The Research Poet/The Poet Researcher: Choices and Obligations for Poetic Inquiry

Elizabeth L.  Jaeger

doi:10.29333/ajqr/15878

Elizabeth L. Jaeger ¹ ^*

More Detail

AM J QUALITATIVE RES, Volume 9, Issue 1, pp. 32-51

https://doi.org/10.29333/ajqr/15878

OPEN ACCESS 141 Views 74 Downloads

Download Full Text (PDF)

Abstract

In recent years, researchers have debated the extent to which practitioners of poetic inquiry should feel obligated to generate text that excels both as research and as poetry. This article enters the debate by tracing changes made to a ‘found’ research poem. I generated the poem from excerpts taken from participants’ writings and then employed a series of revision techniques: from Saunders’ informal method to a more orthodox checklist constructed from the recommendations of a range of poets, and, finally, in response to critiques from members of a writing group. The focus of this process was to find the point at which the product became appreciably better than the original draft but also stayed true to the participants’ meaning and language. I argue here that extensive revision may enhance the quality of a research poem, but remaining close to participants’ intent and wording should be the first and foremost methodological goal. Although a number of previous articles have referenced the ‘quality’ debate, none, to my knowledge, have systematically tracked the process of analysis and draft improvement. The work will be of interest to readers because the article explores the choices and obligations faced by researchers employing this method.

Keywords: Writing, poetic inquiry, qualitative research

References

Ahmed, S. K. (2024). The pillars of trustworthiness in qualitative research. Journal of Medicine, Surgery, and Public Health, 2, Article 100051. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.glmedi.2024.100051
Jaeger, E. L. (2022). Theory-responsive data analysis: Searching for the closest fit. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 21, November. https://doi.org/10.1177/16094069221143000
Jaeger, E. L. (2023). Holding environment, mirroring, and transitional object: Their roles in a writing group for adults with major mental illness. Arts in Psychotherapy, 82, 101995, 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aip.2023.101996
Behar, R. (1996). The vulnerable observer: Anthropology that breaks your heart. Beacon Press.
Bochner, A. P. (2000). Criteria against ourselves. Qualitative Inquiry, 6(2), 266–272. https://doi.org/10.1177/107780040000600209
Bochner, A., & Ellis, C. (1996). Taking ethnography into the twenty-first century. Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, 25, 3–5. https://doi.org/10.1177/089124196025001001
Breitenbach, C. (2006). Practical guidelines for writers and teachers. In A. Horning & A. Becker (Eds.), Revision: History, theory, and practice (pp. 197–219). Parker Press.
Butler-Kisber, L. (2019). Qualitative inquiry: Thematic, narrative, and arts-based perspectives. SAGE Publications.
Chavis, G. G. (2011). Poetry and story therapy: The healing power of creative expression. Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
Colburn, N. (2022, August 31). The purpose of poetry. https://nadiacolburn.com/the-purpose-of-poetry/
Davis, C. (2021). Sampling poetry, pedagogy, and protest to build methodology: Critical poetic inquiry as culturally relevant method. Qualitative Inquiry, 27(1), 114–124. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077800419884978
Douglas, J. D. (1977). Existential sociology. In J. D. Douglas & J. M. Johnson (Eds.), Existential sociology (pp. 3–73). Cambridge University Press.
Dickinson, E. (1945). Bolts of melody: New poems of Emily Dickinson. M.L. Todd & M.T. Bingham (eds.). Dover Publications.
Ely, M. (2007). In-forming re-presentations. In D. J. Clandinnin (Ed.), Handbook of narrative inquiry: Mapping a methodology (pp. 567–598). SAGE Publications.
Faulkner, S. L. (2007). Concern with craft: Using ars poetica as criteria for reading research practice. Qualitative Inquiry, 13(2), 218–234. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077800406295636
Faulkner, S. L. (2020). Poetic inquiry: Craft, method, and practice (2nd ed.). Routledge.
Faulkner, S. L., Watson, W. K., Pollino, M. A., & Reese, J. (2022). Poetic portraiture as critical arts-based pedagogy and methodology: Older women’s relationships through the life course. Qualitative Inquiry, 28(10), 987–997. https://doi.org/10.1177/10778004221097058
Furman R., Langer C. L., Davis C. S., Gallardo H. P., & Kulkarni S. (2007) Expressive, research and reflective poetry as qualitative inquiry: A study of adolescent identity. Qualitative Research, 7(3), 301–315. https://doi.org/10.1177/1468794107078511
Glenn, L. N. (2013). Poetic inquiry. In P. Albers, T. Holbrook, & A. Flint (Eds.), New methods of literacy research (pp. 133–149). Routledge.
Glesne, C. (1997). That rare feeling: Representing research through poetic transcription. Qualitative Inquiry, 3(2), 202–221. https://doi.org/10.1177/107780049700300204
Gorlich, A. (2023). Practicing poetic inquiry: Bringing affective perspectives into qualitative research. SOTL in the South, 7(1), 129–146. https://doi.org/10.36615/sotls.v7i1.357
Gubrium, J. F., & Holstein, J. A. (1997). The new language of qualitative method. Oxford University Press.
Jones, C. G., (2023, April 24). The importance of poetry. https://intellectualtakeout.org/2023/04/the-importance-of-poetry-jones/
Josselson, R. (2004). The hermeneutics of faith and the hermeneutics of suspicion. Narrative Inquiry, 14(1), 1–28. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1075/ni.14.1.01jos
Kooser, T. (2005). The poetry home repair manual: Practical advice for beginning poets. University of Nebraska Press.
Kowit, S. (1995). In the palm of your hand: The poet’s portable workshop. Tilbury House Publishers.
Lafreniere, D., & Cox, S. M. (2012). “If you call it a poem”: Toward a framework for the assessment of arts-based works. Qualitative Research, 13(3), 318–336. https://doi.org/10.1177/19408447221090651
Lahman, M. K. E., & Richard, V. M. (2014). Appropriated poetry: Archival poetry in research. Qualitative Inquiry, 20(3), 344–355. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077800413489272
Lehmann, O. V., & Brinkman, S. (2021). “Humbled by life”: Poetic representations of existential pathways and personal life philosophies among older adults in Norway. Qualitative Inquiry, 27(1), 102–113. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077800419885414
Mayes, F. (2001). The discovery of poetry: A field guide for reading and writing poems. Harcourt.
Maynard, K., & Cahnmann-Taylor, M. (2010). Anthropology at the edge of words: Where poetry and ethnography meet. Anthropology and Humanism, 35(1), 2–19.
Miller, P. (2000). Revising poetry. The writer, 113(4), np. Gale Academic OneFile,
link.gale.com/apps/doc/A61234296/AONE?u=uarizona_main&sid=bookmark-AONE&xid=79da3407
Morse, J. M., & Field, P. A. (1996). Nursing research: The applications of qualitative approaches (2nd ed.). Springer Science Business Media, B.V.
Nyssen, O. P., Taylor, S. J. C., Wong, G., Steed, E., Bourke, L., Lord, J., Ross, C. A., Hayman, S., Field, V., Higgins, A., Greenhalgh, T., & Meads, C. (2016). Does therapeutic writing help people with long-term conditions? Systematic review, realist synthesis and economic considerations. Health Technology Assessment, 20(27), vii–368. https://doi.org/10.3310/hta20270
Oliver, M. (1994). A poetry handbook. Harcourt Brace and Company.
Osborn, A. (2016, March 14). Why is poetry important to our world today? https://aliceosborn.com/why-is-poetry-important-to-our-world-today/
Percer, L. H. (2002). Going beyond the demonstrable range in educational scholarship: Exploring the intersection of poetry and research. The Qualitative Report, 7(2), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2002.1983
Piirto, J. (2002). The question of quality and qualifications: Writing inferior poems as qualitative research. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 15(4), 431–445. https://doi.org/10.1080/09518390210145507
Poindexter, C. C. (2002). Research as poetry: A couple experiences HIV. Qualitative Inquiry, 8(6), 707–714. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077800402238075
Prendergast, M. (2009). “Poem is what?” Poetic inquiry in qualitative social science research. International Review of Qualitative Research, 1(4), 541–568. https://doi.org/10.1525/irqr.2009.1.4.541
Prendergast, M. (2015). Poetic inquiry, 2007-2012: A surrender and catch found poem. Qualitative Inquiry, 21(8), 678–685. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077800414563806
Richardson, L. (2000). Writing: A method of inquiry. In N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research (pp. 923–948). SAGE Publications.
Saunders G. (2021). A swim in the pond in the rain: In which four Russians give a master class on writing, reading, and life. Random House.
Sullivan, A. (2009). On poetic occasion in inquiry: Concreteness, voice, ambiguity, tension, and associative logic. In M. Prendergast, C. Leggo, & P. Samashima (Eds.), Poetic inquiry: Vibrant voices in the social sciences (pp. 111–126). Sense.
Usher, K., & Holmes, C. (1997). Ethical aspects of phenomenological research with mentally ill people. Nursing Ethics, 4(1), 49–56. https://doi.org/10.1177/096973309700400106
Ward, A. (2011). “Bringing the message forward”: Using poetic representation to solve research dilemmas. Qualitative Inquiry, 17(4), 355–363.

