The marvelous connections between poetry and medicine

Sri Shamasunder likes to say he was a poet before he was a doctor. His college mentor, the legendary poet and activist June Jordan, passed away from cancer during his first year of medical school, but had a lasting impact on his practice of medicine. She encouraged him to harness righteous anger and to use his voice to fight inequity, inspiring Shamasunder’s work as a professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, and as the co-founder and director of the HEAL Initiative, an equity-based global health fellowship that provides quality care for communities in need around the world. 

In this episode, Sri and Dwayne discuss the surprising similarities between poetry and medicine; how the HEAL Initiative cultivates “noble friendships” across cultural divides; and the impact of the mentorship of June Jordan and Dr. Paul Farmer on Sri’s life and career. Plus: so much poetry! Poems mentioned in this episode include: 

["The Gift" by Li-Young Lee](https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43010/the-gift-56d221adc12b8 " "The Gift" by Li-Young Lee")

["To Walk in Beauty Once Again" by Sri Shamasunder (for Adriann Begay, June 2020)](https://courtney.substack.com/p/to-walk-in-beauty-once-again ""To Walk in Beauty Once Again" by Sri Shamasunder (for Adriann Begay, June 2020)")

["The Guest House" by Jalaluddin Rumi](https://www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk/poem/guest-house/ ""The Guest House" by Jalaluddin Rumi")

["In Blackwater Woods" by Mary Oliver](http://www.phys.unm.edu/~tw/fas/yits/archive/oliver_inblackwaterwoods.html ""In Blackwater Woods" by Mary Oliver")

["Our Daily Bread" by César Vallejo](https://www.scribd.com/document/324203734/Our-Daily-Bread# ""Our Daily Bread" by César Vallejo")

["It’s Hard to Keep a Clean Shirt Clean" by June Jordan (poem for Sri Shamasunder)](https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/48759/its-hard-to-keep-a-clean-shirt-clean ""It’s Hard to Keep a Clean Shirt Clean" by June Jordan (poem for Sri Shamasunder)")