March 4-7, 2026

The Good Listening Project attended AWP26 in Baltimore.

February 19-21, 2026

The Good Listening Project attends several conferences this spring focused on graduate medical education, including The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)’s annual conference for medical educators.

March 4-6, 2026

The Good Listening Project attends several conferences this spring focused on graduate medical education, including The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP)’s annual Residency Leadership Summit.

March 4-7, 2026

We’re excited to share that The Good Listening Project will have a table at the AWP Bookfair this March 4-7, 2026 in Baltimore. We’ll be connecting with the wider literary community, sharing our work, and highlighting books and voices from our Certified Listener Poet community.

April 8-11, 2026

We’re pleased to announce that our workshop proposal, “Holding Space for Caregivers through Poetry: A Workshop to Foster Compassionate Deep Listening” has been accepted for this year’s Health Humanities Consortium Conference, Health Justice: So it Goes?

April 15-19, 2026

We’re excited to announce that our workshop proposal, “Listen Like a Poet: The Transformative Power of Listening in Healthcare” has been accepted for this year’s National Association for Poetry Therapy 2026 Conference: Poetry as a Pathway to Peace.

February 2026

By Beck Klassen (they/them)

The Good Listening Project’s community and the work we do are constantly evolving. We’ve recently welcomed two graduates of CLP Cohort 11 to our Listener Poet team: Elizabeth Torres and Rebecca Wilson.

February 2026

By Yvette Perry, PhD

The Good Listening Project facilitated the closing session of the National Council on Family Relations (NCFR) Annual Conference in Baltimore, Maryland last November. Yvette Perry, Listener Poet and Health Equity Programs Lead, led the session: “Going Forward Together: Reflective Poetry as a Catalyst for Collective Action.”

February 2026

Certified Listener Poet Sailaja Devaguptapu, Cohort 2, was invited and served as a judge for INVICTUS. She also served as a juror for Art Neureau 2025 organised by Intersecting Minds.

February 2026

By Latasha Drax

In November 2025, I had the privilege of facilitating a customized workshop, “Listening Leaders: Building Rapport and Community by Listening,” for the Ready TECH Hire program. The workshop moved beyond traditional communication, exploring how holding space, solidarity, and the art of silence serve as essential tools for effective leadership.

February 2026

Congratulations to Certified Listener Poet Sailaja Devaguptapu, Cohort 2, for the publication of her poem “The Lonely Tidings,” which was published in PHRAME by SD Gupta School of Public Health, Indian Institute of Health Management Research University. The poem reflects the experiences shared by a palliative medicine physician.

December 2025

In November we celebrated Certified Listener Poet Cohort 12, as we gathered for a beautiful Practicum reading filled with compassion, insight, and the quality of deep reflection that continues to shape this community. Congratulations to our newest Listener Poets!

December 2025

We’re proud to share that The Good Listening Project team recently attended the End Well Conference 2025 in Los Angeles – joining a rich convening of voices dedicated to how we live, how we die and how we care for one another. The conference brought together thought-leaders, clinicians, advocates and artists in a one-day exploration of truth, technology and transformation in end-of-life care. 

December 2025

By Kathryn West

Though The Good Listening Project (TGLP) and Grace House Akron weren’t designed with one another in mind, their new partnership makes it seem like they very well could have been. Their collaboration is just a few months old and already having an important impact on those involved.

December 2025

A new blog post by Kevin Dieter

CLP alum Kevin Dieter, M.D., FAAHPM, HMDC reflects on his meaningful connection with The Good Listening Project, beginning as a poemee at the 2023 AAHPM Annual Assembly, then completing Listener Poet training with Cohort 11 this summer, and recently volunteering as a poemee once again.

December 2025

By LaShaune Johnson

In October 2025, I participated in a panel celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Medieval/ Renaissance major at Wellesley College, in Wellesley, Massachusetts. During the panel, I was asked a question I’ve gotten a lot: How did a girl who grew up listening to hip hop end up as a Med/Ren major?

December 2025

A new blog post by Dylan Tweney

This summer, my friend Janne-Pekka Manninen, a Finnish journalist and photographer, began a three-month artist’s residency in Berlin. He invited me to follow along with his process as a sort of satellite contributor. Neither of us really knew what this collaboration would mean, except that he was inviting me to respond to his photography with poetry or writing.

December 2025

By Robert Minicucci

With the meteoric rise of artificial intelligence (AI), where does poetry fit in? How it is being influenced (or swayed) by the changing and growing digital environment we live in?

December 2025

Congratulations to Julie Jenson, a member of the Certified Listener Poet Cohort 8, who recently had two poems published in Indelible, Issue #9: Awakening.

November 2025

This collection brings together a unique intersection of narrative medicine, reflective practice, and poetic response. Centered on a live listening session between a practicing neurologist and a Certified Listener Poet, these poems were written by members of Cohort 11 of the Certified Listener Poet Course.

November 2025

Certified Listener Poet Cohort 12 is finishing their practicum and gearing up for their celebration, marking the close of a meaningful journey in listening and poetry. Cohort 13 kicks off in February 2026 with a new 1-week intensive format, offering an immersive introduction to the practice.

