On April 15, 2011, acclaimed poet Dean Young received a heart transplant that saved his life. Still, for Young, the ordeal isn’t over. One ongoing challenge is the massive amount of medical bills not covered by his University of Texas insurance–amounting to more than $50,000 per year.
A growing national movement has begun to help Young pay for the life-saving transplant. On August 31st, two benefit events will take place in Iowa City—where Young taught at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop for many years.
On August 31st, at Prairie Lights, a group of writer read Young’s poetry to help raise funds. Readers included James Galvin, Mark Levine, Cal Bedient, Robyn Schiff, Christopher Merrill, and Jan Weissmiller.
To prepare for the evening event, poets Dora Malech, Danny Khalastchi, Marc Rahe, and James Longley appeared on The Lit Show to read poems and speak about Dean Young as a writer and teacher.
Please donate to Dean Young’s cause via the National Foundation for Transplants.
Air date: Wednesday, August 31st, at 1PM CST [Live stream]
Listen now:
