Turtle

Author(s):

Richard M. Berlin, MD

Key Takeaways

Kay Ryan's poetry is noted for its brevity and rhythmic complexity, earning her the Pulitzer Prize in 2010.
Ryan served as U.S. Poet Laureate, promoting community colleges, and has been a Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets since 2006.
Richard Berlin, MD, writes monthly poems on medical experiences for Psychiatric Times and teaches psychiatry at the University of Massachusetts Medical School.

"Who would be a turtle who could help it?"

Any Good Poem

Richard Berlin, MD, shares Kay Ryan's poem, "Turtle."

Born in California in 1945 and acknowledged as one of the most original voices in contemporary poetry, Ryan is the author of numerous books including The Best of It: New and Selected Poems, which won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 2010. Ryan’s tightly compressed, rhythmically dense poems are often compared to the poems of Emily Dickinson. Ryan was appointed as the Poet Laureate of the United States in 2008, held the position for 2 terms, and used the appointment to champion community colleges. She has served as a Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets since 2006.

Dr Berlin has been writing a poem about his experience of being a doctor every month for the past 26 years in Psychiatric Times in a column called “Poetry of the Times.” He is instructor in psychiatry, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts. His latest book is Tender Fences.