Search Result

Author: Melanie Perry MSc

Abstract:

A regenring of a research project dissertation that explores the experience of women survivors of domestic abuse who had practised creative writing for therapeutic purposes—reading their written work at a spoken word poetry event and asking, What can we do as writing practitioners to support them? A case study using a phenomenological methodology.

Author: Janet L. Kuhnke

Abstract

This qualitative inquiry is the account of one academic who used poetry and art as reflective mediums while applying for tenure and promotion in a university environment. The autobiographical framework guiding this work adds a rich layer of understanding to the lived experience of applying for tenure as an academic in a tenure-track role. This paper suggests that using arts-based mediums as reflective tools can ease the journey to tenure. Through thematic analysis of the poetry and art created, three findings emerged: first, the importance of considering the creation of poetry and art as mediums to express and explore the reflective practitioner’s role in the academy; second, the importance of creating writing spaces and protecting time needed to engage and critically analyze our works; finally, for each of us as practitioners to engage in self-care activities while inquiring into tensions within our work practices.

Author: Fiona Hamilton

Abstract:

This essay looks at medical students’ poetry on a curated website and design of a course for medical undergraduates called Poetry of Medicine. A close reading of poetry and commentaries on the website outofourheads.net informed aims and design of the course, which had three strands: 1) study of poetics and analysis of poems; 2) practical exploration of applications of poetry within medicine; 3) writing poems and reflecting on them, and reading work by a range of poets. This essay focuses on the third of these. Recurring themes in students’ writing and reflections suggested that writing poetry can offer an outlet for expression and a way of processing personal and professional experiences that may be helpful as a supportive resource for students.

Author: Mari Alschuler, Ph.D., LISW-S, MPTP, CM-PTR

Abstract:

This retrospective case study presents the course of a 16-month treatment of an adult female client diagnosed with severe anxiety. The treatment protocol incorporated poetry therapy, journal therapy, training in mindfulness meditation techniques, and cognitive therapy. Using the Beck Anxiety Inventory for scaling, the client reduced her subjective experience of anxiety symptoms from the baseline score of 34 to 9 after 15 months and to a score of 4 at the end of treatment. The author’s university Institutional Review Board approved the study and the client released the content of her journals for use in this article. Excerpts from her journal entries highlight the course of her movement from severe anxiety to remission.

Authors: Esther Wafula and Phyllis Muthoni

Abstract:

Photopoetry is an art form that involves the interaction between photography and poetry to produce a new artefact—the photopoem. This article presents two photopoems based on a collaboration between Esther Wafula, a poet, and Phyllis Muthoni, a photographer. In dialogue, the poet and the photographer respond to questions suggested by the LIRIC Journal editor about how their collaboration began, what inspires their work, and what photography and poetry uniquely bring to the collaboration. The poet also describes the organic process she uses to create photopoems. The implications of photopoetry as a form of creative expression are briefly discussed and an invitation made to explore its potential as a possible tool for research for the self and creative writing for therapeutic purposes.