The Gulf of Mexico disasters of 2005, replayed in 2010 in man-made form, brought into sharp focus and stark relief, for the entire world, the widening chasm between the “haves” and “have-nots” in the US. In American poet laureate Dana Gioia's classic essay on why the situation of poetry is of consequence to the entire intellectual community, he wrote, “A society whose intellectual leaders lose the skill to shape, appreciate, and understand the power of language will become the slaves of those who retain it—be they politicians, preachers, copywriters, or newscasters” (Gioia 2002, 17).

The aftermath of war affects the health of individuals who served, their families and the communities in which they live and work. Since September 2001, roughly two million troops have deployed in support of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Of these, about 1.2 million have separated from active-duty military service (Bilmes 2007).

InterAct Theatre Company is a theatre for today’s world, dedicated to producing new and contemporary plays that explore the social, political and cultural issues of our time. The company sees itself as a kind of “public square,” utilizing theatre as a tool to promote civic engagement and stimulate dialogue around the most pressing, complex and compelling issues we face in contemporary society.

This photograph is of Barbara (Barbie) Izquierdo’s son, two-years-old at the time Barbie took the photo. As Barbie told an audience of 800 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2009, her son had been in and out of the emergency room in the winter of 2008. He had persistent eye infections because, without heat for the entire winter, his tear ducts would be perpetually clogged.

Since the mid-1970s, millions of immigrants and refugees have come to the United States from Southeast Asia (U.S. Census Bureau 2007). Unlike some of the more established segments of the American population, these new Americans suffer from higher poverty, lower education and numerous health-related disparities. The challenges faced by these communities can be amplified further by low health literacy, limited English proficiency, real and perceived discrimination, and a lack of community infrastructure to support their diverse needs.

On a normal day in Philadelphia, about 4,000 people are homeless, and over the course of a year, more than 3,500 young people resort to sleeping in an emergency shelter (Children’s Work Group 2010). Public health researchers have clearly documented a range of adverse health effects associated with housing insecurity and homelessness, including threats to mental, physical and social wellbeing (Bassuk 1997; Rouse 2009; Weinreb 1998; Ma 2008; Perlman 2010).

In the fall of 1994 I befriended a community of some two dozen heroin injectors and crack smokers surviving under the overpasses of a tangle of freeways six blocks from where I lived in San Francisco. The full force of the Reagan-era cutbacks from the 1980s had trickled down to the street, shredding the already rachitic U.S. welfare safety-net. Inner-cities were gentrifying (especially those linked to the epicenters of global finance capital such as San Francisco).

The field of public health is far-reaching, embracing the concept that, as per the World Health Organization’s definition, “Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity” (1946). Public health touches on aspects of the human condition that range from the most fundamental (e.g., needs for adequate food, water and shelter), to higher order concerns (e.g., the nature and quality of social relationships).