Suzanne Edison, MA, MFA

Poet • Educator

  • Suzanne Edison, MA, MFA
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February 6, 2021 By Suzanne

Pain Talk

The Wong-Baker FACES scale has been in existence since 1983.   Research was conducted on what sort of scales children and adolescents preferred and this one, with faces, won out.  And while I’m sure it has helped many a physician to understand the levels of what children may be feeling at any given moment in their office, it also feels inadequate to the varieties of pain they may experience (and we parents, observe).

In my own experience as a the mother of a child with a rare autoimmune disease that effected her muscles and skin and required years of hospital infusions, injections of chemotherapy drugs and several other medicines, including steroids, and as a former mental health counselor, I have first hand knowledge of the complicated nature of “pain.”  In addition, I have spoken to, and worked with many parents over the past 15 years who also have children with chronic physical and mental illnesses and it has become apparent to me that the pain scales used in both adult and children’s medical care just scratch the surface of realities.

In this light I have written several poems about pain and our bodies. One of them was recently published in HEAL, a medical humanities journal out of Florida State University. My poem, “Scaling Pain” is among other essays, photos, visual art and poems.

In my chapbook, The Body Lives Its Undoing, I also have a poem, “Pain, On a Scale of 1-10” first published in SWWIM Every Day online, that looks at a variety of painful experiences, including psychic and existential ones.

Especially now, in the year(s) of COVID-19, pain comes in many forms. I hope we can continue to push our knowledge forward of the relationships between mental, spiritual, and physical health. And though peace (peace of mind and body) may not be the goal for everyone, this quote from Pema Chodron, a Buddhist teacher, from her book, When Things Fall Apart:Heart Advice for Difficult Times, helps me a lot when I am in the thick of pain.

“When we are training in the art of peace, we are not given any promises that, because of our noble intentions, everything will be okay.  In fact, there are no promises of fruition at all.  Instead, we are encouraged to simply look deeply at joy and sorrow, at laughing and crying, at hoping and fearing, at all that lives and dies.  We learn that what truly heals is gratitude and tenderness.”

Filed Under: blog, Illness & Healing, literature review, poetry

June 3, 2020 By Suzanne

After Remission, Her First Tattoo–poem

Many thanks to Whale Road Review and Katie Manning for publishing this very personal poem.

Filed Under: Illness & Healing, poetry

March 24, 2020 By Suzanne

In the Time of Virus–Part 2–Writing Workshop

I know we are all feeling anxious and uncertain. Unknowns are hard to deal with. In spite of this many people are still making art; some of it related to the Coronavirus.

I am still going to teach The Words to Say It: Writing & Reading about Illness, Trauma and Healing workshop through The Writers Workshoppe in Port Townsend but it will be done virtually through Zoom. There are still spaces available.

Stay safe, stay home, find your own creative expressions and enjoy some down time.

Suzanne

Filed Under: Art & Writing, Illness & Healing, workshops Tagged With: healing, illness, poetry, writing

February 17, 2020 By Suzanne

Writing as a Righting Journey-San Francisco/Oakland–2020

Saturday, April 18th  and Sunday, April 19th, 2020

9 am – 1 pm ( each day )

Workshops are free.

  • I’ll be teaching 3-4 writing workshops over the coming year in both San Francisco and Oakland for parents of kids (young children, teens, or young adults) living with a chronic illness. These 4 hour workshops are sponsored by The Chronic Illness Center at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital.
  • For information about locations, please contact me @ suzanne.edison@curejm.org and I’ll be happy to correspond with you. Or contact the CIC directly.
  • For information about the format of the workshop, go here.

Thank you, Suzanne

Filed Under: events, Illness & Healing, workshops Tagged With: caregivers, childhood chronic illness, writing, Writing as a Righting Journey

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Events & Workshops

The Words To Say It: Reading and Writing Poems about Illness, Trauma, & Healing

In the Time of Virus–Part 2–Writing Workshop

Writing as a Righting Journey-San Francisco/Oakland–2020

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In the time of Virus

March 24, 2020

The Words To Say It: Writing & Reading Poems about Illness, Trauma, & Healing

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