Citation

Jaeger, E. L. (2025). The Research Poet/The Poet Researcher: Choices and Obligations for Poetic Inquiry. American Journal of Qualitative Research, 9(1), 32-51. https://doi.org/10.29333/ajqr/15878

Jaeger, E. L. (2025). The Research Poet/The Poet Researcher: Choices and Obligations for Poetic Inquiry. American Journal of Qualitative Research, 9(1), pp. 32-51. https://doi.org/10.29333/ajqr/15878

Jaeger EL. The Research Poet/The Poet Researcher: Choices and Obligations for Poetic Inquiry. AM J QUALITATIVE RES. 2025;9(1), 32-51. https://doi.org/10.29333/ajqr/15878

Jaeger, Elizabeth L.. "The Research Poet/The Poet Researcher: Choices and Obligations for Poetic Inquiry". American Journal of Qualitative Research 2025 9 no. 1 (2025): 32-51. https://doi.org/10.29333/ajqr/15878

Jaeger, Elizabeth L. "The Research Poet/The Poet Researcher: Choices and Obligations for Poetic Inquiry". American Journal of Qualitative Research, vol. 9, no. 1, 2025, pp. 32-51. https://doi.org/10.29333/ajqr/15878

Jaeger EL. The Research Poet/The Poet Researcher: Choices and Obligations for Poetic Inquiry. AM J QUALITATIVE RES. 2025;9(1):32-51. https://doi.org/10.29333/ajqr/15878