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pronunciation, emphasis and speed become important. Whyte
(2001p.146) likened performing poetry as ―coming out of hiding‖ and
recognised ―the self revealing nature‖ (ibid p.147) of performing it. I found
by exhibiting this vulnerability, an unintended consequence became a
power reduction between the students and myself. I role modelled courage
and creativity which I suggest is an important aspect of reflexive learning.
I wonder in denying the aesthetic quality of the poem whether this might
diminish its effectiveness? Russ (1983 p.29) in her review of women‘s
literature suggested there were two ways women‘s work was trivialised: by
accusing it of ―not being art‖ and labelling it as ―shameful and too
personal‖. She argued women‘s writing was seen as ―confessional‖ while
this was not usually levelled at men citing Rousseau, St. Augustine and
John Donne as examples where their autobiographical work was not
dismissed in this way. Could this also be a tension for reflective stories of
practice as well as for my own poems in the ward? Was this an example of
habitus, field and symbolic capital afforded to men and not women?
Reflecting on my use of poetry, I think the art does matter but in
considering the poems as art this can destroy the ability to write them. It
has only been through sharing the poems that I have come to appreciate
their reflexive, embodied, emotional, cultural and political quality. The
relational aspect of sharing has been an essential part of my learning
process and has deepened my reflexive insight.
Conclusion
This chapter presented poetry as an epistemology of practice and has
detailed how it can be used as data re-presentation, as data analysis and
a form of reflexive inquiry. I have shown in this chapter how poetry
contains the complexity of practice because it has the potential to be multi-
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