Poetry as Therapy

EKSwitaj — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 15:48:41 -0500

Despite great differences in our poetic styles, I strongly identify with Barbara Crooker’s conclusion at the end of her thoughts on poetry as therapy presented on the Crab Creek Review blog as part of their Writer’s Notebook series:

So while I don’t think poetry is therapy; ie, I’m not
writing to heal myself, but rather, to craft an object, the best way
that I can, I think that many times it ends up functioning as therapy,
in spite of itself. And surely, there’s nothing wrong with that.

When I write about traumatic life events, I do not do so with the
intent of engaging in a therapeutic act. Rather, I create poems from
whatever holds my attention. Trauma, unfortunately, has a way of doing
that. In the end, the process of writing does help: it gives me
control, if only slantwise, over the otherwise uncontrollable and
unchangeable.

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Poetry as Therapy