CentreForMedicalHumanities.org

Gwyneth Lewis Poetry Reading – Wednesday 4 May, 7.30 Durham Town Hall

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Event Summary: Gwyneth Lewis Poetry Reading

Event Type: Poetry Reading & Literary Performance
Title & Focus: A Hospital Odyssey — an epic poem exploring illness, healing, and the body's inner landscape through biomedical and mythological lenses.
Date & Location: Wednesday 4 May, 7:30pm, Durham Town Hall
Speaker Background: Gwyneth Lewis, Wales' National Poet (2005–2006), currently based in Cardiff.
Content Themes: Stem cell research, cancer biology, disease pathology, and the psychological experience of illness through surreal narrative and mythic imagery.
Narrative Arc: Protagonist Maris journeys through hospital as otherworld in search of her husband Hardy; encounters historical and fantastical figures including NHS founder Aneurin Bevan.
Organizer: Centre for Medical Humanities
Cost & Access: Free admission; all welcome. RSVPs via Polly De Giorgi.

The Centre for Medical Humanities Presents
Gwyneth Lewis Poetry Reading: A Hospital Odyssey
Wednesday 4 May, 7.30pm, Durham Town Hall

Gwyneth Lewis will be reading from her epic poem A Hospital Odyssey, an outrageously imaginative voyage through illness and healing. Drawing on the most recent biomedical research into stem cells and cancer, the poem is a journey through the body’s inner space and the strange habitats created by the disease, including the chimeras people see when they are unwell.

Maris, whose husband, Hardy, has been diagnosed with cancer, is separated from him. Her mythical journey leads though a surreal landscape, peopled by true and false physicians, god-celebrities, rabid statues, diseases hunting healthy bodies and a microbes holding their annual ball. The Otherworld is located in the hospital’s basement. In her desperate search Maris meets and converses with Aneurin Bevan, founder of the NHS.

Gwyneth Lewis was Wales’ National Poet from 2005 – 2006 and currently lives in Cardiff. This event is free and all are welcome. RSVPs and more information from Polly De Giorgi.