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UPCOMING POETIC MEDICINE EVENTS
With John Fox, CPT
Summer, 2012
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Summer Solstice, 2012
Dear Friends of Poetic Medicine,
Like an alphabet orphan
from church
I dance and dance!
~ Doug McGinnis, 73 years
Plucking words from a basket, Doug made this poem about ten years ago in a workshop he attended at the Canadian Peace Center of Memorial Church in Vancouver, British Columbia.
I've never forgotten its spontaneous joy.
Father of my good friend Ray McGinnis, Doug is a retired dentist who had not written a poem since childhood. Yet here we have in the poem's three lines:
discovery/surprise
creative empowerment
and an acknowledgement of a life-truth
These are hallmarks of what occurs for people who experience poetry as healer.
Towards the beginning of the life-span, a child can be given the safe and sacred space to experience and integrate, through his or her self-directed action, these feelings too.
I recall over 16 years ago working with a 5th grade class. Before I began, the children's teacher conveyed her evaluation that a girl in the class 'had trouble with language.' I listened but kept my attention open to surprise.
We started with the word basket, the same way Doug McGinnis made his poem. Within five to seven minutes, this child created and then read her poem out loud:
Grandmother, acting like a child
Climbed the apple-tree in winter.
This remains one of my favorite poems of all-time! There is something in it deeply imaginative, archetypal, fresh and thought-provoking. The venerable Ezra Pound, with his world famous 14 word poem In a Station of the Metro, in my opinion, has nothing on this child's poem:
The apparition of these faces in the crowd;
Petals on a wet, black bough.
 It makes me smile to consider I studied and worked for a degree in English, reading and writing long papers on these literary "masters." Much as I love them, that study did not prepare me for the sheer inspiration, meaning and power received from the poetry of people like this child and Doug.
More than my own appreciations of her poem, I recall the joy which came through the child who wrote it, the smile which brimmed on her face and the way she stood up to read it.
Yes, I believe receiving a person's writing with welcome, attention and appreciation makes a difference. It acts as the foundation. But as listener I want to be open to change. I want to learn. This happened big time in this instance. What was her further gift to me? I saw and learned without doubt that her imagination was intact and whole.
Whatever trouble she may have had with language did not touch this essential truth. Was her strength of imagination that cultivates joy in creativity being welcomed and drawn out during the rest of her primary and secondary education?
That's the foundation and strength that poetry therapy builds upon. All these years later, as I meet each person and invite them to draw upon their poetic voice within, my experience with this particular child is a lasting and most sacred reminder.
Look for a new edition of the Poetic Medicine Journal! We hope to have it out in the next week or so! This upcoming issue will feature articles and book reviews on the use of poetry as healer in hospice and end-of-life care, with emphasis on how poetry can support the safe and sacred expression of grief and loss, how it can be useful to family and those in hospice work, as well as be a catalyst for resilience and meaning-making for everyone.
With appreciation,
John Fox, CPT
What follows is my summer schedule!
I am grateful for these opportunities across the United States to be with people. I hope you will avail yourself of my approach to poetry as healer to give voice to those things that want expression - within yourself and in the living world, brought even more alive by your noticing of it.
It is a great pleasure to once again teach on the faculty of the 9th Writing to Heal conference held at Dominican University. I hold admiration for David Watts, M.D. and his wife Joan Baranow, Ph.D., who have done so much for the field of humanities in medicine.
It is a privilege to be on the faculty of the Sophia Center Summer Institute. In this world, where women's voices and the earth Herself are under even more siege than normal, Jim Conlon and the visionaries gathering at Sophia are different in that they honor and look for help from the feminine, and I believe it is their healing vision that will save us. In 1988 I read Dream of the Earth by Thomas Berry and it profoundly affected my commitment for my life.
Please consider registering for the three and a half day retreat at Rivendell Retreat Centre located in the vibrant and vivid environs of British Columbia on Bowen Island! You will find renewal, great food, attention to silence and reflection, hospitality, and come home with wonderful poetry!
