Thursday, May 11, 2023

Being with Bipolar: A Poetry Reading and Panel Discussion on Bipolar Disorder

6:00 PM to 7:30 PM

Program Room at AADL Pittsfield Branch

2359 Oak Valley Dr, Ann Arbor, MI 48103

Join the Heinz C. Prechter Bipolar Research Program and local Ann Arbor poets for an evening of poetry and discussions around mental health. 

Photo courtesy of Unsplash.com

Come out to a poetry reading by Jennifer Metsker and Ellen Stone. Both local poets write about their experiences with bipolar disorder from different perspectives, addressing the stigma and the trauma related to living life with a mental illness as well as caring for those with a mental illness. Following the poetry reading, Michigan Medicine’s Heinz C. Prechter Bipolar Research Program will host a Q & A with the audience about bipolar disorder and research advances in the field.

Jennifer Metsker

Poet, Writer, and Multimedia Artist

Jennifer Metsker is a poet, writer, and multimedia artist. She attended the University of Oregon (B.A. Fine Art), The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (Post-Baccalaureate in Painting), and The University of Michigan (MFA Poetry). She taught creative writing and composition at the University of Michigan for ten years and is now the Writing Coordinator at the Stamps School of Art and Design. Her book of poetry Hypergraphia and Other Failed Attempts at Paradise won the Editor’s Choice Award from New Issues Press. It addresses mental illness, particularly psychosis, which is one of her key areas of research. She provides creative reflection workshops to psychiatric resident doctors at the University of Michigan and aims to increase awareness about the struggles of those with mental illness as well as improve mental health care.

Jennifer's work has been published in many outlets including The Southern Review, The Michigan Quarterly, Cream City Review, Birdfeast, The Journal, and many others.

Ellen Stone

Author and Educator

Ellen Stone lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan where she raised three daughters with her husband, Roger Lauer. She taught special education in Ann Arbor Public Schools from kindergarten to high school for over 30 years. Ellen co-founded a poetry club at Community High School where she taught for her last 20+ years. She continues to advise Community High's Poetry Club and bring in local and nationally known guest poets, host school readings, and create a weekly writing space for students. Ellen is also a co-host for a local Ann Arbor poetry series, Skazat!  

Ellen's poems has been published in outlets such as Great Lakes Review, Anti-Heroin Chic, West Trestle Review, One (Jacar Press), Rust + Moth, and many others.