Curious about the potential of poetry in your life? Pick up a trial size at Carilion Clinic. This week, the Dr. Robert L.A. Keeley Healing Arts Program is marking National Poetry Month with a number of free activities.
Healing arts programs like Carilion’s have been shown to raise pain thresholds, reduce the need for pain medications, improve mood, lower blood pressure, and reduce stress and anxiety. Big benefits: cost-free activities. Share them with someone you care about. Here are some options:
★ Grab a copy of Poems in the Waiting Room
★ Attend a Poetry Writing One-on-One Consultation with Poet and Artist-in-Residence, Meighan Sharp. Thursday, April 27 at 1 p.m., 1:30 p.m., 2 p.m. or 2:30 p.m. Call Carilion Direct at 540-266-6000 to schedule an appointment.
★ Attend a Poetry Reading during the Ceremonial Release of Burdens. Write your own note to be placed in The Burden Boat sculpture. Wednesday, April 26 at noon, Dr. Robert L.A. Keeley Healing Garden located just off the Roanoke River Greenway across from Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital.
★ Attend Poems/Roads with Cara Ellen Modisett, writer, musician and former Artist-in-Residence at Carilion ClinicThursday, April 27 at 5:30 p.m. in the Mountain View Café Conference Room, Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital.
★ Put a Poem in Your Pocket on April 27. Every year on Poem in Your Pocket day, people throughout North America selecting a poem, carry it with them, and share it with others throughout the day at schools, bookstores, libraries, parks, workplaces. Tweet #pocketpoem. Don’t have a special verse? Pick up a poem at the Guest Services and Information Desks located in Carilion Clinic hospitals on Thursday, April 27.
This might just be the start of a lifelong course. For more ideas for National Poetry Month and all things poetry, visit the Academy of American Poets.
BOOK CITY ★ Roanoke 