My research considers the intersections between poetry, medicine and the emotions, with a specific interest in eighteenth-century literature.

My current book, 'Solitude, Physicians and Poetry, 1660-1750', is forthcoming in Bloomsbury Academic's 'Explorations in Science & Literature' series. The book reveals the intimate connection between solitude and health in physician poetry. In the eighteenth century, solitude was seen as a nourishing force that enabled contemplation, but one that came with severe risks of turning the mind to sadness and melancholy. This book argues that poetic language was used to mimic these emotional and physical reactions to solitude. It considers how these past poetic explorations of the health consequences of solitude can yield insight into our contemporary ideas of solitude and its health ramifications influenced by a global pandemic.

More broadly I am interested in how poetry can be used to help us explore how our bodies react to experiences of illness and otherness. I am currently working on a project that considers how literary history can help us further understand the effects that the solitary experiences of chronic illness and concealing queer identities can have on our bodies. I am also in the beginning stages of developing a project about poetry, grief, and hearing voices of the dead.