"Poet Brings Alive The Art of Care
in a Community Hospital

"They Know the Promise: The Art of Care in a Community Hospital" will debut both as a book and an art show on Friday, Oct. 5 in the Gifford Art Gallery. From 5 to 7 p.m., the public is invited to this unique unfolding of words and images which celebrate what it’s like to work in, or be a patient in, a community hospital.

"They Know the Promise" is the concrete product of a two-week residency at Gifford Medical Center by Verandah Porche, a Vermont poet whose specialty is showcasing other people’s words and thoughts. The project, sponsored jointly by Gifford and the Chandler Cultural Foundation, also drew upon the photography of Robert Eddy and the graphics artistry of Karen Thorkilsen and Julia Pattison.

The result is a stunning book, of which 300 have been printed, and an art show which will be on display in the Gifford Art Gallery. The art show will be at the gallery all during October, which is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The book itself will be on sale at the Gifford Gift Shop after Oct. 5.

Patients, their families, physicians, volunteers, Auxiliary members, cancer survivors, maintenance workers, even Hospital Administrator Joseph Woodin share their thoughts and impressions in this book with startling clarity and eloquence.

Porche describes her work as "releasing the poetry of local life" as she works with ordinary people, most of whom would never think of themselves as "poets," to express their world in flashes of surprisingly brilliant concrete images and thoughtful reflections. "I pair my skills as a poet and a facilitator with each person’s natural eloquence and their need to transmit wisdom," she explains.

The "told poems" focus on the hospital environment, but not to the exclusion of events and influences of the outside life. Memories of growing up on a farm, or starting out as a hairdresser, or growing rhubarb, complement the verbal snapshots of life within the medical center.

"I tried to talk about the quality of the people who were involved," Porche explained. "The hospital has a profoundly rural feel; it’s like a brilliant farm. So all of those meaningful activities—wild strawberries, rhubarb, rivers—that’s as much a part of the life force as the care-giving."

The life of people at Gifford Medical Center does take center stage in this book and artwork, however. "The purpose was to honor the hospital and the hospital community," Porche explained. "This isn’t an evaluation of the hospital, it’s the process of investigating and sensing the pulse of the place.

"The hospital is a fascinating hive of activity—and my job was to make the hum more audible," she said last week, adding that Gifford "was a very easy place to work because people felt comfort that they were doing the best they could. So talking about those jobs seemed to be easy—and for some people rather novel."

Hospital Administrator Joseph Woodin was one person who allowed himself to become part of the process, and who is represented in the book. That was an extra bonus, Porche said.

"Joe was extremely forthcoming, and so excited," she exclaimed. "Having a poet on board could have been a stretch, it’s a very exposed situation." Nevertheless Woodin gave the project enthusiastic support, and frequently inquired into how it was going. "He was terrific," said Porche.

The project shared funding by the Lamson-Howell Foundation, the Vermont Arts Council and the Vermont affiliate of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.

By M. D. Drysdale