Waking in the Blue
composition
posted on 2021-08-01, 00:00 authored by Maria TakolanderWaking in the Blue
History
Volume
11Pagination
89-90ISSN
2203-7519Language
engResearch statement
AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL POETRY AND THE NEW MATERIALISM Research Background Autobiographical poetry is associated with individual—often pathological—expression. Redfield Jamison, Kyaga and Stone Horton are among scholars who account for autobiographical poetry in relation to the mental illnesses of individual poets. However, the materialist turn in creativity studies (as seen in the work of Csikszentmihalyi, Glaveanu and Tanggaard, for instance) reminds us how creativity always emerges from individuals working with the specific traditions and materials of an art form, presenting a problem for ‘expressive’ theories of autobiographical poetry. Research Contribution Contributing to knowledge generated in the Field of Research 190402 Creative Writing, this long poem—addressed to the poet Robert Lowell—foregrounds both intensely personal subject matter but also the generative power of the historical field, signalling how autobiographical poetry gives expression to the personal only through culturally mediated practices of creativity. The tension between the poem’s confessional mode and the work’s networked genesis is something I have also explored in scholarly work that reflects on my creative practice (including in an essay published in the Q1 journal Life Writing). Research Significance The value of this poem is attested to by: its multiple publication in peak Australian poetry journals such as Cordite and Australian Poetry Journal; and its inclusion in my new book of poems (Trigger Warning) with the prestigious University of Queensland Press (which only publishes four poetry collections annually by writers such as David Malouf), a book which was already named as one of the most anticipated releases of 2021 by The Australian and has been widely praised since release.Publication classification
JO4 Original Creative Works – OtherScale
NTRO OtherIssue
1Publisher
Australian PoetryPlace of publication
Melbourne, Vic.Source
Australian Poetry JournalUsage metrics
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