‘A poem is a Galaxy’: An Educational Guide for Researchers New to Using Participant-Voiced Poetry with Young People

Abstract

Whilst poetic methods are increasingly employed in research, few papers clearly guide those new to the method particularly when considering the unique needs of utilising it with young people. This paper addresses this absence by presenting a clear guide to the rationale and benefits of using participant-voiced poetry. Whilst not prescriptive, this guide hopes to encourage and inspire researchers by offering three diverse methods of engagement with participant-voiced poetry using case studies as exemplars. Arising from a collaborative two-day co-creation workshop, a team of expert researchers, which included two practitioners of poetic inquiry methods, three educators, an artist and a young person, developed a route map to guide researchers new to poetic inquiry with young people. This route map provides a detailed and clear visual explanation of the application of this method, broken down into steps to provide detailed explanation, with the aim of helping researchers navigate participant-voiced poetry with young people. The processes detailed are iterative, collaborative, led by poetic expertise and the research literature around eliciting and analysing participant-voiced poetry. The reporting of this process is further enhanced through the inclusion of a young person’s lived experience of this method. This paper is intended to support researchers across disciplines, particularly researchers new to poetic inquiry and/or using these methods with young people. While the paper centres on the application of these methods for research involving young people, it is envisaged that these methods and the route map provided will be more widely beneficial to other age groups.