The Hippocrates Initiative
for Poetry and Medicine
About Us
The Hippocrates Prize for Poetry and Medicine was founded in 2009 by Professors Donald Singer and Michael Hulse. The founders wished to draw together national and international perspectives on three major historical and contemporary themes uniting the disciplines of poetry and medicine: medicine as inspiration for the writings of poets; effects of poetic creativity on the experience of illness by patients, their families, friends, and carers; and poetry as therapy.
The Hippocrates Prize for Poetry and Medicine:
Call for Entries and Guidelines
The Hippocrates Prize for Poetry and Medicine is an annual international award for an unpublished poem on a medical subject. Poems must be no more than 50 lines in length and not have previously been published in any form. They must be by a living poet, written in English and should not be translations of another writer’s work. There is no limit to the number of entries.
Poems should be entered online and must be accompanied by payment of £6 for each poem entered, by secure online payment.
THE 2024 PRIZE IS CLOSED.
Winners will be announced at the 11th Annual Symposium of the Hippocrates Initiative for Poetry and Medicine in Oviedo, Spain, on May 23 and 24, 2024.
Poems are in 3 categories:
1- Open Prize: open to any entrant
2 Health Professional Prize: open to current and former health professionals/students
3. Young Poets Prize: for poets aged 14-18
Prize Money for Open and Health Professional Prize:
1st: £1000
2nd: £500
3rd £250
For the Young Poets category, the first place poem will receive £250
Call for Papers: The 11th annual International Symposium of the Hippocrates Initiative for Poetry and Medicine, May 23-24, 2024
Centro de Servicios Universitarios de Avilés | University of Oviedo | May 23-24, 2024
UPCOMING!
We invite proposals for talks, discussion panels, poster sessions and poetry readings that address the interaction between Poetry and Medicine from either literary or scientific perspectives, and from any historical or contemporary period. Bearing in mind that our conference is eminently interdisciplinary, cross-fertilisation between the Humanities and the Sciences is particularly welcome. Topics may include, but are not restricted to:
The exploration of diverse pathologies through poetic language
The pathologies of extinction (ecological grief and trauma) in poetic discourse
Illness in crisis areas: beyond war metaphors?
Gender issues in medical poetry
Poetry as therapy: its potential and its limitations
Poetry in the education and training of health professionals
Poetry as an aid to health professionals
The place of poetry within the Medical Humanities
The translation of medical poetry
The doctor’s perspective, the patient’s perspective: gaps and bridges
Confirmed Keynote Speaker:
Alan Bleakley
author of Thinking with Metaphors in Medicine (Routledge, 2017) co-editor of The Routledge Handbook of Medicine and Poetry (Routledge, 2024)
Please submit abstracts of up to 400 words (and up to 5 references, if appropriate) to heal@uniovi.es by 22 February for 20-minute oral presentations and 10-minute poster presentations. Authors will be notified within 10 days.
The 11th annual International Symposium of the Hippocrates Initiative for Poetry and Medicine is being held as a partnership between the Hippocrates Initiative and the research group “HEAL: Health, Environment, Arts and Literature” at the University of Oviedo, and will include the 2024 Hippocrates Award ceremony. The Symposium will combine its academic programme with sessions dedicated to poetry readings and performance. Information on invited poets and artists, and on registration dates and accommodation options, will be available in due course on the HEAL website: www.unioviedo.es/heal, in a section specifically designed for the Symposium.
Please direct enquires to heal@uniovi.es
Sincerely,
Luz Mar González-Arias
President of the Hippocrates Initiative for Poetry and Medicine PR of HEAL
New Publication
The Hippocrates Press is delighted to announce the release of Peter Wallis's remarkable debut poetry collection, 'Half Other,' now available on our website's online store. Secure your copy today and delve into the captivating world of Wallis's poetic brilliance.
NEW!
Hippocrates Initiative Commitee
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Dr Luz Mar Gonzalez-Arias
PRESIDENT
Senior Lecturer in English and Irish Studies at the University of Oviedo, Spain.
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Dr Eleanor Singer
TREASURER
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Dr Ramsay Singer
SECRETARY
Hippocrates Prize
2022 FPM-Hippocrates Prize Health Professional Shortlist
Release
Ingrid Andersson Madison, Wisconsin, United States
What it's like being married to an obstetrician
Carole Bromley York, England
You Drew Breath
Carole Bromley York, England
2022 FPM-Hippocrates Prize Open Shortlist
Eye Pavilion
Ruth Aylett Edinburgh, Scotland
In this poem, your routine bloods have come back normal
Kathryn Bevis Weeke, Winchester, England
Slepen all the Nyght with Open Ye
Marilyn Bowering Victoria, Canada
Publications by Hippocrates
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