A Call To Be A Bodhisattva: Poetry As The Art Of Healing

Marianela Medrano-Marra and Reggie Marra, both individually and as a team of literary healers, bring to Curley's this Tuesday their enthusiasm for poetry and writing as a means of inner growth, reconciliation and social development.

Born and raised in the Dominican Republic, Marianela has lived in Connecticut since 1990, where she works as a licensed psychotherapist and certified poetry therapist. With numerous individual poems placed in journals and anthologies in the United States, Latin America and Europe, Marianela also has several collections to her credit, including Curada de Espantos/One Who Has Seen It All (2002, Ediciones Torremozas, Madrid), Los Alegres Ojos de la Tristeza/Happy Eyes of Sadness (1987, Editorial Buho, Santo Domingo) and Regando Esencias/The Scent of Waiting (1998, Alcance, New York).  


Through the Palabra Training Center, she offers on-site and remote programs for individuals and groups in poetry and bibliotherapy, applying literature and psychology to help participants forge their own paths to wholeness. Frequently focusing on women's issues and feminist spirituality (read "The Ciguapa Speaks: Dominican Women in the 21st Century," a detailed essay on Taino culture and mythology, Marianela's work has been heard at venues in New York, Connecticut and throughout the country. Keep up with her latest poetry, thoughts and activities at http://marianelamedrano.com/. Below is her reading from The Buttonwood Tree in Middletown as part of last year's Riverwood Poetry Festival:

An educator since 1975, her spouse, Reggie, is a Teaching Artist and Integral Coach™  (http://www.integraljourneys.com/), who has worked with people of all ages. Reggie has presented his poetry and workshops at the annual conference of the National Association for Poetry Therapy, the Spirituality Institute (Iona College) and Goddard College’s Power of Words conference.

Among his published work is the collection Who Lives Better Than We Do? (2001, From the Heart Press) and Living Poems, Living Lives: Spirit, Self and the Art of Poetry (2004, Xlibris). The latter title touches on many of the themes tackled in Reggie's own workshops, such as the quality of creative/personal effort, conscious living (and dying) and who we think we are at the most fundamental level.

With "Bump," Reggie shares a fun reminiscence of his sister, Anne Marie, to which everyone who has shared their childhood with siblings can relate:

To read about his observations, appearances, or to find out about creative/life coaching opportunities, access his site at http://www.reggiemarra.com/. For the latest details on his workshops, email Reggie at rmarra@paradoxedge.com.

Information and resources that similarly embody the Buddhist concept of Bodhisattva--Sanskrit for higher awareness and the ardent commitment to helping others achieve it, click on this previous blog entry on recent PA member, Gerald J. Gargiulo.