Poems in the Waiting Room

World Wide

The success of Poems in the Waiting Room in Great Britain aroused international interest. PitWR has now become a world wide enterprise. The initiative for such lay entirely with poets and health service professionals overseas. PitWR found it necessary to respond the requests for help and guidance world wide.

The first international joint project was launch was by an Irish poet from 2008 in County Kildare Eire, which attracted much press attention and even a note in the New Yorker magazine.

The most successful launch to date has been in Dunedin Otago New Zealand in 2009. The scheme was promoted by a local poet. Again the scheme attracted good press coverage which stimulated local funding. The Otago project soon spread throughout New Zealand with strong support from local poets and local health services. A request for the poetry cards has come from Samoa, while a supply was despatched to the Scott Base Antarctic.

In the United States, an article about PitWR was published in the Journal of Poetry Therapy.

In summer 2010, The Sutter Medical Center of Santa Rosa became the first to promote the scheme in the USA. It produces a local print of PitWR editions from proof editorial and art work supplied by PitWR London, camera ready for printing, for distribution throughout the Sutter Medical Center Santa Rosa health service units.

Discussions have also been held for further schemes in Australia and South Africa.

PitWR is now well established world wide. PitWR meets international expressions of interest in a variety of ways.

First, at a simple level, the enquirer can be added to an international mailing list, and receive a copy of each edition as published with a copy of our Newsletter. This would be entirely complimentary as part of our general promotion of poetry in health. The recipient hopefully would contribute as a PitWR Friend

The more substantial involvement would be for the overseas body to commission specially sponsored editions of standard UK PitWR poetry cards. This would be along the lines of the Poems in the Hospital Waiting Room currently offered to various UK hospitals and the like.

However, to make the scheme economic, the local printing option would be sensible. Under this, PitWR would provide hard camera-ready master copies of each edition specially adapted to show sponsorship by the overseas body. Samples of existing scheme and dummy mock-ups can be provided. The camera ready master copy would enable a local printer to produce the supply of poetry cards required. To cover royalty, editorial and administrative costs, a grant equivalent to some £400 sterling would be sought.

For international requests to start local generated schemes, using local poets and poetry selections, PitWR offers of a royalty free licence to use the copyright to the title Poems in the Waiting Room locally. The sole conditions are strict adherence to the PitWR editorial guidelines and production of poetry cards in similar format to UK so as to preserve a world-wide image.

It would seem that the local print option is first choice for health service workers interested in poetry in health, while development of their own selections, following PitWR guidelines, are the choice where the local scheme is stimulated by a local group of poets.

Advice and guidance is also offered on the selection of poems. First, the poems previously published by PitWR are suggest as a start with, where appropriate, assistance with clearance of copyright for various nations with the poets. Second, advice from the editorial guidelines is given concerning the poems that could be acceptable to the medical profession dealing with a morbid situation.

All selections by PitWR are subject to monitoring by an experienced psychotherapist. This advice is offered to overseas schemes where poems selected for possible publication can be appraised simply through exchange of emails.

Management advice on launching and developing PitWR locally is also provided. The advised first steps are to serve a dozen or so primary care units locally with hand delivery of batches of poetry cards. The impressions gained are enduring concerning the environment in which the scheme need work and to make contact with staff. Their feedback is essential, and to find an enthusiast in each location is the key to successful marketing.

Continuous management advice is given as the scheme develops. The issues that arise are remarkably uniform, involving developing distribution and seeking local funding.

Poems in the Waiting Room has discussed the promotion of PitWR internationally with the British Council as part of international cultural exchange. Local British Council Office may be able to make the help offered by UK Poems in the Waiting Room known to local poets and poetry organisations.