Poetry. In this book of poetry Peter Pereira is at the forefront of a national movement for medical practitioners to incorporate literature-especially poetry-into their training. In WHAT'S WRITTEN ON THE BODY, Pereira draws the physical self into poetic interplay between intellect and imagination, contrasting language games with the themes and imagery of medicine, religion, and gay domestic life. His second collection opens with a selection of "anagrammers"-wordplay poems-that serve as a counterpoint to pieces recounting the day-to-day practice of a family physician. "Pereira is a master of many modes, all of them yielding either wisdom or delight. Here we find poems in which anagrams bustle toward revelation, or ones where we stand alongside the poet-doctor as he steadfastly gazes and does his best to heal"--Gregory Orr.

Author City: West Seattle, WA USA

Peter Pereira is a family physician in Seattle, where he cares for an urban, underserved population of immigrants, refugees, housing project residents, and the elderly. His first book won the Hayden Carruth Award, and his individual poems have appeared in a wide range of publications, including Poetry,USA Weekend, and The Journal of the American Medical Association.