Sinai Health System Department of Psychiatry Grand Rounds — OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

Whale-Mind: Schizophrenia and Language

Martha Baillie, author of Sister Language, in conversation with poet, Ronna Bloom 

Learning objectives;

1. You’ll see inside the thinking of a highly articulate schizophrenic regarding her relationship to language.

2. You’ll learn about bridge building between schizophrenics and the “social world.”

3. You'll hear poetry used as a powerful alternative means of communication, where linear thought and conversation fail.

Book signing to follow.

60 Murray Street — 3rd Floor,
Rooms 201, 202 & 203

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BIOS: 

Martha Baillie’s poetry has appeared in the Iowa review. Her third novel, The Incident Report, was long-listed for the Scotiabank Giller Prize. Her fourth novel, The Search for Heinrich Schlögel, was an Oprah editors pick, and was published by Tin House in the US, and Actes Sud in France. Her non-fiction can occasionally be found in Brick: A Literary Journal. Her most recent book, Sister Language, is a work of call and response, about schizophrenia and language, co-written with her late sister, the poet Christina Baillie. Martha lives in Toronto, as did Christina until her death August 21, 2019.

Ronna Bloom is the author of six books of poetry. Her most recent book, The More, was published by Pedlar Press in 2017 and long listed for the City of Toronto Book Award. Her poems have been recorded by the CNIB and translated into Spanish, Bangla, and Chinese. Ronna is Poet in Community to the University of Toronto and Poet in Residence in the Health, Arts and Humanities Programme. She runs workshops and gives talks on poetry, spontaneity, and awareness through writing.