WRITE - POEMS - SHORT STORIES - WRITE - POEMS - SHORT STORIES

"Poetry comes nearer to vital truth than history."

– Plato

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Creative writing, storytelling, and poetry used for healing and personal growth may be traced back to primitive man, who used religious rites in which shamans and witchdoctors chanted poetry for the well-being of the tribe or individual. In the fourth millennium B.C. in ancient Egypt, “healing” words were written on papyrus and then dissolved into a solution so that the words could be physically ingested by the patient and take effect as quickly as possible.

Meanwhile, great figures in the world of medicine were recognizing the important relationship of the arts to healing. For those suffering from a traumatic event, poetry, creative writing and story-telling may provide a metaphoric opportunity to safely speak or write about difficult feelings. Warriors have used the written word to process their experiences for centuries. Sophocles, Greek General and playwright, addressed his troops on loss and war trauma through performances of his works.