When poet and former MCWC executive director Maureen Eppstein offered to donated the Thank-you to Health Care Workers Scholarship to our 2022 conference, we were delighted, but curious about how it came about. So we asked her to tell us the story behind it.
What motivated you to donate this scholarship?
Early in 2020, as hospital beds started to fill with Covid-19 patients, I was diagnosed with stage four Hodgkin’s lymphoma. I was 82, but with a good medical history. With my oncologist’s encouragement, I decided to fight the odds. After eight months of treatment with chemotherapy and other more experimental drugs, then over a year of follow-up, in and out of the cancer center, blood labs, and diagnostic radiology centers, I emerged cancer-free. During these two years, as I was being treated with such loving care by all the healthcare workers I encountered, I became aware of the pressures on their lives by the onslaught of Covid-19, even if they were not working directly with Covid patients. The scholarship is my way of saying I noticed, I sympathize, and I value their work.
Only one person will get the scholarship. How does that thank the huge numbers of workers in the healthcare field?
Good question. I’d like to thank each one of them with a gift they’d appreciate. But since that’s not possible, I hope people will recognize this scholarship as a symbolic gesture.
Writing and healthcare are very different professions. What makes you think a nursing aide, say, or an anesthetist, might be interested?
Very few writers make a living from their craft. The rest of us have other sources of income such as paid jobs in every field you can think of.
How will people who are not linked in to the literary world find out about this scholarship?
The best way will be word of mouth. I hope everyone who reads this blog will pass on the information to people in their community who might be interested.
The scholarship deadline is February 15. Click here for details on how to apply.
Maureen’s most recent poetry collection is Horizon Line, published by Main Street Rag Books