Poetry as a Way of Creating a Soulful Pedagogy

Abstract

This article explores how educators might use poetry (and a poetic imaginative process) to create soulful forms of engagement with their pedagogy. A contemplative perspective on poetry is offered that treats poetry as a form of language that awakens, disarms, and apprehends us as part of a process of personal growth and relational sensitivity. I discuss how educators can expand their pedagogy if they bring these poetic perspectives to their teaching, and I use three poems to illustrate themes related to confronting unknown liminal spaces of development, practicing deep kindness, and attunement to non-attachment and permeability.