The scientific study of poetic writing

Abstract

This aim of this brief paper is to promote the scientific study of creative writing and make it an integral part of the research agenda of the scientific study of literature. This paper focuses on the genre of poetry and is organized around three basic questions: (1) What do we currently know about poetry writing? (2) Why study poetry writing? (3) How can poetry writing be studied? Together the answers to these questions provide a rationale for the proposed research agenda and an overview of ways in which this project can be accomplished. A review of the literature on poetry writing reveals a process which involves extensive revision within a recursive writing process that reaffirms the characterization of poetry as a genre that combines attention to meaning with attention to form.The scientific study of literature is characterized by two defining features: (1) a commitment to the usage of empirical research methodologies in exploring questions of interest; (2) A commitment to using these methods with literary texts. As such, the scientific study of literature is by definition a genre-based research activity designed to explore a specific set of literacy practices clustered around the genres of literature. Broadly, these literacy practices include the writing, publication, distribution and reading of literary texts. However, while the potential scope of the empirical study of literature does indeed cover this range of literacy practices, the research that has been done so far has prioritized and favored issues of reading literature far more than any of the other types of literacy practice. The aim of this brief article is to propose a shift in focus to writing, to explicate the reasons for making this shift and discuss possible methods useful for studying literary writing.This proposal for the widening of the research agenda to include a more prominent focus on writing will be in relation to a particular literary genrepoetry. I have chosen to focus on poetry writing because my own early work was

The relationship between L2 students’ writing experiences and their perceived poetry writing ability

“…In line with this, studies have also shown that writing poetry in an L2 is valuable because student writers develop linguistically (Hanauer, 2010(Hanauer, , 2011bIida, 2012a;Ostrow & Chang, 2012;Tin, 2010). Scholars have proposed that writing poetry in an L2 helps student writers construct voice as well as express thoughts and feelings (Cahnmann-Taylor et al, 2015, 2017Chamcharatsri, 2009Chamcharatsri, , 2013Garvin, 2013;Hanauer, 2004Hanauer, , 2010Hanauer, , 2011aHanauer, , 2011bHanauer, , 2015Iida, 2008Iida, , 2010Iida, , 2012bLiao, 2016;Ostrow & Chang, 2012). Writing poetry thus allows L2 student writers to progress on two levels: personal and educational.…”

“…Instead, I hope to emphasize the value of inviting L2 students to write poems in their L2 as meaningful literacy instruction in language classrooms. A body of literature has shown that there is value of teaching poetry writing (e.g., self-discovery, engagement, or a sense of confidence) to L2 students (see e.g., Chamcharatsri, 2009;Garvin, 2013;Hanauer, 2004Hanauer, , 2010Hanauer, , 2011aHanauer, , 2011bIida, 2008Iida, , 2010Iida, , 2012b. From my own standpoint as a teacher, the main purpose of teaching poetry writing to L2 students is not to teach writing skills; instead, the goal is to stimulate the connection of writing with personal experiences and instilling passion towards writing.…”

“…There is an increasing body of literature focusing on L2 poetry writing (see Cahnmann-Taylor, Bleyle, Hwang, & Zhang, 2017;Cahnmann-Taylor, Zhang, Bleyle, & Hwang, 2015;Chamcharatsri, 2009Chamcharatsri, , 2013Garvin, 2013;Hanauer, 2004Hanauer, , 2010Hanauer, , 2011aHanauer, , 2011bHanauer, , 2014Hanauer, , 2015Iida, 2008Iida, , 2010Iida, , 2012aIida, , 2012bLiao 2016;Ostrow & Chang, 2012;Tin, 2010). However, among them, only Hanauer's (2010) and Iida's (2012a) studies applied computational corpus analysis to explore the characteristics of L2 poetry.…”

“It Is More Expressive for Me”: A Translingual Approach to Meaningful Literacy Instruction Through Sijo Poetry

“…In keeping with this established tradition, a growing body of research supports the benefits of poetry in educational settings such as higher education (Bizzaro, ), bilingual education at high school (Stewart & Hansen‐Thomas, ), second language research and instruction (Disney, ; Hanauer, ; Iida, , ; Kim, ; Kim & Kim, ; Newfield & D'abdon, ), and teacher education (Cahnmann‐Taylor, Bleyle, Hwang, & Zhang, ). One such benefit is that autobiographical poetry is useful to either examine (Kim, ; Kim & Kim, ; Hanauer, ) or facilitate language learning (Hanauer, ; Iida, ). Hanauer's () large‐scale study of English as a second language poetry formed a foundation for the scholarship of poetry as research by demonstrating that the unique capacity of poetry leads second language writers to discover meaning.…”