November 2025

Join Kelsey D. Mahaffey, Certified Listener Poet Cohort 5 on Tuesday, November 4 from 3 - 4pm ET, where we'll explore the power of words to illuminate what feels hidden. Together we’ll write and share poetry that captures shadow and light, finding voice, clarity, and connection along the way.

November 2025

The Good Listening Project was invited to present at VCU Health’s annual Good Grief Conference, which highlights the presence and impact of grief in health care spaces. Our session, “Listening Like a Poet: Practice for Meaning-Making and Resilience in Bereavement Care,” aligned beautifully with this year’s theme: resilience in relationships.

November 2025

The Good Listening Project was honored to be part of the September Women in Medicine Conference at Hofstra University in NYC. Certified Listener Poet Cohort 7 alum Gray Davidson Carroll was on-site holding Listener Poet sessions with attendees.

November 2025

We are thrilled to highlight Rebecca Wilson, Certified Listener Poet Cohort 11, who recently served as the emcee and a keynote speaker at The Next Level Private Practice Summit in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

November 2025

On June 21, 2025, Listener Poet Latasha Daneille Drax of Cohort 6, debuted her listening poetry table at The Power of Your Voice: Connections and Change event held in Charlottesville, Virginia.

November 2025

The poem "I Pretend to Eat" by Anne Marie Wells, Certified Listener Poet Cohort 9, was featured as part of Poetry Super Highway's Poet of the Week.

Tuesday, October 21, 2025

Join us on Tuesday, October 21 at 7 pm EDT on Zoom. This 75-minute event will celebrate the five anthologies published by The Good Listening Project in 2025. Each anthology represents countless conversations between Listener Poets and the people they met in healthcare communities — moments of story, memory, and meaning transformed into poems.

October 2025

The Good Listening Project was honored to once again take part in the annual KNN conference in Minneapolis this year. We also shared copies of our newly published KNN Anthology: Stories of Residents & Fellows, which was available to all participants.

October 2025

In this episode of Red Transmissions Podcast, Jenny Hegland shares her journey from mental health counseling and disaster response to co-creating spaces of healing through The Good Listening Project – a global community of listener poets dedicated to humanizing healthcare.

October 2025

We’re honored to welcome Dr. Max Nanes to The Good Listening Project’s Board of Directors. Max is a hospice and palliative medicine physician with a background in emergency medicine, where he practiced before transitioning into his current role. With training in both medicine and creative writing, he brings a perspective that blends clinical practice and storytelling.

October 2025

This month, we’re excited to highlight Elizabeth Torres – also known as Madam Neverstop – who recently gave the keynote Listening Between the Lines: Poetry as Pathways for Healing, Empathy, and Social Change at the 2025 Creative Bridges Conference, hosted by Lapidus International.

October 2025

In September, our very own Listener Poet Yvette Perry took part in Tupelo Press’s 30/30 Project – a poetry marathon and fundraiser where poets write 30 poems in 30 days. Yvette joined seven other poets in this creative challenge, contributing daily poems that highlighted her artistry and commitment to the craft.

October 2025

“Reading this chapbook felt like stepping into a healing ritual—one that drew my body and spirit into full attention. With spare, piercing language, Mahaffey evokes the sensual, the sacred, and the sorrowful, reminding us how deeply we are shaped by what we dare to feel—and by the power of listening that is both attentive and attuned to what so often goes unsaid.” –Jenny Hegland, Executive Director, The Good Listening Project

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

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 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

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

By Jenny Hegland

Twice a month, our Listener Poet community (now 80+ and growing) gathers for our regular Community of Practice. 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.

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

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.”

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.

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

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

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

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.

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.

Wednesday, April 9, 2025

In collaboration with Georgetown-Howard Center for Medical Humanities and Health Justice (MHHJ), Listener Poet Ravenna Raven presented at the Poetic Health Justice event on April 9th, an event honoring the lived realities of those impacted by cancer.

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

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).

Thursday, March 20, 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.

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

By Robert Minicucci

“Palliatively Speaking” Host Toby Campbell, MD, speaks to clinicians from all parts of palliative care—physicians, nurses, social workers, scientists, and chaplains. His guests bring guests—a great unexpected switch up that makes for a more interesting conversation. I felt a part of the conversation, as if his guest was speaking to me directly.

March 2025

Certified Listener Poet Erin FitzGerald, Cohort 9, invoked The Good Listening Project in a recent AAHPM (American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine) self care forum, in which she led palliative experts through a breathing exercise and reflection, and introduced the concept of generous listening.

March 2025

By Ingrid Berg

The TGLP community would like to thank Nancy Eddy, outgoing board president, for her service to the board and the mission of TGLP. Eddy, who will remain on the board, has been an active member for the last four years.

February 2025

The 10th Cohort of the Certified Listener Poet course officially began on Monday, January 27th, as we welcomed nine new candidates into the program.

February 2025

Congratulations to Julia McDonald, Certified Listener Poet Cohort 9, for a piece of creative non-fiction published in the January 2025 issue of The Sun and a poem accepted for publication in March by JAMA (Journal of American Medical Association).