The Institute of Poetic Medicine offers tools and support to people to heal body, mind and spirit through the creative and therapeutic process of hearing, speaking and writing poetry.
There are words in us
There are words in us
That don't know how
To get to the surface.
Words hidden in our marrow
Afraid to show themselves
Afraid the world will come apart
If they are spoken.
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—Stephen Levine
Across the wall of the world,
A River sings a beautiful song,
Come rest here by my side.
Give birth again
To the dream.
—Maya Angelou
from On the Pulse of Morning
The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting
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for our senses to grow sharper.
—W. B. Yeats
The work of IPM flows in the deep current of these rivers:
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We fund Poetry Partner Programs that bring poetic medicine to people often considered at the margins.
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We offer a 3-year Certified Training program that provides certification in the practice of poetry-as-healer.
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We provide multiple-ways to respond and participate on-line as a way to grow an interactive IPM community.
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We support John’s work throughout the US and internationally to teach, heal and promote the power of poetry to comfort and transform, inform and enrich both person and community.
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We provide development in-services for those involved in helping professions such as pastoral care, medicine and education; we also provide inspiration and sustenance to community activists and organizers.
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We are a resource center for the inspiring and useful ways poetry-as-healer makes a difference and applies to the varied facets of our lives.
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Free Poetic Medicine Journal. A beautiful, inspiring and informative quarterly journal.
On this website you will find all of these “rivers” and we hope you will take some time to find what interests, moves and motivates you to make poetry more a part of your life.
There are words in us
There are words in us
That don't know how
To get to the surface.
Words hidden in our marrow
Afraid to show themselves
Afraid the world will come apart
If they are spoken.
​
—Stephen Levine
The only thing that can save the world is the
reclaiming of the awareness of the world.
​
That is what poetry does.
--Allen Ginsberg
The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting
​
for our senses to grow sharper.
—W. B. Yeats
We are here to awaken soulfulness in the human voice. Our site offers voices and resources regarding the healing power of poetry. We are collectively dedicated to nurture and strengthen the human capacity to creatively connect to Self, Other, Community, the Natural World and the Divine.
Across the wall of the world,
A River sings a beautiful song,
Come rest here by my side.
Give birth again
To the dream.
—Maya Angelou
from On the Pulse of Morning
Our Mission
The Institute for Poetic Medicine offers tools and support to heal body, mind, and spirit through the creative and therapeutic process of hearing, speaking, and writing poetry.
Our Vision
The Institute for Poetic Medicine is dedicated to nurturing the human capacity to connect to Self, Other, Community, the Natural World, and the Divine through the healing, expressive art of poetry.
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What we describe as:
Awakening soulfulness in the human voice.