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Article
Publication date: 1 February 1988

Jonathan Barker

Brian Hinton's article on librarian poets (“Librarians as unacknowledged legislators”, NLW March 1987) reminded us just how many librarians have been poets in our day and how many…

Abstract

Brian Hinton's article on librarian poets (“Librarians as unacknowledged legislators”, NLW March 1987) reminded us just how many librarians have been poets in our day and how many still are. Is this yet another aspect of the much publicised “poetry boom”, and how far is this “poetry boom” in fact a public relations exercise? Are more people reading, writing, buying contemporary poetry now? I shall take a look at these questions, focusing on manifestations of poetry activity today, and summing up with ways in which libraries, and especially public libraries, can gain from involvement with the “poetry boom”.

Details

New Library World, vol. 89 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0307-4803

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 April 2006

Lesley Saunders

The purpose of this paper is to offer a meditation on what is especial, and especially difficult, about poetry in its guise as inspiration for, or expression of, efforts and…

598

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to offer a meditation on what is especial, and especially difficult, about poetry in its guise as inspiration for, or expression of, efforts and accomplishments in other human and social disciplines such as teaching or research or leadership. At the time of writing, the author – an educational researcher, policy adviser and poet – has been invited to act as poet‐in‐residence at a conference on interprofessional learning and practice in spring 2006; she is taking the opportunity of this paper to think out loud about the possible responsibilities and rewards of such a role; about what kinds of relationship between poetry and these other modes of being‐in‐the‐world are feasible; and about what kinds of integrity, intrinsic to poetry, need to be made room for in such relationships. Responding to some persuasive ideas of Abbs (academic and poet) and Heaney (poet and literary critic) about the tasks of the poet and the value of poetry respectively, the author argues that poetry is characterised above all by its “gratuitousness” – a notion which is expounded in the paper – and that therefore the straightforward application of poetry to non‐poetic contexts and purposes, as a sort of superior didactic instrument, is worth questioning.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper makes some recommendations for relating the practice of poetry to the practice of professionalism in whatever sphere without detriment to the essential tasks of poetry.

Findings

The paper concludes that the especial gift of poetry, as “something made in language”, is to enlarge our imaginations; that a poet's paradoxical responsibility is therefore to do the ungovernable work of the imagination; and that it is the quality of silences (as well as of words) in poetry which give such work its force and meaning.

Originality/value

Whilst acknowledging that poetry may often be used as an expression of efforts and accomplishments in other human and social disciplines, the paper takes poetry seriously as an aesthetic and ethical practice in its own right.

Details

Management Decision, vol. 44 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0025-1747

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Article
Publication date: 1 December 1997

Catherine Coy and Marni Ludwig

Contemporary poetry is a rich landscape of voices and visions. With over 1,300 new poetry titles to choose from each year, how can librarians make the best acquisitions for their…

578

Abstract

Contemporary poetry is a rich landscape of voices and visions. With over 1,300 new poetry titles to choose from each year, how can librarians make the best acquisitions for their communities? Two resource lists from Poets House ‐ a 35,000 poetry library and literary center ‐ offer a starting point. “1996 Poetry Publication Showcase Suggested Titles” highlights a wide variety of selections from Poet House’s annual exhibit of all the year’s new poetry books. “Where To Find Poetry Reviews” gathers information on directories, literary journals and Web sites that review poetry on a regular basis. These materials were originally distributed at the 1997 American Library Association Conference, where Poets House exhibited the entire 1996 showcase and presented poetry readings and a panel discussion entitled “Building Poetry Audiences in Community Libraries”.

Details

Collection Building, vol. 16 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0160-4953

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Article
Publication date: 26 December 2023

Samantha Cooms and Vicki Saunders

Poetic inquiry is an approach that promotes alternate perspectives about what research means and speaks to more diverse audiences than traditional forms of research. Across…

Abstract

Purpose

Poetic inquiry is an approach that promotes alternate perspectives about what research means and speaks to more diverse audiences than traditional forms of research. Across academia, there is increasing attention to decolonising research. This reflects a shift towards research methods that recognise, acknowledge and appreciate diverse ways of knowing, being and doing. The purpose of this paper is to explore the different ways in which poetic inquiry communicates parallax to further decolonise knowledge production and dissemination and centre First Nations’ ways of knowing, being and doing.

Design/methodology/approach

This manuscript presents two First Nations’ perspectives on a methodological approach that is decolonial and aligns with Indigenous ways of knowing, being and doing. In trying to frame this diversity through Indigenous standpoint theory (Foley, 2003), the authors present two First Nation’s women's autoethnographic perspectives through standpoint and poetics on the role of poetic inquiry and parallax in public pedagogy and decolonising research (Fredericks et al., 2019; Moreton-Robinson, 2000).

Findings

The key to understanding poetic inquiry is parallax, the shift in an object, perspective or thinking that comes with a change in the observer's position or perspective. Challenging dominant research paradigms is essential for the continued evolution of research methodologies and to challenge the legacy that researchers have left in colonised countries. The poetic is often invisible/unrecognised in the broader Indigenist research agenda; however, it is a powerful tool in decolonial research in the way it disrupts core assumptions about and within research and can effectively engage with those paradoxes that decolonising research tends to uncover.

