Bookgroup: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

Dates
Wednesday 24 October 2018 (12:30-13:30)

All staff are invited to attend the College of Medical and Dental Science’s Black History Month reading group. This informal discussion will be led by Polly Wright of the Hearth Centre, and will focus on “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks”, a black American woman whose cancer cells, taken without her consent in the 1950s, underpin our entire modern understanding of immortalised cell lines.

Polly Wright has been a performer, writer, lecturer and theatre director. She leads the successful Writers Reading Group at the Midlands Arts Centre and has presented internationally, notably at Helsinki and Melbourne universities, on the impact of reading on well being. She lectured at the University of Birmingham on communication skills and literature in medicine, and is on the international panel of the Arts and health Journal ( Taylor and Francis) The Hearth Centre, of which she is Artistic Director, was shortlisted for a MIND mental health award for her play on suicide prevention in Northern Ireland in 2007. She has written and professionally produced ten plays at theatres which include the Birmingham REP and MAC and has published poetry and six short stories.

You can download the book from Amazon or request a free paper copy when you register – please note that paper copies will only be given to people who confirm that they will be attending the session.

Email mdsequality@contacts.bham.ac.uk to register for this event.