I've always been drawn to the way The Institute for Noetic Sciences brings together science and spirit. Astronaut Edgar Mitchell's call to the explorer within each of us appeals to me now and is something I felt as a young child. So I am happy to have made a friendship with the IONS Community Group of Sacramento - and welcome you to that evening talk on August 24.
Again and again I return to my hometown of Cleveland OH to visit my sister Holly and brother Chris - and to bring this work of poetic medicine! Don't miss your chance to write in community - to let your heart "break loose on the wind..." Our venue is the 13th floor of an apartment building with wrap-around windows -- we'll have that vantage point to explore and expand upon the landscape of our lives.
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Photo Credit: Ed Skillin WAE Center, NJ |
Kind Regards, John Fox, CPT |
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July 8-14, 2012
San Rafael, CA
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Co-Sponsored by Foundation for Humanities in Medicine,
Dominican University of California &
Perspectives in Medical Humanities, UCSF
The Healing Art of Writing: A Workshop Exploring Creative Writing and Healing at Dominican University of California With Faculty: John Fox, David Watts, Molly Giles, Marilyn Krysl,
Alicia Ostriker, Nina Schuyler, Joan Baranow & Special Guests
The Healing Art of Writing is published from talks & workshops from the 2010 Conference at Dominican. CLICK HERE for ordering information.
Sunday, July 8, 2012 - Saturday, July 14, 2012 Prose workshops meet from 9:30 to noon each morning. Participants will meet with a different leader each day. Two to three manuscripts will be treated at each session. Poetry workshops will meet from 9:30 to noon each morning. Workshop members and leaders change daily so that all may experience a variety of styles and voices. Daily Talks and Panels with discussion on craft, editing, publishing, ethics and other subjects that address the particular concerns of writers. Early Morning Poem-Making Circles will be available throughout the week. Led by John Fox, these sessions incorporate his focus on a healing and contemplative, community-based and therapeutic way to attend to writing. The Healing Art of Writing began as Writing the Medical Experience, a conference that first met in 2003 as part of the Squaw Valley Community of Writers in the breathtaking Sierra Nevada. The conference continued for four years on the campus of Sarah Lawrence College, attracting participants from all over the country. Past faculty members have included notable writers and poets such as Richard Selzer, Frank Huyler, Courtney Davis, John Fox, Ted Kooser, Donald Hall, and Alicia Ostriker. Now we are pleased to bring WME to Dominican University of California, with a new title intended to reflect more closely its aspirations. Our conference offers a unique experience in bringing together caregivers and patients who share a passion for writing about the mysterious forces of illness and recovery. The conference fosters communication between the two worlds we are all born into, described by Susan Sontag as "the kingdom of the well and . . . the kingdom of the sick." A belief shared among all the participants is that being cured of the disease is not the same as being healed, and that the writing of poetry and prose brings us to a place of healing. Our subject is the body, our medical experiences widely diverse, our goal to express through literature what happens when a physical or mental anguish disrupts our lives. Since participants are exploring intimate subjects, the conference fosters mutual support and friendship. The campus of Dominican University provides a secluded retreat, yet lies within easy distance to San Francisco for those wishing to venture forth. Wednesday afternoon of the conference is non-scheduled to allow participants to explore the Bay Area, socialize, or take time for quiet reflection Location: Dominican University 50 Acacia Avenue San Rafael, CA 94901 For Information/Registration, Contact: David Watts and Joan Baranow, Conference Directors Writing the Medical Experience & Perspectives in Medical Humanities: Phone: 415-485-3264 E-Mail: joan.baranow@dominican.edu  To Read About the 2012 Conference on Dominican
University's Website: CLICK HERE To Read an Article About the 2010 Conference in the Marin Independent Journal: CLICK HERE To Visit the Healing Words Production Website: CLICK HERE Comments from Past Conference Participants: "I am in awe at the details, organization, quality of faculty and participants, and the graciousness of all involved." 
