Hakim Bellamy, Philadelphia native and the first-ever Poet Laureate of New Mexico, returned to his hometown to lead a powerful poetry-writing workshop with students at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University. Hosted by Katz’s Narrative Medicine program as part of the Life in Medicine Speaker Series, the workshop offered students a unique opportunity to tap into creativity, explore the human side of healing, and reflect on the emotional realities of a medical career.
The session culminated in a live reading, where students shared their original poems alongside Bellamy in an atmosphere of support and vulnerability. The event also featured a special performance by Jeffrey Solow, international cellist and faculty member at Temple’s Boyer College of Music and Dance, who played a moving piece that added to the evening’s reflective tone.
“One of my favorite docu-poets is Muriel Rukeyser. She said, ‘The universe is made up of stories,’” Bellamy told the students. “Our patients are the sum of their stories—the places they’ve been, the things they do, and the people they love. The medical profession is better for those who are truly listening. I have so much respect for the future physicians who sat in front of me today. They’re signing up to be heroes, but more importantly, they’re signing up to see and hear the humans behind the illnesses.”
The Narrative Medicine program, led by Naomi Rosenberg, MD, Assistant Dean for Narrative Medicine and Health Humanities at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine, supports students in processing the emotional weight of medical practice while helping them stay deeply connected to the human stories at the heart of healthcare. Through literature, storytelling, and the arts, the program creates space for reflection, empathy, and resilience.
The Life in Medicine Speaker Series, part of this innovative program, brings writers, artists, and creators to campus throughout the year to enrich medical education with creative perspectives. One of only a few graduate certificate programs of its kind in the nation, Narrative Medicine equips Katz students with essential skills that enhance both clinical care and personal well-being.