Poetic Perspective Research Articles

In search of the poetic analyst.

This article introduces and suggests characteristics of the poetic analyst, as distinct from the traditional "scientific analyst." Using the writings of poets Wallace Stevens and Donald Hall, as well as writings of psychoanalysts Arieti Silvano, Thomas Ogden, Roy Schaefer, Donald Spence, and Hans Loewald, it explores the craft of the poet and demonstrates how the process of writing and reading poetry informs the process of doing psychoanalysis. It also touches upon the essential roles of imagination, intuition, and intersubjectivity in a poetic analysis, as well as how the poetic perspective builds upon narrative theory and how finding the right words in an interpretation or interaction leads to moments of transforming truth. Briefcase examples and vignettes are offered along the way to illustrate important ideas.

Agency

Drawing on lessons from computing and theories of strange loops, this paper attempts to redefine the notion of agency within the context of cultural production, as a starting point toward solving the agency-structure dilemma in social and cultural theory.

Book Review: Jesus Christ in History and Scripture: A Poetic and Sectarian Perspective

Book Review: Jesus Christ in History and Scripture: A Poetic and Sectarian Perspective

Book Review: Hermeneutical Approach to Jesus: In Jesus Christ in History and Scripture: A Poetic and Sectarian Perspective

Book Review: Hermeneutical Approach to Jesus: In Jesus Christ in History and Scripture: A Poetic and Sectarian Perspective

Poets, Cynics and Thieves: Vicious Love and Divine Protection in Kierkegaard's Works of Love and Repetition

In Kierkegaard's Repetition, “the girl” on whom a young man focuses his esteem becomes an encumbrance from which a cynic must rescue him. Using Works of Love as the time through which we judge these men allows us to consider false love's perfidious perception of the (here female) other. Kierkegaard's sobering rendition of the love commandment in Works of Love, wherein the beloved is more than the beholder's vision of her, exposes that there is indeed a “girl” in the story and two men who would idolize, trick or banish her. In Works of Love, Kierkegaard distinguishes true love from the poetic perspective, which distorts the other to fit the lover's ideal; from the vampiric gaze, which devours her; and from the sage's inspection, which deems her disposable. Love unguarded by God's command endangers the beheld as well as the overlooked, and Kierkegaard skillfully depicts each of these three distortions in Repetition.

“Home Burial” and “Dead Baby”: Poetic Perspectives in Medical Education

This article illustrates the use and value of literature in increasing one's sensitivity and compassion in areas extending beyond the prescribed boundaries of medical training and practice. “Home Burial” by Robert Frost and “Dead Baby” by William Carlos Williams portray in different ways the anguish and despair of parents after a child's death. If anatomy, biochemistry, and micro-biology prepare health care providers for the clinical dimensions of their work, these poems attend to other attributes of good care giving.

Poetic perspectives of a toddler

Poetic perspectives of a toddler

“The heart above the ruins”: Miriam Waddington’s Poetry, the Spanish Civil War, and Jewish Canadian Literature

The Jewish Canadian writer Miriam Waddington returned repeatedly to the subject of the Spanish Civil War, searching for hope amid the ruins of Spanish democracy. The conflict, a prelude to World War II, inspired an outpouring of literature and volunteerism. My paper argues for Waddington’s unique poetic perspective, in
 which she represents the Holocaust as the Spanish Civil War’s outgrowth while highlighting the deeply personal repercussions of the war – consequences for women, for the earth, and for community. Waddington’s poetry connects women’s rights to human rights, Canadian peace to European war, and Jewish persecution to Spanish carnage.