THE POETRY OF PRESENCE
This book group, in Bangor, Maine, selected Vigil: The Poetry of Presence for their May book choice. I will join them for the reading of some of the poems and a discussion of both the poems and my role as a vigil-sitting hospice volunteer.
From the Northern Light Hospice Volunteer Newsletter: A unique educational opportunity, the reading of poetry by a Vermont hospice volunteer who sits vigil with dying patients. It will be held in the Benson Conference Room on Monday, June 3rd 3:30 – 4:30 p.m. and is open to all hospice volunteers and staff members interested in […]
Vigil goes to the library! Reading and story-telling offered by Jericho's Deborah Rawson Library. Books available for sale and signing.
Franklin County Home Health and Hospice will offer a reading of poetry from Vigil: The Poetry of Presence at the Highgate Library and Community Center. Everyone is welcome!
Charlotte Public Library is sponsoring a weekly book discussion on four Wednesdays in October, beginning on October 2nd. This series will be based on Ram Dass and Mirabai Bush's book: "Walking Each Other Home." Taken from Ram Dass’s quote, “We are all just walking each other home,” this book shows us “how death gives us […]
Poetry and poignant, instructive stories of sitting vigil with the dying. Poet and hospice volunteer, Pam MacPherson, will share this hour with current hospice volunteers wishing to learn more about their role in sitting vigil.
Join author Pamela MacPherson for a reading and talk on her book, Vigil: The Poetry of Presence, a collection of sixty-five poems written from the perspective of a seasoned hospice volunteer sitting with others in the last days and moments of their life. Through story and poetry, Pamela hopes to make attendees feel more comfortable, […]
Beacon hospice volunteers and staff are invited to a reading of poetry related to sitting vigil with dying individuals. Learn more from the shared experiences of a seasoned hospice volunteer whose main role in volunteering is sitting vigil. Books will be available for sale and signing.
Vigil and I have been invited to Norwich University! A new and cutting-edge multi-disciplinary course, "Narrative Medicine" is being taught by an English Professor and the Director of the School of Nursing. This course invites students to engage in stories about illness and caregiving and to consider the power of storytelling in the processes of […]
Eastview at Middlebury, a Senior Retirement Community, will host a Vigil poetry reading. This event is open to anyone in the broader Middlebury community.
I look forward to being a guest speaker at UVM Arts and Creativity Learning Community's Arts Round-table being held in McAuley Hall on Trinity Campus. It is anticipated there will be 140 students, who have read excerpts of Vigil: The Poetry of Presence, in attendance to hear the reading of poems and learn more about […]
Vigil: The Poetry of Presence is, once again, being welcomed by the Wake Robin Community in Shelburne, VT for a sharing of poems, enriched by the telling of the stories around them. Book signing follows the presentation.
Morning presentation with leadership and managers related to their Vigil Volunteers in their Hospice program in their new Falls Church, VA headquarters. Afternoon presentation/reading for Capital Caring Health's Hospice Volunteers at Halquist Memorial Inpatient Center in Arlington, VA.
As a follow-up to Vigil Volunteer Training, Jessica DeGrechie, Bayada Hospice Director, has invited Vigil (and me!) to speak to staff and Hospice program volunteers. In the stories told and the poems read, we will share the deep meaning and privilege found by volunteers and staff alike in caring for individuals in the last sacred […]
Pamela MacPherson, Vigil, the Poetry of Presence Each person’s dying is different; yet the unique path to getting there reveals our common humanity: love, pain, joy, comfort, searching, and acceptance. This collection of sixty-five poems is written from the perspective of a seasoned hospice volunteer sitting with others in the last days and moments of […]
A morning gathering (Pacific Time) to listen to poems wrapped in the stories of a seasoned hospice volunteer sitting at the bedside in the last hours of the life of another. These poems are from a personal journal, the safe place of processing these deeply meaningful experiences. While the living have much to teach us, […]
A Vigil reading and discussion with health science and nursing students in the Narrative Medicine class at Norwich University. Vigil will be present through the GoToMeeting platform.
Reading for BSN graduates and nurse leader members throughout Vermont.
Wednesday, February 23 at 6pm PT, (9pm East Coast), join the EKR Foundation via Zoom for a reading of poetry, each poem embraced in story from the bedside. As a Hospice Volunteer for over 35 years who focuses most volunteering on sitting vigil with the dying, this presentation will be both meaningful and instructive. Everyone […]
First Church, West Hartford, will sponsor a reading of poetry, along with the stories from which the poetry comes, on Sunday, March 27th at 7pm. The poems, from a hospice volunteer's private journal, are honest, tender and there is much to learn about sitting with those who are dying. The First Church folks have been […]