March 2017 issue of Academic Medicine

Three College of Medicine students in the Medical Humanities program recently had their artwork and poetry recognized. The Medical Humanities are disciplines that inquire into the human experience of illness, healing and doctoring with attention to meaning, values and the history of ideas. These include the arts, philosophy, religious and spiritual thought, history and cultural studies, among others.

Jennifer Lane, a fourth-year medical student, received front-cover recognition for her artwork on the March 2017 issue of Academic Medicine. Along with her drawing, an artist's statement titled "Medicine, Humanities, and Abstract Art" was also published.

February 2017 issue of Academic Medicine

Marina Moskalenko, also a fourth-year medical student, had her art published on the February 2017 cover of Academic Medicine. Along with her drawing, an artist's statement titled "Abstract Art as Reflective Practice" was also published.

Second-year medical student Candice Mazon won second prize in the prestigious William Carlos Williams Poetry Competition. Her award-winning poem is titled "13 Body Parts," which she says was inspired by Wallace Stevens' poem "13 Ways of Looking at a Blackbird."

"13 Body Parts"

Candice Mazon

I.
Caterpillars have made
a home in my stomach,
but they never quite make it out of their cocoons.

II.
My neck is a history book;
it has a tendency to look back.

III.
My eyes are two moths
always circling another person's light,
hypnotized by their glow.
Sometimes, I forget that I can close them.

IV.
My skin is Ellis Island--
everyone I meet
has left their fingerprints.
Do I only serve as a transition?

V.
In the middle of the night,
my lungs become a jukebox,
inhaling
and exhaling
to the rhythm of songs
no one listens to anymore.

VI.
I carved every curve
of my body
from an olive branch.
When I showed it to people,
some hit the ground running
when they confused it for a weapon.

VII.
But these bones are made of clay;
an unfinished statue.
I still have my flaws
but I'm getting closer
to who I'm supposed to be.

VIII.
My scars are renovations--
they only add value to the home.

IX.
My legs are matchsticks,
ready to burn bridges
made up of unkempt promises.
I'm not afraid to walk away
anymore.

X.
My head is a soldier,
my first line of defense.
It's knee-deep in the trenches
fighting for some dream,
fighting for survival.

XI.
My mouth is a freight train.
I'm sorry if I'm not silent
but I have places to go.

XII.
My hands are open wide
like a door on its hinges.
Yes, you can come in.
You can stay as long as you want to.

XIII.
My heart is the North Star.
Every beat is a step forward--
I have been following it for miles
hoping it leads me to heaven.
I am lost.
But I refuse to stop walking.