Poetry and medicine

In ancient Egypt, sacred words were chanted in rituals to promote healing. Ancient Greeks left poems in shrines in remembrance of their healing. The spoken word is integral to Native American traditional medicine.

Even in the modern era, poetry has played a role. The famed Benjamin Rush, MD, included a library in the hospital he founded in 1810 so patients could read poetry and other literature prescribed by their doctors.

A study published in JAMA April 14 reported on the health benefits of written expression for patients. Researchers studying 112 patients with asthma or rheumatoid arthritis who wrote about traumatic life experiences found a greater reduction in symptoms at four months than for those in a control group (47% compared with 24%). "These gains were beyond those attributable to the standard medical care that all participants were receiving," the authors wrote.