A medic finds healing for himself by writing poems on his phone as the pandemic grips – rhythm, rhyme, haiku, a list-poem of what to do when someone can’t breathe (and why you wouldn't kneel on their neck), why Lionel Richie keeps sending him emails, reading a letter from Jürgen Klopp written to his brother who is dying. Chris Fitzpatrick finds comfort in poets past, in Strictly Come Dancing, in thinking about what he might say to the Brazilian woman at the checkout, maybe talk about Neymar, when it is all over. His fear, his grief, his laughter, his joy become ours too, as we are healed by the power of his words — a stream of consciousness, a memoir, a narrative of blank verse documenting two extraordinary years, 2020–2022.
No table of contents — all are untitled poems
Fitzpatrick, Chris
Chris Fitzpatrick now retired has worked as a consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist in the Coombe Women and Infants University Hospital in Dublin. He also served as Clinical Lead for Covid-19 Vaccination in the Dublin Midlands Hospital Group (HSE) and as a clinical professor at University College Dublin. Before becoming interested in medicine, he studied English at University College Dublin. He was inspired by advice given to him when he was a junior doctor by Oscar laureate Sir Alec Guinness. This advice was to develop an interest in the humanities and to explore its role in medicine and medical education. Irish Tech News, Simon Cocking
Chris Fitzpatrick now retired has worked as a consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist in the Coombe Women and Infants University Hospital in Dublin. He also served as Clinical Lead for Covid-19 Vaccination in the Dublin Midlands Hospital Group (HSE) and as a clinical professor at University College Dublin. Before becoming interested in medicine, he studied English at University College Dublin. He was inspired by advice given to him when he was a junior doctor by Oscar laureate Sir Alec Guinness. This advice was to develop an interest in the humanities and to explore its role in medicine and medical education. Irish Tech News, Simon Cocking