Hektoen International

A Journal of Medical Humanities

Tag: Spring 2012

  • Piero di Cosimo

    Piero di Cosimo was a highly eccentric Florentine painter (ca. 1461-1521) whose best known paintings are quite idiosyncratic. His mythological paintings exhibit a bizarre style, many filled with fantastic humans and animals. . . . it appeared that he had lived the life of a brute rather than a man, as he had kept himself…

  • Frida Kahlo

    Now recognized as one of the great painters of the 20th century, Frida Kahlo’s life had been one of suffering and pain. Born in Mexico, she had polio at age six, leaving her with a contracted left leg. At the age of 20 she had a serious bus accident that fractured her spinal column, clavicle, ribs,…

  • Quentin Massys – The Ugly Duchess

    Flemish artist Quentin Massys (1465–1523) was born in Louvain and worked in Antwerp, where he painted many exquisite works of art. In 1513, he painted the portrait of An Old Woman, popularly known as The Ugly Duchess. Perhaps the best known of his works, it may be a portrait of Margaret, countess of Tyrol and…

  • WHACK’ed … and then everything was different: portraits of traumatic brain injury survivors

    Eliette MarkhbeinNew York, United States My show, WHACK’ed  . . .  and then everything was different, honors traumatic brain injury (TBI) survivors who changed perceptions of TBI and disability and became role models for millions. The series of large scale portraits personify the various causes of TBI as well as the diversity of people it…

  • December fall

    James Ballard Hershey, Pennsylvania, United States   Poet’s statement: Those of us who care for patients at the end of life realize the importance of closure (i.e., the settling of unfinished business, misunderstandings, and disputes between patients and their families and friends before death). This poem begins and ends with images of an early December…

  • Retired Hurt

    J.M.S. Pearce United Kingdom Poet’s statement: Lines on retirement written years ago in a transient mood of reflection, not depression.   Retired hurt1 What is this life with time to spare, There’s too much time to stand and stare. No breakfast rushed, no traffic race No bureaucrat’s unsmiling face. No prim grey suit worn everyday,…

  • Ripping Point

    Michelle Joy New Haven, Connecticut, USA   Poet’s statement: This poem came forth as an expression of coping with the violent experience described within, which transpired some years ago to my younger, very loved brother.                                                                                                                        Ripping point My mother’s hysteric words rang as loudly as the shot that was fired— They fell as soundly…

  • Memory – Grandpa Louis

    Eleonore Blaurock-Busch, PhD Hersbruck, Germany   Poet’s statement: Poetry allows us to summarize human and world issues in condensed lines and emotion. By condensing, we focus on that which we consider important.   Memory He is old now, my older brother. Hip and knee replacement, the prostatectomy took a toll. He is slower, more pale…

  • In the Spider’s Web – Landscapes – Intelligent Design

    Daniel Thomas Moran, DDS Massachusetts, USA Poet’s statement: “In the Spider’s Web” is about a visit I made to see my late grandfather at a nursing facility in Michigan as he was suffering from the final stages of Alzheimer’s Disease. This poem was included in my collection From HiLo to Willow Pond. “Intelligent Design” is…

  • Finding a Voice: poetry and images

      Donald Roach Omaha, Nebraska, USA Poet’s statement: This poem was created out of a life of childhood abuse, drug and alcohol abuse, desperation, and recovery, enabling me to rediscover a life worth living, an affirmation of the human person, and a new-found face.   Sober eyes You know there was a time When I…