HOME AS POEM

THE ARTISTIC AND METHODOLOGICAL POSSIBILITIES OF A POETICS OF SPACE

Authors

  • Janine Certo Michigan State University
  • Alecia Beymer Michigan State University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18432/ari29509

Keywords:

poetic inquiry, poetry, place, home, poetics of space

Abstract

What does it mean to be home? We began asking this provocative question well before COVID-19, well before the collective crisis the world experienced which sent both of us back into our current homes. Exploring such a question through poetry writing may provide insights about individuals’ lived experiences, and, therefore, we contend it is worthwhile for scholars, artists and educators to widen possibilities for poetic method and craft related to writing about home. In this paper, we, two poets, arts-based education scholars, and Pittsburgh natives, offer pathways into exploring notions of home through the writing of poetry grounded in the ideas of Gaston Bachelard’s (1958/1964) seminal text, The Poetics of Space. To do so, we each offer and discuss two original poems on the topic of home to illustrate a number of compelling avenues scholars and research participants; educators and students might explore as they write poems evoking their own unique conceptions of home.

Author Biographies

Janine Certo, Michigan State University

Janine Certo is associate professor at Michigan State University's College of Education where she teaches poetry, creative writing, and arts-based research courses. She is author of In the Corner of the Living, first runner-up for the 2017 Main Street Rag Poetry Book Award. Her poetry appears or is forthcoming in Crab Orchard Review, Italian Americana, Mid-American Review, The National Poetry Review, New Ohio Review, and Nimrod, among others. She is also the author of the book Children Writing Poems: Poetic Voices in and out of School (Routledge, 2018) and has published widely on the topic of supporting children as poets. Her articles and essays have been published in journals including Journal of Literacy Research, English Education, English Journal, Language Arts, and The Reading Teacher. She has been awarded grants and fellowships from The Spencer Foundation, Story Rebels, and the Humanities and Arts Research Program at Michigan State University. 

Alecia Beymer, Michigan State University

Alecia Beymer is a doctoral student in English Education at MSU. Her poems have been published in Bellevue Literary Review and The Minor Bird and are forthcoming in The Inflectionist Review and Pittsburgh Quarterly. Her research is on the interconnected resonances of teachers and students and the poetics of education.

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Published

2020-10-01

How to Cite

Certo, J., & Beymer, A. (2020). HOME AS POEM: THE ARTISTIC AND METHODOLOGICAL POSSIBILITIES OF A POETICS OF SPACE. Art/Research/International:/A/Transdisciplinary/Journal, 5(2). https://doi.org/10.18432/ari29509