Practical implications

Poetic inquiry is not readily accepted in academia; however, it is a medium that is well suited to communicating diverse ways of knowing and has a history of being embraced by First Nations peoples in Australia. Embracing poetic inquiry in qualitative research offers a unique approach to decolonising knowledge and making space for Indigenous ways of knowing, being and doing.

Social implications

Poetic inquiry offers a unique approach to centring First Nations voices, perspectives and experiences to reduce hegemonic assumptions in qualitative research.

Originality/value

Writing about poetic inquiry and decolonisation from a First Nations’ perspective using poetry is a novel and nuanced approach to discussions around First Nations ways of knowing, being and doing.

Details

Qualitative Research Journal, vol. 24 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1443-9883

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 23 December 2010

Barış Büyükokutan

Much writing on dissenting intellectuals posits a uniform relationship between autonomy from the popular element and social influence. The case of U.S. poets from 1930 to 1975…

Abstract

Much writing on dissenting intellectuals posits a uniform relationship between autonomy from the popular element and social influence. The case of U.S. poets from 1930 to 1975 challenges this, as dissenting poets' sphere of influence grew during the hegemony of populist as well as antipopulist movements. In order to account for this, this chapter draws on the conceptualization of autonomy as a process whose parameters are mutually irreducible and potentially contradictory. Where these parameters are more or less fully synchronized, dissenting intellectuals face a united bloc of opponents that they cannot divide; therefore, they need to fight all of these opponents simultaneously. Where there is little such synchronization, in contrast, they can negotiate temporary alliances with some of their foes, use these alliances to secure gains in more important fronts, and revise their alliances as circumstances change. Twentieth-century United States, this chapter argues, was an example of the latter kind of setting. Dissenting poets were able to use universities and popular element against one another, depending on how they saw their overall situation. When autonomy from universities mattered most, they reclaimed the popular element; when autonomy from the popular element mattered most, they set aside their differences with university administrators and joined the academic ranks. This distinction between greater and less synchronization of the powers, the chapter argues, has implications for political sociology beyond the study of intellectuals.

Details

Political Power and Social Theory
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-0-85724-326-3

Book part
Publication date: 20 September 2021

Lobat Asadi

This study explores the experiences of five high school–aged youth involved in creative writing and poetry slam performances operated by a nonprofit organization in the city of…

Abstract

This study explores the experiences of five high school–aged youth involved in creative writing and poetry slam performances operated by a nonprofit organization in the city of Houston, Texas. Seeking to understand how poetry may have helped the youth in this study, Multiple Literacies Theory (MLT) (Masny & Cole, 2007) is used as an interpretive tool in this paper. In addition, the literary writing style of bildungsroman, or writing that reflects on one's worldview and personhood through lived experiences, is discussed as part and parcel to the poet's process because of the personal narratives used in their poetry. Narrative inquiry methodology was used in this longitudinal study because it allowed fluid ways of analyzing emergent sociocultural issues faced by the participants, who identified as Black, LGBTIQ, Asian American and also indicated intersectional, marginalized life experiences. It is hoped that this study will outline some of the benefits of art-based education and bildungsroman for marginalized learners, as well as inspire further research into art-based pedagogies and assessments, which may better reflect multiple literacies.

Details

Developing Knowledge Communities through Partnerships for Literacy
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83982-266-7

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Article
Publication date: 9 May 2016

Ellen Jones and Tab Betts

The purpose of this paper is to describe the use of poetry by family carers as a way into the inner world of a person with late stage dementia, consistent with their values…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to describe the use of poetry by family carers as a way into the inner world of a person with late stage dementia, consistent with their values, preferences and experiences; enhancing the wellbeing of both the person with dementia and family carers.

Design/methodology/approach

The use of poetry is being increasingly recognised as valuable in improving wellbeing for people with dementia. Poetry has an intrinsic quality which is well-suited for people with dementia: it does not require following a storyline and therefore can be enjoyed by those with no short-term memory.

Findings

The paper describes the benefits to both family members and the person with dementia; the use of poetry opened up expression of deep emotions, improved communication and enriched family relationships.

Research limitations/implications

Use of poetry by family carers with people with late stage dementia is under researched in the UK and further study of the impact of this intervention would be beneficial.

Practical implications

Poetry can be used practically in both small groups in care homes or community settings and also one to one by family carers. Of especial value are poems that have been learnt by heart when young.

Originality/value

Finally, the paper also draws attention to the positive lessons we can learn from people with dementia.

