September 2025

Introducing the The Good Listening Project poetry anthology, Amplifying Voices of Black Women Physicians in Obstetrics and Gynecology Residency Programs. Each poem and origin story in this collection was created as the result of a partnership between The Good Listening Project and Health4Equity, an initiative of the WPP Racial Equity Programme.

September 2025

We’re delighted to introduce our recent graduates – the members of Certified Listener Poet Cohort 11! Each poet brings unique gifts, experiences, and perspectives to the practice of listening and poetry. Now, as they join our Community of Practice, they carry this work forward in diverse and meaningful ways, weaving it into their lives, professions, and communities.

September 2025

One of our information sessions took a special turn when we were joined virtually by a high school class from Pittsburgh, PA. Their teacher was teaching a course on Human Flourishing and asked if his seniors could sit in on the session, learn about the healing and medicinal possibilities of poetry, and pose questions to our Listener Poets.

September 2025

Salaam Green, Certified Listener Poet Cohort 1, will read from her recently released poetry collection and create a revival circle for Listener Poets.

September 2025

As Listener Poets, we're trained to attend to poemees' stories and imagery to create our poems for them. Sometimes the language poemees use is in the form of common phrases, and even clichés, which can sometimes can even hide poemees' deeper feelings and insights. In this Community of Practice, Listener Poets are invited to discuss this phenomenon and share strategies for turning "Hallmark card language" to rich metaphors.

September 2025

Join Dr. Julia McDonald, physician and Certified Listener Poet, for a meet and greet and book signing for their new poetry anthology, Hysteriography, that uplifts the lived experiences of people with uteruses (and those who love them) through poetry that is unapologetically honest, moving, and needed.

September 2025

This month, we’re delighted to welcome Kay Abesamis to The Good Listening Project’s Board of Directors. Kay brings nearly a decade of experience in oncology and blood cancer research at Pfizer, where she focuses on developing new therapies for leukemia, prostate cancer, and bladder cancer.

September 2025

We’re honored that The Good Listening Project was featured in Red Door Magazine’s latest issue, #39 – Impermanence, published by Elizabeth Torres, a recent graduate of Certified Listener Poet Cohort 11. You can find an article about our work on page 32, along with a moving poem by Listener Poet Gray Davidson Carroll.

September 2025

You’re Invited! Saturday, November 29 at 8 PM ET. Anne Marie Wells, Certified Listener Poet Cohort 9, is hosting a virtual book launch for her new book, Write Some Cool Sh!t: 366 Prompts to Rekindle Your Creativity. Come celebrate the launch of Anne Marie’s first self-published book via her publishing house, Star Belt Press, with special guests.

August 2025

Salaam Green, an alum of the first cohort of the The Good Listening Project’s Certified Listener Poet course, has released a poetry collection. The Other Revival is a story of homecoming. This collection of poems revolves around a house built in Harpersville, Alabama in 1841. Thirty-nine people enslaved by Samuel Wallace, the owner of the property, constructed the house and worked the land.

August 2025

Dylan Klempner, a member of Certified Listener Poet Cohort 11, has launched Creative for Health – a newsletter and growing community space dedicated to the intersection of creativity and well-being.

August 2025

By Jenny Hegland

Twice a month, our Listener Poet community (now 80+ and growing) gathers for our regular Community of Practice. This space allows us to stay connected, continue learning, and hold space for one another as we navigate both our poetic practices and our lives.

Last month, the focus of our sessions was on poetic voice – that one-of-a-kind artistic expression that allows us to communicate not only our own truths but also the truths and stories of others. The conversations and insights were so rich that we wanted to share some of the key takeaways with our broader community. We hope you find these reflections inspiring as we all continue to explore the transformative power of poetry.

August 2025

Nancy Scherlong, LCSW-R, CHHC, SEP, CP, PTR/CJT-CM, brings a deep well of experience – and heart – to The Good Listening Project’s Board of Directors. A psychotherapist, educator, and long-time expressive arts advocate, Nancy believes that “creative resonance” – the feeling of being seen or understood through art – is a “powerful complement to any healing process.”

July 2025

Current Certified Listener Poet Cohort 11 member Dr. Kevin Dieter is the creator of Walking Each Other Home, a thoughtful resource for those interested in compassionate end-of-life care.

July 2025

We’re proud to share that current Certified Listener Poet Cohort 11 member, Nicole (Nix) Demos, has a powerful piece featured in the latest issue of Unapologetically Us: Disabled, Proud, and Resilient – a zine by the disability community, for the disability community.

July 2025

A poem by Certified Listener Poet Cohort 9 Alum, Dr. Julia McDonald, is now part of the educational offerings available through The Blood Project (TBP). The mission of TBP is to cultivate a deeper understanding of blood disorders for clinicians through modules, tutorials, and the humanities.

July 2025

Jenny Hegland and Yvette Perry delivered a workshop to medical school faculty at Northeast Ohio Medical University (NEOMED) in Rootstown, Ohio in May.

June 2025

Listener Poets Dr. Julia McDonald and Dr. Erin FitzGerald representing The Good Listening Project (TGLP) offered a powerful presence at a recent national healthcare conference by facilitating in-person listening sessions. Many shared that TGLP’s focus on provider wellness and resilience filled a much-needed gap in the conference experience.

June 2025

By Ingrid Berg

A poem by Yvette Perry, TGLP Listener Poet was featured as part of an ethics education event for a large healthcare organization on April 29, 2025. “Living With Sickle Cell Disease” was the theme of the Spring 2025 “Ethics on the Big Screen” presentation held at the Benson Theatre in Omaha, Nebraska, sponsored by CommonSpirit.

June 2025

This volume uplifts the lived experiences of people with uteruses (and those who love them) through poetry that is unapologetically honest, moving, and needed.

May 2025

By Geva Thole

Patients in Emplify Health’s Inpatient Behavioral Health Unit are often there because they’ve lost touch with themselves. Some need to reconnect with their values. Others are trying to forgive themselves or contend with a difficult diagnosis. No matter the issue, participating in a Listener Poet session has shown to be helpful.

May 2025

Congratulations to Sailaja Devaguptapu, a member of the Certified Listener Poet Cohort 2, whose poem "The Falling Leaves The Growing Tree" is featured on the cover of Soul Connection, a quarterly multilingual literary magazine by Guwahati Grand Poetry Festival. Be sure to spend a moment with her beautiful, transformative poetry.

March 2025

Monica Storss, a TGLP scholarship recipient and member of our current Certified Listener Poet training cohort and current PhD student, created The Augmented Reality Poetry Machine as a way for people to experience poetry through cutting-edge technology.

March 2025

On Friday, March 28th, Cedars-Sinai hosted the Henrietta Lacks Symposium, a special event that also highlighted the release of a new anthology featuring poems by Listener Poets from The Good Listening Project (TGLP).

March 2025

On March 20th, The Good Listening Project (TGLP) had the honor of hosting Our Why, a poetry reading and story showcase for the American Cancer Society’s (ACS) Patient Support Team.