HOW DOES THE STORY END?
By Michael Green
Artists in ASU community program find poetry in the lives of the dying

Once a week, Sheilah Britton, a graduate of ASU's create writing Master of Fine Arts degree program, visits the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale and crafts a poem out of the life story of a dying patient. She visits with the patient, listens to stories, and then retreats for several hours to write a poem that tries to encompass an era or experience. "We don't have a whole lot of time for reflection, since I only spend about 90 minutes with each patient," she says. "Still, it seems to have a remarkable impact on both patients and their families."

According to Regents' Professor Alberto Rios, who sponsors this program, known as Poesie del Sol, from within the creative writing department, the volunteer-run effort has had a remarkable impact on the writers involved as well, enlarging their perspective and transforming their writing in surprising ways.

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