Literature, Art, and Medicine: Seeing the Unseen
There were several engaging and informative presentations at this year’s North Atlantic Health Sciences Libraries Conference including an hour-long breakout session with Courtni Jeffers, MS, MPH, who works with local medical systems by facilitating and promoting literature in medicine along with Meghan Quigley Graham, MA, a Learning and Teaching Specialist from the Portland Museum of Art located in Portland, Maine.
The presentation began with a summary of the 16 weeklong program that the two presenters facilitate and offer to medical professionals. The program engages them in activities that enable them to come out of their comfort zone and utilize a different way of thinking all while practicing mindfulness and being in a present moment. This program includes activities such as expressing individual perceptions of art and following brief written prompts. This shines a different light that many in this busy medical profession world might not always have the opportunity to see.
For part of the presentation, all of us in the room had the opportunity to experience a piece of what this program offers. We started off by observing an image presented to us of a colorful painting provided by Meghan Graham from the museum. We were to take a few moments to observe the art. This led to finding details, colors, observations, and perceptions of what we thought the painting was depicting. After these few moments, we were able to speak to the group individually about our findings. Some explained the details within the painting as separate entities, while others expressed the entire painting. This exercise created great discussion within the room and provided us an interactive example of how the program can bring one’s mind elsewhere, even for just a moment.
The second activity was a writing prompt. We all had three minutes to freely write down what we thought of when we heard a specific word. The word chosen also opened my mind to a different way of creatively thinking and I was able to ramble down on paper a very meaningful and personal explanation of this word. Once the time was up, we had the opportunity to share what that word meant to us. This was also a great exercise to expand the mind along with it being perhaps a great opportunity to “break the ice” within a group setting.
For both exercises and the insight brought by the presenters, these activities tied in well together for the small amount of time they had to present. It intrigued many that within minutes, our minds switched to a creative and open way of thinking. Overall, the importance of this is certainly helpful for medical professionals, but also for all individuals as an important practice to remember as we care for ourselves to take just a few moments to live in the present each day.
I have purposely left out the details of the painting along with the word that had been used for the writing prompt to prevent prior knowledge of the details. I feel that part of this experience was walking into it not knowing these details ahead of time and I hope that many more get to experience at least a part of the program offered by the facilitators.
For more information about the program, please visit https://www.portlandmuseum.org/magazine/art-literature-medicine.
Maegan Halica, Knowledge Services Specialist
Maine Medical Center and MLIS student at Simmons University
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