Applied Humanities Initiative: Poetry by the Bedside

This workshop centered on the concept of "bibliotherapy" is offered by the Applied Humanities Initiative. Faculty and students in the ASU Humanities Network are encouraged to attend and the event is open to all.

What is the Applied Humanities Initiative?

In the last four years, a group of humanities scholars formed the Applied Humanities Initiative (AHI), with the primary purpose of conceiving, designing, implementing and testing humanities projects that apply the strengths and techniques of humanistic learning to solve world problems.

About the workshop

This first workshop focuses on the first major project of the AHI, "Poetry by the Bedside," which employs "bibliotherapy" as a mechanism to alleviate suffering and combat stress in hospice and palliative care situations. Poetry occupies the "boundary" in this complex environment, with verse serving as the element of connectivity and transformation for healthcare workers, patients and their families, interns and faculty volunteers.

The morning session will introduce faculty to bibliotherapeutic methods (10:00 to 11:30 a.m.), and the afternoon session (1:30 to 3:00 p.m.) will bring faculty and students together with several scholars from other universities to discuss the process by which to launch such programs in other communities through university faculty and students. The program will be run by:

• Dr. Paula Byrne (best-selling author and founding director of The Relit Foundation)
• Dr. Julie Sutherland (North American Director of the Relit Foundation)
• Professor Mark Lussier (Director of the Applied Humanities Alliance)

Supported by the Department of English, Institute for Humanities Research and The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at ASU.

Image by Dariusz-Sankowski on Pixabay.