News

Kristin Thiele
Public relations assistant
Wahroonga, New South Wales, Australia

Writing poetry is a form of therapy for those suffering a life-threatening illness, research by an Avondale College communication lecturer shows.

Inspired by her doctoral thesis, which is examining the relationship between writing and healing, Carolyn Rickett coordinated a research team that included award-winning Australian poet Judith Beveridge and academic and medical doctor Dr Jill Gordon. Judith taught creative writing classes to about 25 people, many from Sydney Adventist Hospital's Cancer Support Centre. The poems from these classes are now part of an anthology, edited by Judith and Carolyn and launched at Jacaranda Lodge on September 22.

The anthology, called New Leaves, takes its title from Richard Aldington's poem "New Love." "The poem depicts the resilience and recovery of the human heart," says Carolyn. "Aldington likens the healing experience to an almond tree that now has new leaves after being initially damaged by frost."

Author, media personality and former Australian rugby union international Peter FitzSimons, also the cousin of participant Richard Lander, launched the anthology. "What comes through in these poems . . . is enormous wisdom and appreciation for what really matters--family, sunny days, friendships, reaching out . . . --and a determination to do everything possible to get well again, to experience more of it," he writes in the foreword.

However, the launch served as a reminder that not everyone recovers from a serious illness. Judith and Carolyn dedicated the anthology to John Hunt, who took the cover photograph. He has since died from prostate cancer.

About a dozen of the participants read their poems during the launch. Judy Fitzmaurice, also a doctor, learned she had breast cancer this past year. "I found that my medical knowledge did not shield me one iota from the experience of my own human frailty and vulnerability in the face of potentially serious illness," she said in the introduction to her reading. A sceptic at first, she soon realised she could write poetry and that it could help heal, "the healing being in the explicit naming of previously unnamed fears and feelings, which then released them of their power," she says.

This seemed to summarise the experience of the other participants. Michelle Witt (pictured, left), who has since died from uterine cancer, described the process of writing as "allow[ing] me to untangle the emotions within." In "Ribbons of Love," which she wrote for her daughters Annika and Sophie, she writes, "Clip [the ribbons] onto your belts if needed for safety, or knot colourful strings on your fingers to remind you to be kind to yourself."

Judith is not surprised the participants found poetry to be so therapeutic. "They're ready to move to another place," she says.

Carolyn speaks of the privilege of completing research that is practical rather than just theoretical. "Accompanying people on a soul journey is incredibly sacred," she says.

The Australian Research Institute (ARI) funded the research project and Avondale the publication of the anthology. "This project is not primarily about research and community engagement," says Dr Vivienne Watts (pictured, right), the vice-president (administration and learning) at Avondale and a member of the management committee at ARI. "Its focus is the inspiring people who participated. . . . I hope that the words of hope and personal experiences that appear on its pages will be a source of strength to each of you."

Credit: Ann Stafford