Event Description:
Poetry reading and music with John L. Wright, MD and Linda Sussman. WWBA is delighted to present a live poetry reading with Physician and Poet John L. Wright with Singer-Songwriter Linda Sussman. The evening focused on poetry exploring humanity’s relationship and place among the fauna and flora of the natural world.
Event Video Link: https://youtu.be/pwlM1kpBA0s
John L. Wright, MD practiced internal medicine and endocrinology at the Swedish Medical Center in Seattle, Washington from 1964 to 1989, during this time he was also Associate Medical Director with responsibilities for, among other duties, the residency training programs and the continuing education conferences presented by the medical staff. From 1989 to 1994 he served as Vice President for Medical Staff Affairs. He is a Clinical Professor Emeritus in Medicine at the University of Washington, and a Fellow of the American College of Physicians. John L. Wright, MD is a retired physician who wrote his first poem as an assignment for a short story writing class; It was 1988, He was 59 years-old. For the next 30 plus years, the making and sharing of his poetry has enriched his life beyond measure. During this time he published five collections of poems, the last, The Loveliness of this World, was published in 2020 by Finishing Line Press. His poems have appeared in 13 anthologies. And In February of last year, his poem “What Poetry Taught me About Hope” was published by Passager Books. As a physician, his early poems arose from life experiences with patients and colleagues, Then, when he began experience his own illnesses, his poems became “songs of myself.” Over the last decade he has become more interested in nature, more specifically in man’s place amongst the fauna and flora. Working with a photographer, they have created a book entitled Our Connected Lives: Birds, Flowers, and Poetry. They are looking for a publisher.
Linda Sussman is a Long Island, NY-based recording artist whose music blurs the lines of contemporary folk and blues. Linda’s music has received international airplay–from New York stations WFUV and WUSB to other parts of the US, UK, Europe, Israel and elsewhere. Just 6 weeks after its February 2021 release, Linda’s latest album, titled These Walls, ranked #1 on the Roots Music Report’s “Top 50 Alternative Folk Album Chart” (wk 4/3/21). Pre-pandemic, Linda was touring the East Coast as a solo artist and at times performing with her studio musicians under the name the Linda Sussman Collective, including gigs at NYC’s iconic The Bitter End. Linda’s music is available on all streaming sites; much more on her website at lindasussman.com
