ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the relevance of twentieth century examples of the sublime for health humanities. The sublime is an aesthetic term which refers to works in art and nature that can create an experience of awe, wonder, peace, and contemplation in the face of human limitations and vulnerabilities. Artists considered include Virginia Woolf, Blind Willy Johnson, Mark Doty, Lars von Trier, and Margaret Edson. These artists provide a glimpse into the transformative power of the contemporary sublime and their potential as a touchstone for healing in health humanities work. Bringing the sublime to health humanities opens a wealth of relatively unused aesthetic resources that can be used to navigate the suffering of illness and death in the medical world and beyond.
