W; t
Authors: Faith McLellan
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (1999)

Medical Writings2 November 1999W; tFaith McLellan, PhDFaith McLellan, PhDAmerican College of Physicians-American Society of Internal Medicine; Philadelphia, PA 19106 (McLellan)Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-131-9-199911020-00030 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail On Monday, 12 April 1999, Margaret Edson was summoned from her Atlanta kindergarten class to the principal's office. Though hardly an unusual ritual, in Edson's case the occasion was indeed unique. She was 37, rather than, say, 5, and was the teacher of this class, not a student in it. What “transgression” was she hauled in for? Winning the Pulitzer Prize for her off-Broadway play, W;t(1), news that the principal was, for once, happy to break in a celebratory, rather than a disciplinary, encounter. Clearly, a critically acclaimed play about one woman's experience of stage IV ovarian cancer isn't an ...References1. Edson M. W; t. New York: Faber and Faber; 1999. Google Scholar2. Hawkins AH. Reconstructing Illness: Studies in Pathography. West Lafayette, IN: Purdue Univ Pr; 1993. Google Scholar3. McLellan MF. Literature and medicine: narratives of physical illness. Lancet. 1997;349:1618-20. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar4. Donne J. Devotions upon Emergent Occasions. Ann Arbor: Univ of Michigan Pr; 1959. Google Scholar5. Zuger A. When the patient, not the doctor, becomes the hero. New York Times. 15 December 1998; D4. Google Scholar6. McLellan MF. Images of physicians in literature: from quacks to heroes. Lancet. 1996;348:458-60. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar7. Jones AH. The heroic physician in literature: can the tradition continue? The Eighth John P. McGovern Award Lecture. 23rd Annual Meeting of the American Osler Society, 12 May 1993. Louisville, KY: American Osler Society; 1994. Google Scholar8. Sharpe V. A play aimed at arrogance [Letter]. New York Times. 22 December 1998. www.nytimes.com/archives. Accessed 19 May 1999. Google Scholar9. Tolstoy L. The Death of Ivan Ilyich. New York: Bantam Books; 1981. Google Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAuthors: Faith McLellan, PhDAffiliations: American College of Physicians-American Society of Internal Medicine; Philadelphia, PA 19106 (McLellan)Corresponding Author: Faith McLellan, PhD, American College of Physicians-American Society of Internal Medicine, 190 N. Independence Mall West, Philadelphia, PA 19106; e-mail, fmclellan@mail.acponline.org. For reprint orders in quantities exceeding 100, please contact the Reprints Coordinator; phone, 215-351-2657; e-mail, reprints@mail.acponline.org. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Metrics Cited byScared Witless About Death — Ovarian Cancer Narratives ComparedAt wit’s end 2 November 1999Volume 131, Issue 9Page: 718-719KeywordsChemotherapyChildrenDrugsHand strengthMortalityNursesOvarian cancerTechniciansTouchUndergraduates ePublished: 15 August 2000 Issue Published: 2 November 1999 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 1999 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...