extended bio

Dr. Irène P. Mathieu (she/her/hers) is a healer and artist – an academic pediatrician, writer, educator, and public health researcher – who has lived and worked in the United States, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Peru, and elsewhere. Her work is focused on health equity through the medical humanities, community-engaged research, and child health advocacy.

Irène is the author of Grand Marronage (Switchback Books, 2019), which was selected as Editor’s Choice for the Gatewood Prize and runner-up for the Cave Canem/Northwestern book prize; orogeny (Trembling Pillow Press, 2017), which won the Bob Kaufman Book Prize; and the galaxy of origins (dancing girl press, 2014). Her fourth collection, milk tongue, will be published by Deep Vellum Press in May 2023. Other honors include Yemassee Journal‘s Poetry Prize, Honorable Mention and Editor’s Choice in the Sandy Crimmins National Poetry contest, and three Pushcart Prize nominations. Her poems have been published in American Poetry Review, Narrative, Boston Review, Southern Humanities Review, Los Angeles Review, Callaloo, Virginia Quarterly Review, TriQuarterly, and elsewhere. Her work also has appeared in The Best American Poetry 2022 and numerous other anthologies. Irène is an editor for the Journal of General Internal Medicine‘s humanities section.

She holds a BA in International Relations from the College of William & Mary and a MD from Vanderbilt University. Irène completed her residency in pediatrics at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, where she was selected as a Global Health Track resident. She has received fellowships from the Fulbright Program, Callaloo Creative Writing Workshop, and Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. Currently a candidate for a Master’s degree in public health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and a NIH-funded physician-scientist, Irène is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Virginia, where she also serves as Assistant Co-Director of the Program in Health Humanities. With Valencia Robin, she leads the Poetry of Power workshop for high school students in Charlottesville, VA. She also serves on the steering committee of Virginia Clinicians for Climate Action and on the board of Creciendo Juntos.

Irène’s work has been featured in the Washington Post, LA Times, Richmond Magazine, NPR, and more. She is represented by Patricia Nelson of Marsal Lyon Literary Agency.