The Doctor-Writer and the Boundaries of Literariness: The Case of Dannie Abse

Abstract

This article explores the complex intersections between the roles of physician and writer, focusing on the interpretive challenges inherent in this twofold identity. The works of Dannie Abse (1923-2014), a Welsh-Jewish writer and chest physician, serve as an ideal case study to explore these epistemological tensions and examine some of the intricacies involved in the interdisciplinary relationship between literature and medicine. Abse recounts having experienced trauma as both a healer and a member of the Jewish community during the Holocaust, and much of his personal experience permeates his literary works. This is particularly evident in his medical-themed poetry, where the doctors-speakers reveal a deep sense of guilt and moral responsibility while exhibiting forms of privileged knowledge derived from a combination of their professional roles and a broader human engagement with suffering and loss.