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 The
Society for Veterinary Medicine and Literature was founded
by a veterinarian / veterinary educator and a poet to
support and advance the discussion of literature and
other arts in veterinary medicine education and practice.
August
2008: Come meet us at the 2008 Annual Conference
of the International Society for Anthrozoology in Toronto,
The Human Animal Bond. On August 14th we are talking
on "Using literary works to develop appreciation
of the human animal bond by student veterinarians."
New
for 2008: Announcing our blog! Join
the discussion.
About the Society  Founding Directors
Board
Membership
About the Society
The
Society promotes the reading and discussion of literary
works to explore important issues in veterinary medicine—and
for the intrinsic pleasure and value of reading and
discussing good literature, a way of renewing one's
joy in being a veterinarian and a human being. It also
promotes the exchange of ideas between writers and veterinarians,
animal scientists, animal behaviorists and others interested
in animal life, and among the different areas of veterinary
medicine.
Because
little has been written on literature and veterinary
medicine, our initial focus is making the interested
communities aware of the possibilities of bringing literature
and veterinary medicine together, and demonstrating
some ways of doing so. This includes:
- Compiling
and disseminating information on the web (here!)
- Adding
this topic to the professional literature and conversation.
Examples:
- Providing
a central point for the exchange of information and
the building of a community of interest, initially
through our
blog
With
the help and guidance of our Board and membership, we
plan the following future activities:
- A
yearly or every-other-year Conference bringing together
veterinarians, veterinary educators and students,
scientists, philosophers, poets, and fiction writers
- Publishing
a journal
- Online
colloquia
- Sponsoring
a virtual reading group
- Teleconferences
with invited guest speakers
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Founding
Directors
Elizabeth
Stone, DVM, MS, MPP, DACVS, is a veterinary surgeon
and Dean of the Ontario
Veterinary College at the University of Guelph in
Canada. Elizabeth was formerly Department Head, Department
of Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine,
North Carolina State University, where she instituted
the selective in Veterinary Medicine and Literature.
Hilde
Weisert is a poet, technology writer, and writing coach.
She has been a Geraldine Dodge Foundation Poet in the
Schools and a NJ State Council on the Arts Fellowship
winner, and her poems have appeared in The Sun, Ms,
and The Southern Poetry Review. With Barbara Penn, she
runs writing workshops for early-career faculty and
mentoring workshops.
More from Elizabeth and Hilde on founding the Society...
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Board Members
Board
members from a range of medical, scientific, and artistic
disciplines bring their varied perspectives to help
further the exchange between veterinary medicine and
literature. Some of their activities include:
- Recommending
readings and providing commentaries
- Advising
on Society programs
- Convening
periodically to chart new directions
2004-2006
Board Members
James
Floyd, Theriogenologist and Department Head, NC
State University College of Veterinary Medicine
Susan
D. Jones, DVM and historian, University of Colorado;
author, Valuing
Animals: Veterinarians and Their Patients in Modern
America
Patricia N. Olson, DVM, PhD, Executive Director, Morris Animal Foundation
Molly
Peacock, poet, is author of Cornucopia:
New & Selected Poems, published by W.W. Norton,
and Company and by Penguin Canada. Among her other works
is How
To Read A Poem & Start A Poetry Circle.
Barbara
Penn, writer; founder, NC Action for Animals; former
Executive Director, Moore Humane Society; Sandhills
Zen Group
Harriet
Ritvo, Arthur J. Conner Professor of History and
Head of the History Department at Massachusetts Institute
of Technology
Karen
Young, Clinical Professor of Clinical Pathology,
University of Wisconsin
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Membership
Membership
is currently free and open to anyone interested in veterinary
medicine and literature. Our goal is to create, and
discover, bridges between conventionally separate disciplines
and schools of thought—broadly, veterinary medicine
and literature. For membership information, contact
us.
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