"The writer's conference was an outstanding experience for me. My goal is to try and keep up my energy level and translate that into more and better writing." "After attending this conference, I'll never practice medicine in the same way again." |
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July 19-22,2012
The Summer Institute
at Sophia Center for Culture & Spirituality
Oakland, CA
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Presented by the Sophia Center for Culture & Spirituality
at Holy Names University
Our Way Into the Future:
A Celebration of the Story and Work of Our Time
(Banner from The Sophia Center website)
With Brian Swimme, Mary Evelyn Tucker, Diarmuid O'Murchu,
Belvie Rooks, Peter Mayer, Miriam Therese Winter,
John Fox and Jim Conlon
Thursday, July 19 - Sunday, July 22, 2012John's Program: Friday, July 20 - 2:00 to 4:30pm:
My Heart Broke Loose on the Wind: Recovering a Sense of Freedom and Surprise in Your Creative Expression and for Living Your Life Poetry is practiced best and is of most optimum use in our quest for wholeness and meaning when it is deeply treasured and respected for its essential wildness. When your writing is met deeply and allowed to flourish in ways thoughtful people develop - with extravagant permission and genuine support to risk and try things out, when all of your feelings are welcomed - poetry as healer can take deeper roots. In this afternoon Summer Institute mini-workshop, John will make sacred time for you to glean what is essential for you. We will deeply consider how to bring creativity forward into our daily life. 
This conference includes these talks & presentations:
Brian Swimme & Mary Evelyn Tucker: *Gaian Sensibilities: Some Intersections of the World Religions and
Contemporary Science
Miriam Therese Winter: *Our Spirituality in a Quantum Universe: Minding Our P's and Q's
Peter Mayer:
*The Human Journey - Words and music to make you laugh and warm the heart
*The Lure of the Future: Spirit Inspiring the Future
Belvie Rooks:
*Hey Listen Up - Reaching the Stars, Healing the Street
Mary Evelyn Tucker:
*The Emerging Earth Community
Jim Conlon:
*A Compass for the Journey Note that there is also a Post Institute Retreat July 22-24:Venturing Forth as Humanity
For More Information & To Register: Please contact Grace Lara at The Sophia Center: Phone: (510) 436-1046 or 1-800-794-8813 E-Mail: Sophiactr@aol.com
Location: The Sophia Center
3500 Mountain Blvd.
Oakland, CA 94619
To View More Information About this Event on the Sophia
The Sophia Center creates an international learning community that undertakes with integrity and depth the redeeming work of our time and the historical mission to which all humanity is called: the "Great Work" of our generation of transforming the entire cultural paradigm to protect humanity and the planet from destruction while encouraging a new era of well-being for the entire Earth Community.
The Sophia Center in Culture and Spirituality offers the students of the world a meaningful immersion into and investigation of the convergent forces of religion, art, justice and science.
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August 15-19, 2012
Rivendell Retreat Centre
Bowen Island, British Columbia
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Sponsored by Ray McGinnis & Write to the Heart
7th Annual Retreat at Rivendell
My Heart Broke Loose on the Wind: Recovering a Sense of Freedom & Surprise In Your Creative Expression and For Living Your life Presented by John Fox, CPT
Wednesday, August 15, 2012: Retreat begins at 7:00pm
Sunday, August 19, 2012: Retreat concludes at 11:00am*
*Concludes in time to catch 11:30am ferry Join us for this annual retreat on gorgeous Bowen Island. Situated on a high island promontory, Rivendell is imbued with a sense of sacred time and a spirit of hospitality. For those who have attended other retreats, they know participants are well-satiated by the fabulous meals prepared by Ray McGinnis. You'll be glad for saying Yes! Poetry is practiced best and is of most optimum use in our quest for wholeness and meaning when it is deeply treasured and respected for its essential wildness. When your writing is met deeply and allowed to flourish in ways thoughtful people develop - with extravagant permission and genuine support to risk and try things out, when all of your feelings are welcomed - poetry as healer can take deeper roots. Creativity does not work well when put into a cage; people might pay to visit a zoo animal in a cage, but everyone knows something isn't quite right. Those cages are, in this sense, usually constructed of self-judgment and diminishment or the judgment of others built upon hierarchies of arbitrary evaluation. This being human is a guest house. Every morning a new arrival. A joy, a depression, a meanness, some momentary awareness comes as an unexpected visitor. ~Rumi This workshop is not a place to put on display one's literary and analytical acumen - although we will bring to the circle our love for and curiosity about literature, especially poetry. We will likely meet our doubts about the value of our writing, but as a community we shall help each other to open to the surprise, songs and secrets that emerge from the page. John Fox will share a holistic vision of poetry as healer that values this wildness and freedom, community and as always, deep listening. 
Location:
Rivendell Retreat Centre Bowen Island, British Columbia (Canada)
Fee: $650.00 includes full retreat, all meals and lodging
To Register: *A nonrefundable check deposit for $100.00 is required. *The $550.00 balance is due at time of workshop.
To Download a Brochure/Registration Form: CLICK HERE
For More Information:
Please contact Ray McGinnis at:
Phone: (604) 408-4457
E-Mail: writingthesacred@telus.net
To Visit the Rivendell Retreat Centre Website: CLICK HERE
Barbara McEnerney, in her wonderful poem As They Are, reflects upon giving her words the freedom and support they need to flourish, as children flourish when treated with curiosity, attention and room to breathe. She invites herself - and us - to consider those kinds of words:
Instead, could I let
them ramble along weedy
paths only they know?
Lean close to hear
them whisper secrets,
learn what they
need from me?
Could I love them
as they are,
give them room
to grow, a chance
to shine?
~ Barbara McEnerney
from As They Are
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August 24, 2012
Arden Dimick Library
The Institute for Noetic Sciences
Sacramento, CA
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Sponsored by
The Sacramento Community Group
of The Institute for Noetic Sciences
The Light We Let In (and a creative way to spread it around!) A talk and mini-workshop on writing as healer and spiritual practice Presented by John Fox, CPT 
Friday, August 24, 2012: 7:00 to 9:30pm
Celestial bodies radiate and reflect light:
sun blazes with fire, moon glows with grace.
Through the images and metaphor of poetry, we are stirred inside with an awareness that experiences of light also are accessible inwardly to heal and empower us, to lift us up, to remind us that we take part in that sacred fire, that beautiful grace. By expressing ourselves through poem-making and by listening to one another in that process -- we learn how to feel, intuit and trust these interior moments of radiance and reflection. John Fox, a friend and frequent visitor to the chapter of Sacramento Community Group of IONS will bring inspiration and useful tools for you to experience this. No previous experience with poetry is necessary. Anyone interested in how light helps us grow and in the healing potential of the arts is welcome! 
Window Treatments
Light pours through
bare windows once
draped in coral
peau de soie swags.
Sunlight warms the
new maple floor,
shines on the walnut
dining room table
once kept in the dark.
So it will last. And it has.
Lasted.
Now it stands bare
in bright morning light
revealing its grain.
~ Carol Howard- Wooton
June 13, 2012
www.keepinghopealive.org*
Location:
Arden Dimick Library
891 Watt Avenue
Sacramento, CA
This is a free event!
For More Information Please Contact:
e-mail: ions@sacions.org
phone: 916-364-0718
You May Register through "Meet Up": CLICK HERE
There Is an Origin
For each true poem born there is an origin:
Blessed ignorance of words that turn
To splendid fire, as stars in space will yearn
To find on earth their upstretched twin.
~ John Fox
From Carol Howard-Wooton:
*Our mission is to assist stroke survivors and their loved ones reclaim whole and meaningful lives with disability. In small groups we tell our stories and listen with open hearts. Telling our stories helps us remember who we were, discover and shape who we are now.
Through writing poetry in small groups I have connected with an unspoken part of myself. Sharing reveals surprises, shifts how I see myself and my world.
In writing, as in storytelling, the detail expresses the universal. We all learn that we are ordinary folks in extraordinary circumstances, facing and speaking the truth about living with disability, loss, transformation and love- reshaping our lives as we create art. This is Keeping Hope Alive.
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September 1-2, 2012
Euclid, OH
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My Heart Broke Loose on the Wind: Recovering a Sense of Freedom & Surprise In Your Creative Expression and For Living Your life Presented by John Fox, CPT 
I wheeled with the stars,
my heart broke loose on the wind.
