Books: Tools of the Trade: Poems for New Doctors (Third Edition): Looking after Yourself and Others

摘要

Five years ago I reviewed the first edition of this book of poems designed to be carried in the pocket of newly qualified doctors. I thought it was a brilliant idea and am delighted to see it is still going strong in its third edition as a resource to turn to for inspiration, comfort, and even guidance during a working day — or unwinding after it. It still weighs in at just 96 pages, so what’s new in this edition? There are prefaces by the editors and sponsor (MDDUS) and an introduction by Gavin Francis. Notes are included on some of the poets and by some of the poets themselves on their poems. Poems are also grouped together in five sections — looking after yourself, looking after others, beginnings, being with illness, and endings. Having mourned my own father’s death earlier this year it wasn’t surprising that I found some of the poems in the final section particularly resonated with me. Denise Levertov is a wonderful poet and ‘Talking to Grief’ is a powerful metaphorical evocation of loss: