NoteYou can attend Friday evening, all day Saturday, or both days.  Fee if attending both programs is $110.00. 

There may be CEU's available for these programs.  Please call Barbara to find out.

Please Register by March 11, 2010

FOR A FLYER/REGISTRATION FORM:   (Click Here)



May 25 - June 1, 2010
The Tenth Camping, Hiking &
Poem-Making Experience

with John Fox, Joseph Johnson and Din� Friends, Jon and Lupita McClanahan

Canyon de Chelly
Northern Arizona

Atl WC

THE NATURE OF POETRY:
Exploring the Beauty Way


During the week, we will weave together sessions of writing and sharing, walking and contemplation. We will visit sacred sites such as Talking Rock & Spider Rock, White House Ruins and the Ye'ibicheii Trail. We will have the chance to appreciate Din� and Anasazi art, from ancient rock painting and petroglyphs to present day artists working with silver and wool. This workshop is a rare opportunity for non-Native people to be welcomed for a long period of time into this sacred place. We will stay with Din� (Navajo) who honor the four elements and directions on a daily basis. The wisdom stories of the Din� originate in and around the stunning beauty of Canyon de Chelly. Our hosts, Jon and Lupita, will share these stories and their way of life during the day and around the campfire in the evening.
 
The retreat experience is a cooperative camping adventure in simplicity. I guarantee your meals will be fantastic! The light of dawn and dusk, the hum of the wind, will heal, inspire and guide us. This adventure is appropriate for both beginning and more advanced camper and writer!

Dates:
May 25 - June 1, 2010

Retreat Fee:
$1,100.00
($350.00 deposit required)
 
Note:  This fee does not include travel to the Canyon and a few optional choices.
 
Please Register by May 12
Registration is Limited to 16 Participants! 
 
For More Information:
Please Contact John Fox at:
Phone:  (650) 938-2717
E-Mail[email protected]

FOR FLYER/REGISTRATION FORM:   (Click Here)


TO VIEW PHOTOS BY TAD GIELOW OF PRIOR RETREATS:  (Click Here)


TO VISIT WEBSITE OF FOOTPATH JOURNEYS:
(Click Here)

_________________

"John Fox is the best facilitator I have ever had the privilege to work with. The way he responds deepens your experience of the poem and allows it to expand, both inside yourself and within the circle of the group.  You are also held by the walls of the canyon, which is an extremely powerful experience.  You can literally feel the energy emanating from the walls.   I also appreciated John's ability to honor the different needs of members in the group.  There was space for everyone to get what they needed."

Birch Thomas

Portland, OR

_________________

Suzy's Hand
_________________

In beauty may we dwell.
In beauty may we walk.
In beauty may our male kindred dwell.
In beauty may our female kindred dwell.
- From a Navajo Prayer


JUNE

June 27 - July 2, 2010

THE HEALING ART OF WRITING:

Offered by:

Joan Baranow
John Fox, CPT
Jane Hirshfield
Louis B. Jones, M.D.
Veneta Masson, R.N.
Rachel Naomi Remen, M.D.
Terese Svoboda

Dominican University of California

San Rafael, CA  


Elderly Woman's Hands

Dominican University of California
in cooperation with
The Foundation for Humanities in Medicine offers: 

A Symposium Exploring Writing & Healing

Formerly known as Writing the Medical Experience, this intensive weeklong program in the literature of illness and recovery is open to doctors, nurses, patients, health care professionals and families of patients.  Any writer interested in medical subjects is welcome.  Bringing together individuals with a shared interest in the literature of the body, and who have diverse ways of handling the body's challenges, will inspire new ways of writing the medical experience.

The conference will consist of lectures, workshops, panels, readings and informal gatherings on a tranquil campus just 11 miles north of San Francisco.

Applications will be considered in two categories: poetry and prose. Acceptance into the program is based on the quality of the application sample. Previous participants need not submit their work.

Fees:

Application Fee: $25
Tuition: $700
Partial Scholarships:  A limited number of partial scholarships are available.  To be considered, attach a letter describing need.
Housing: Double room $250; Single room $375
Meal Plan:  Meal plan begins with dinner on Sunday, June 27 and ends with breakfast on Friday, July 2


FOR PDF INFORMATION/APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS:      (Click Here) 

All applications must be postmarked
by April 16, 2010.


Acceptance letters and registration materials will be mailed by May 9.  All fees must be received by May 28.

Facilities:

The tranquil Dominican campus covers 80 wooded acres in a quiet residential neighborhood in San Rafael-yet it's only twenty minutes to San Francisco and the East Bay.  Edgehill Village, a residential complex built in 2002, is six cedar-shingled buildings.  Each suite features a living room, two bedrooms, and a shared bathroom.  Conlan Recreation Center offers workout rooms and an outdoor pool.  Accommodations include meals.