~Pablo Neruda
Saturday, September 1, 2012: 9:30am - 4:30pm
Sunday, September 2, 2012: 9:30am - 12:30pm
Poetry is practiced best and is of most optimum use in our quest for wholeness and meaning when it is deeply treasured and respected for its essential wildness. When your writing is met deeply and allowed to flourish in ways thoughtful people develop - with extravagant permission and genuine support to risk and try things out, when all of your feelings are welcomed - poetry as healer can take deeper roots. Creativity does not work well when put into a cage; people might pay to visit a zoo animal in a cage, but everyone knows something isn't quite right. Those cages are, in this sense, usually constructed of self-judgment and diminishment or the judgment of others built upon hierarchies of arbitrary evaluation. This being human is a guest house. Every morning a new arrival. A joy, a depression, a meanness, some momentary awareness comes as an unexpected visitor. ~Rumi This workshop is not a place to put on display one's literary and analytical acumen - although we will bring to the circle our love for and curiosity about literature, especially poetry. We will likely meet our doubts about the value of our writing, but as a community we shall help each other to open to the surprise, songs and secrets that emerge from the page. John Fox will share a holistic vision of poetry as healer that values this wildness and freedom, community and as always, deep listening. I don't know how or when, no, they were not voices, they were not words, nor silence, but from a street I was summoned, from the branches of night, abruptly from others, among violent fires or returning alone, there I was without a face and it touched me. ~Pablo Neruda  Location: 25810 Lakeshore Blvd. Euclid, OH 44132 Fee: $120.00 Registration is limited to 14. Refreshments will be provided. Please bring your own lunch. A microwave is available. Please make checks payable to: The Institute for Poetic Medicine Mail to: Barbara Greenwood 25810 Lakeshore Blvd., Apt. 77 Euclid, OH 44132 For Information: Please contact Barb Greenwood with questions & to reserve your space at: (216) 870-4072
To Download a Brochure/Registration: CLICK HERE 
About John Fox and the Workshops: When I set out for the workshop, I had no idea I would be so completely changed or become so completely myself again because of poetry and you. ~ Shannon Klassel A very sincere thank you for being what you teach... embodying the juice! the mystery is waking up the rain is falling everything smells better time is stopping for these precious tears it was a gift of good medicine! ~ Risa Diaz |
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The Institute for Poetic Medicine is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, sustained through grassroots fundraising, foundation grants, and donations from individuals.
"John's workshop with the men truly supported them by helping them find their voice in expressing their personal life changing experiences while dealing with death and dying. John assisted them in discovering the tool that healing words can be when sitting with a dying inmate, as well as the great gift that the power of listening can be for them. The poetry that the men produced was powerful, poignant and heartfelt. Thank you again for giving these marginalized men in our society an opportunity to experience the tenderness, fierceness and human qualities of life through the gift of poetry."
~ Ms. Lorie Adoff
Director of Spiritual Care Services
California Men's Colony Prison
San Luis Obispo, CA
Note: John returned again this month to California Men's Colony to work with men there who are volunteering for the hospice program. Your donation will help this and our other programs.
WAYS YOU CAN GIVE:
Friend of the Institute ($35 - $149)
Supporting Hands ($150 - $349)
Heart of the Community ($350 - $999)
Spirit of the Muse ($1000+)
Every donation matters; we are grateful for any amount you can afford to give. Our commitment is to put it to effective and efficient use. Your contribution will make a difference!
CLICK HERE
To Print and Read a Brief Letter From John Fox
About IPM's Work in 2012!
Donations to The Institute for Poetic Medicine
are Tax-Deductible.
Please Make Your Check Payable To:
The Institute for Poetic Medicine
Mailing Address:
The Institute for Poetic Medicine
P.O. Box 60189
Palo Alto, CA 94306
Acknowledgement of Your Contribution for the IRS Will Be Provided
 THANK YOU...
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To enjoy previous issues of our Constant Contact
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View a YouTube of Beautiful Images and Listen to Coleman Barks reading "What Was Said To The Rose" by Rumi:
CLICK HERE
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