Details

The Journal of Mental Health Training, Education and Practice, vol. 11 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1755-6228

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Article
Publication date: 30 September 2014

Nicole Anae

There has been virtually no explication of poetry-writing pedagogy in historical accounts of Australian distance education during the 1930s. The purpose of this paper is to…

Abstract

Purpose

There has been virtually no explication of poetry-writing pedagogy in historical accounts of Australian distance education during the 1930s. The purpose of this paper is to satisfy this gap in scholarship.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper concerns a particular episode in the cultural history of education; an episode upon which print media of the 1930s sheds a distinctive light. The paper therefore draws extensively on 1930s press reports to: contextualise the key educational debates and prime-movers inspiring verse-writing pedagogy in Australian education, particularly distance education, in order to; concentrate specific attention on the creation and popular reception of Brave Young Singers (1938), the first and only anthology of children's poetry written entirely by students of the correspondence classes of Western Australia.

Findings

Published under the auspices of the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) with funds originating from the Carnegie Corporation, two men in particular proved crucial to the development and culmination of Brave Young Singers. As the end result of a longitudinal study conducted by James Albert Miles with the particular support of Frank Tate, the publication attracted acclaim as a research document promoting ACER's success in educational research investigating the “experiment” of poetry-writing instruction through correspondence schooling.

Originality/value

The paper pays due critical attention to a previously overlooked anthology of Australian children's poetry while simultaneously presenting an original account of the emergence and implementation of verse-writing instruction within the Australian correspondence class curriculum of the 1930s.

Details

History of Education Review, vol. 43 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0819-8691

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 5 October 2012

Reginald Harris and Byron Bartlett

Poets House, a poetry special collection in New York, hosts an annual exhibit of the preceding year's poetry publications in the USA. This paper aims to offer a selection of…

Abstract

Purpose

Poets House, a poetry special collection in New York, hosts an annual exhibit of the preceding year's poetry publications in the USA. This paper aims to offer a selection of recommended titles that reflect the range of poetry titles including single‐author works, anthologies, and prose about poetry.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper researched and requested donations of 2010‐2011 poetry titles from US poetry publishers to assemble and display a comprehensive collection of poetry publications, from which a selection of 50 titles was made. The selections should appeal to a range of poetry readers, from novices and students to poets looking to access the latest work from their peers.

Findings

Over 2,500 poetry titles were published and/or available to readers in the USA between June 2010 and June 2011. These titles range from mainstream publishers to independent presses to artists' collectives publishing works from established poets as well as emerging and international poets.

Research limitations/implications

Without a budget for collection development, the exhibit and resulting titles represent those which publishers have opted to donate to the library. Every effort is made to be all‐inclusive, with the understanding that publishers may send only a selection of their list. The selected titles herein are based on the titles received for the exhibition.

Practical implications

For 19 years Poets House's annual Showcase has been the main collection‐development tool. Publishers donate copies of their titles, which are arranged by publisher for a month‐long exhibition. This approach enriches the poetry special collection, a unique poetry library built on community participation. The all‐inclusive collection‐development approach results in a full representation of poetry publishing.

Originality/value

A selection made from a comprehensive collection of the year's poetry titles offers a sample of poetry publishing from large to small presses and the self‐published in the USA.

Details

Collection Building, vol. 31 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0160-4953

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 7 December 2015

Lifang Cui, Gillian Hubbard and Margaret Gleeson

The purpose of this paper is to survey and consider the implications of the literature justifying the value of teaching poetry. There has been a long tradition of literature…

1457

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to survey and consider the implications of the literature justifying the value of teaching poetry. There has been a long tradition of literature education in the English departments of Chinese universities. English Poetry courses are offered within optional literature modules in senior stages of a BA in English language and literature. In 2000, the new national syllabus for tertiary English majors was issued. This syllabus has brought the teaching of English into line with the perceived practical needs of society. As a result, poetry courses have been under threat within the degree. A substantial number of university teachers have responded to this threat with articles arguing the value of teaching of poetry.

Design/methodology/approach

The China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), the largest database of academic journals in China, reveals that from 2000 to 2013, 102 articles about teaching English poetry to Chinese people learning English as a foreign language were published in Chinese academic journals, of which 67 are concerned with English majors. This literature examines these 67 articles.

Findings

These articles justify the purpose of teaching English poetry, evaluate the content of poetry courses and share pedagogical strategies. The issues within this discussion fall into three categories: why teach poetry; what to teach in poetry courses; and how to teach poetry. Because the commitment of Chinese teachers to sharing their beliefs about teaching English poetry is positioned in the context of increased advocacy for the creation of inter-disciplinary market-orientated graduates, discomfort, uncertainty and the desire for change emerge in this discussion. On the other hand, teachers looking for change express caution about the costs of changing pedagogical approaches on the development of the skills of close reading and analysis of poetical texts.

Originality/value

This investigation of the local Chinese context resonates with and contributes to the wider discussion of the challenges faced by English literature teachers in both second- (L2) and first-language (L1) contexts and warrants examination. It is difficult to say in advance how far such knowledge could contribute to any policy decisions that may be made in the future, but it is important that the voice of teachers contributes to the larger international debate about the value of humanities in tertiary-level education.

Details

English Teaching: Practice & Critique, vol. 14 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1175-8708

Keywords

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