An Evening with Tracy Kidder

Tracy Kidder

As always, Visions and Voices did not disappoint in providing an exhilarating evening of discussion, debate, and dialogue. The speaker on October 19, 2011 was Tracy Kidder, a Pulitzer-Prize winning American writer. During his presentation, Kidder discussed his biography of Dr. Paul Farmer, entitled Mountains Beyond Mountains. Dr. Paul Farmer is a medical anthropologist, physician, and founder of Partners in health, an organization that provides medical care in Peru, Siberia, and rural Haiti (A link to Partners in Health can be found here). Kidder presented Dr. Farmer as a humanitarian that has devoted his life to providing needed care to disadvantaged communities in these countries.



Rural Haiti

In terms of writing and rhetoric, Kidder discussed how he organized his book on presenting short stories, or anecdotes, about Dr. Farmer interacting with patients in these countries. Also, Kidder used photos he took himself to effectively display the disparity and turmoil that the countries had fallen into. Kidder also discussed the different projects undertaken by Partners in health in attempting to provide better healthcare in the rural villages, including the building of hospitals and health centers. Kidder finished his presentation by answering a few questions from the audience and providing an address where students could send donations to assist Partners in Health. The evening turned out to be fairly interesting and provided an exciting opportunity for students to communicate with an award winning author. I look forward to finding his book and immersing myself into his creative genius.