Poetry That Heals

What’s the role of poetry in the face of tragedy? Henry Hart (William and Mary) is Virginia’s poet laureate. He shares how poetry can emerge in the wake of loss. And: In college, Laura Bylenok (University of Mary Washington) was fascinated with genetic engineering. Now, she manipulates language, not DNA. Her recent book turns familiar forms into poetic laboratory experiments. Later in the show: To some, poetry and medicine seem like opposites. But pediatrician and poet Irène Mathieu (University of Virginia) says both science and poetry use language to understand deeper truths about the human condition. Mathieu’s latest collection, Grande Marronage, examines the lives of Creole women of color in New Orleans.