For More Information:
Please Contact David Watts, Conference Director at:
Phone:  415-759-1162
E-Mail[email protected]


TO VISIT THE DOMINICAN UNIVERSITY'S WEBSITE:
(Click Here)


Dominican University Collage Pics


"I was inspired by you [John Fox], and learned how much more I have to learn.  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.  If any healing took place at the conference, I'm sure it was, in large measure, thanks to your presence and example"

~ Cortney Davis, Nurse Practitioner
Redding, CT
author of The Body Flute and Leopold's Manuevers



June 30 - July 4, 2010

Offered by John Fox
Sponsored by Ray McGinnis & Writing the Sacred

Rivendell Retreat Center
On Bowen Island in British Columbia, Canada

Atl WC

SEEING TAKES TIME
A Five Day Exploration


Nobody sees a flower-really-it is so small-
we haven't time - and to see takes time
like to have a friend takes time.
 
~ Georgia O'Keefe


A gift of poetry is that it encourages us to take our time. We can take our time to not only see a small flower, but see and feel the richness of the world and of the person whose shoulder is next to yours.
 
Writing poetry allows us to reflect upon our lives and varied experiences.  Sharing our poems with one another, we take time to listen to a friend.  It is a great gift, this kind of listening.
 
We will experiment with the poetic elements of metaphor, sound, rhythm, imagery and symbol.
 
This retreat offers a safe, supportive environment to write poems-or what William Stafford preferred to call 'things' - that can open up feelings, distill meaning, shore up your ability to respond to difficulties with integrity and courage.
 
Appropriate for beginning and experienced writers! This workshop provides pastoral and healthcare professionals with self-care tools and applicable techniques for their practice.

Dates:
June 30 - July 4, 2010

Fee:
$650 (includes full retreat, all meals and lodging; $100 deposit required)
 
Location
Rivendell Retreat Centre
Bowen Island,  British Columbia

Rivendell Retreat is a place of peace and quiet away from the noise, distractions and pressures of the city, with magnificent views of mountains, forests and seas... a sanctuary with a network of trails that offer the opportunity for discovering new intimacy with God while exploring forest paths and the wonders of creation located on 6 acres atop Cates Hill on Bowen Island; a short ferry ride from Horseshoe Bay and West Vancouver.

FOR INFORMATION REGARDING TRAVEL, LODGING AND RETREAT FACILITIES AT RIVENDELL:           (Click Here)


FOR A FLYER/REGISTRATION FORM:    (Click Here)


For More Information: 
Please Contact Ray McGinnis at:
Phone:  (604) 408-4457
E-mail: [email protected] 


TO VISIT RAY MCGINNIS' WEBSITE:   (Click Here)

 

Pine Cone


  SEPTEMBER

September 10 - 12, 2010

A Retreat Bringing Together
Poetic Medicine with the Circle of Trust � Approach 
with John Fox, CPT, and Sally Z. Hare, Ph. D.


The Mercy Center
Burlingame, CA

Mercy Center Labyrinth


THE JOURNEY OF THE UNDIVIDED LIFE:
Reclaiming Your Hidden Wholeness
Through the Healing Art of Poetry

In this unique retreat, poet John Fox and teacher Sally Z. Hare come together to explore the intersection of their work. They invite you to experience a circle of trust, grounded in Sally's many years of working with Parker J. Palmer's Circle of Trust theory, and the healing power of writing, based in John's own work in poetry therapy.
 
Our innate wholeness is part of the gift of being human, but as Thomas Merton has written, it is often hidden or invisible. The pressures and hectic pace of our modern lives too often make it easier to see our brokenness than our wholeness - and we can even forget that it is there.
 
There is in all things an invisible fecundity, a dimmed light, a meek namelessness, a hidden wholeness.  This mysterious Unity, and Integrity, is Wisdom, the Mother of all, Natura naturans.
                                                                     ~Thomas Merton

 
Those of us engaged in organizational leadership, teaching, psychology, pastoral care, medicine and other service professions, in community service and social change, know the challenge of sustaining ourselves and our commitment to deeply held values and beliefs.
 
The more passionate we are about our work, the more vital it is that we take time to renew our own spirits - to reconnect with the wellsprings of our work in the world, our service to others.

Dates: 
September 10 - 12, 2010

Location: 
The Mercy Center
Burlingame, CA

Fee:
The registration fee for this retreat is $889* and includes EVERYTHING:  all retreat fees, materials, private bedrooms, all meals, coffee and tea breaks.

*Registration  by July 1st  entitles you
to a discounted fee of $799.


Space is limited to 24 participants. Programs typically fill well before the deadline.


FOR A FLYER & REGISTRATION FORM:
(Click Here)

For Further Information:

Dr. Sally Z. Hare
Phone:  843-238-9291
E-Mail[email protected] 

John Fox
Phone:  650-938-2717
E-Mail[email protected]


TO LEARN MORE ABOUT SALLY HARE:

Sally Hare & Dogs

(Click Here)


TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE MERCY CENTER:

Mercy Center Building




Atl WC
________

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With Family, Friends, and Co-Workers

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