Poetic Memory
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Mark Curtis:
There's an interesting, fun therapy that some Alzheimer's patients are undergoing here in Arizona.
Fay Fredricks:
Yes, the group conducting the exercises is hoping to give patients a better quality of life. Syleste Rodriguez is here to show us how it works.
Syleste Rodriguez:
Yes, no one is lifting weights here, don't worry. This isn't physical exercise. These are mental ones, like poetry. The group even sings. They take place at homes across the State.
Christopher Lane, Poetry Therapist, Noraz Poets, in front of small audience of people with Alzheimer's:
Winkin, Blinkin and Nod, one night, sailed off in a wooden shoe...
Syleste, narrating:
Poetic words bring nostalgia of earlier times.
Christopher Lane, being interviewed:
This is poetry that they memorized when they were younger.
Syleste, narrating:
Sometimes, more recent events are not as familiar. These folks suffer with Alzheimer's. To help with memory lapses, they sing songs and recite poetry.
Christopher Lane:
Scientifically, it is proven that whenever you recite poetry, read poetry, or create poetry, you use both hemispheres of the brain.
Syleste:
Poet Chris Lane shares poems from the classic genre at Encore Village in North Phoenix every month.
Christopher Lane:
I come in here and take ownership of the room and pretend these are all my grandparents. So what would I do? You would hug your grandparents. You would touch them. And they may want that.
Syleste:
These folks, like Frances Smith, do want that.
Frances Smith:
I am having a ball.
Syleste:
Even if they cannot recall what just happened.
Frances:
Well, I was so overcome by what he was talking about that I cannot remember anything about it. I wonder if he would do it again?
Syleste:
Dancing is Frances' love. Edith Rifis likes to laugh.
Edith Rifis:
He is the funniest! He was very good. I like poetry and I appreciate him.
Syleste:
A visit so special, it is unforgettable.
Syleste Rodriguez, 12 News Up Front.
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Quote from NORAZ:
“The Alzheimer’s Poetry Project uses classic poems, so we are not primarily engaged in creating new work. It is through the recitation and performance of these poems, that we express creativity and artistic quality by tapping into the oral power of poetry.
One must constantly gauge how this audience (as with any audience) is responding to the poems, and adjust their delivery accordingly. The use of character voices, tempo, emotion, jokes and movement are all part of keeping the audience engaged, but especially one that is afflicted with dementia.”
NORAZ Poets is a nonprofit poetry organization based in Northern Arizona. It was founded in Sedona, Arizona in 2003 by poet Christopher Lane, who serves as the organization's executive director. The group is run by a seven-member advisory board.
To date, NORAZ Poets uses its 501(c)(3) status as a non-profit umbrella to accomplish their goals for the Young Voices Be Heard and Alzheimer's Poetry Project Arizona Assignment Projects.
Source:
NBC 12 News Up Front, Phoenix, Arizona
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