Poems for Patience

Poems for Patience is an annual anthology of poetry by Irish and international poets displayed on the GUH Arts Corridor and disseminated throughout the waiting areas and corridors of Galway’s public hospitals as part of a growing collection. Devised in partnership with Cúirt International Festival of Literature, it aims to introduce poetry to new audiences and enhance the hospital experience. Each year, a poet reading at Cúirt is invited to select 21 poems for exhibition in the UHG Arts Corridor. Each poem is later permanently installed in an appropriate department across Galway University Hospitals. In expanding Poems for Patience, the poet is asked to make a smaller selection for Menu of Poems and, in 2013, we introduced an annual open poetry competition. This gives a platform for emerging poets to showcase their work alongside acclaimed writers.

To date, poets invited to select for Poems for Patience include Philip Shcultz, Dennis O’Driscoll, Naomi Shihab Nye, Yrsa Daley-Ward, Michael Coady, and Ailbhe Darcy.