Note: This event, originally scheduled for March 17, 2020, has been postponed, due to the rising concerns of COVID-19. Please check back for a new date, and thank you for your understanding.
By Slavena Salve Nissan
The Gold Foundation is thrilled to announce that it is partnering again with the #YeahYouWrite author series and the Bellevue Literary Review for a literary event at Bo’s Kitchen & Bar Room in New York City.
The evening will celebrate the Bellevue Literary Review, one of the most well-known publications in the growing field of medical humanities. Founded in 2000, the journal publishes poetry, fiction, and nonfiction written by both healthcare professionals and the general public about the intersections of the human experience with health and illness.
Bo’s Kitchen and Bar Room, located in the Flatiron District, has hosted the #YeahYouWrite series since 2015. Lisa Amico Kristel, owner of Bo’s Kitchen and Bar Room, created the #YeahYouWrite series with Robin Martin.
The Gold Foundation partnered with the #YeahYouWrite series previously in November 2018 for an evening themed “Diagnosis: Literature.” The March event will feature four writers: Dr. Danielle Ofri, Co-Founder and Editor-in-Chief of the Bellevue Literary Review, and journal contributors Rachel Hadas, Sheila Kohler, and Francine Prose.
“We are delighted to be returning to the #YeahYouWrite series, a wonderful literary gathering created by Lisa Kristel and Robin Martin, and through it, honoring the Bellevue Literary Review,” said Dr. Richard I. Levin, President and CEO of the Gold Foundation. “The human connection, which is so essential to healthcare, deserves clear acknowledgment and expression. The Bellevue Literary Review has provided a much-needed venue for such exploration, and we are grateful. This special evening allows us to celebrate its Editor-in-Chief and Co-Founder and honor some of the gifted writers who have shared their talents with the journal.”
“All of us at the #YeahYouWrite Author Series and Bo’s Kitchen & Bar Room look forward to welcoming back The Arnold P. Gold Foundation for what should be a spectacular med-lit event on March 17th, curated by renowned physician-author and Bellevue Literary Review Co-founder and Editor-in-Chief, Dr. Danielle Ofri,” said Ms. Kristel. “Guests are reminded to reserve their seats early—with this lineup of acclaimed authors, it’s sure to be a full house!”
Dr. Danielle Ofri
Danielle Ofri, MD, PhD (@danielleofri) is a physician, writer, Editor-in-Chief of the Bellevue Literary Review, and a self-proclaimed “ever-struggling cello student.” Dr. Ofri completed her medical training in internal medicine at Bellevue Hospital, where she continues to see patients. She is also a clinical professor of medicine at NYU Grossman School of Medicine. She has written extensively about the doctor-patient relationship, and her latest book When We Do Harm: A Doctor Confronts Medical Error (April 2020) will explore the challenging conversation around medical error and patient safety. Dr. Ofri received the 2005 John P. McGovern Award from the American Medical Writers Association for her contribution to medical communication.
“Empathy requires being attuned to the patient’s perspective and understanding how the illness is woven into this particular person’s life. Last — and this is where doctors often stumble — empathy requires being able to communicate all of this to the patient.”
― What Doctors Feel: How Emotions Affect the Practice of Medicine, Dr. Danielle Ofri
Francine Prose
Francine Prose is the author of numerous works of fiction and nonfiction, including Mister Monkey, Blue Angel, and Anne Frank: The Book, The Life, The Afterlife. Her piece “The Library of Forgetting” was published in the Bellevue Literary Review in Fall 2016. Ms. Prose’s latest book, What to Read and Why (2018), is an homage to the enduring beauty of the words of writers both contemporary and from long ago. She has received the Guggenheim Fellowship and a Fulbright in addition to being a Director’s Fellow at the Center for Scholars and Writers at the New York Public Library and the former president of PEN American Center.
“Every so often I’ll hear writers say that there are other writers they would read if for no other reason than to marvel at the skill with which they can put together the sort of sentences that move us to read closely, to disassemble and reassemble them, much the way a mechanic might learn about an engine by taking it apart.”
― Reading Like a Writer: A Guide for People Who Love Books and for Those Who Want to Write Them, Francine Prose
Rachel Hadas
Rachel Hadas has written a number of essays, poetry collections, and translations. Her poem “Forgettery” was published in the Bellevue Literary Review, and her latest poetry collection, Love and Dread, will be released in September 2020. She earned a PhD in comparative literature at Princeton University and has taught at a number of different universities. Ms. Hadas has received the Guggenheim fellowship, two Ingram Merrill Foundation grants, and the O.B. Hardison Award from the Folger Shakespeare Library. She was also a Director’s Fellow at the Center for Scholars & Writers with the New York Public Library.
When a voice is silenced,
the language goes on talking,
the language from however high it falls
lands on its feet, stalks gracefully away.
― From “Forgettery,” Bellevue Literary Review, Rachel Hadas
Sheila Kohler
Sheila Kohler is a South African author of several novels, essays, and the memoir Once We Were Sisters. Her pieces “Sisters” and “The Mask” have been published in the Bellevue Literary Review. One of her novels, Cracks, was made into a film in 2009. Her latest book, Open Secrets (July 2020), is about the challenges and consequences that a family faces in the wake of a betrayal. She has won the O. Henry prize twice and has taught at Bennington, Columbia, Princeton, and Sarah Lawrence. She blogs at Dreaming for Freud.
“If you find the truth within you, it will save you. If you ignore it, it will destroy you.”
― Cracks, Sheila Kohler
To make a reservation for this #YeahYouWrite event, please email readings@bosrestaurant.com. There is no cover charge.
Slavena Salve Nissan is a 4th-year medical student at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. She is a lifelong lover of all things storytelling and is deeply interested in the intersection of the arts with health/illness.
