The Lunger in the Attic/The Dead Abandoned at Crest Sanatorium, 1935

Abstract

These poems in the voices of tuberculosis patients, nurses, doctors, and family members are part of a collection in progress based on research about a turn of the 20th century TB Sanatorium. The Crest Sanatorium is imaginary but, I hope to fairly and empathetically give voice to patients who might have sought treatment, or medical staff who may have given treatment at a sanatorium. I hope to also capture the stigma patients experienced and the difficulty in treating the disease medical staff faced, yet also the continued human capacity to heal and survive.