WMNF | The Poet, The Author & The Eccentric Physician on Life Elsewhere

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Cristin O’Keefe Aptowicz is a best-selling poet and author, she also happens to be the possessor of an infectious laugh. We’ll get to the eccentric physician part in a moment. Cristin has the remarkable ability to share emotive stories about the death of her mother in poetry while being cleverly funny. She uses the same slight nod to irreverence when talking about the eccentric physician in her compelling non-fiction book, Dr. Mütter’s Marvels: A True Tale of Intrigue and Innovation at the Dawn of Modern Medicine. The Philadelphia born and raised writer was intrigued by that city’s renowned Mütter Museum and set about writing a biography of its namesake. The result, a mesmerizing biography of the brilliant and eccentric medical innovator who revolutionized American surgery and founded the country’s most famous museum of medical oddities. In her conversation with Norman B, O’Keefe Aptowicz vividly chronicles how Mütter’s efforts helped establish Philadelphia as a global mecca for medical innovation. She uses her keen eye for detail and the slightly absurd to chronicle the death of her mother in her latest book and seventh collection of poems, How To Love The Empty Air. Cristin O’Keefe Aptowicz is a fascinating and engaging guest, you’ll chuckle along with her as she describes the pink-silk-suited, Dr. Mütter and recalls the passing of a loud, bossy, broad – her mother.