Poetry and healing : addressing trauma through creative-writing workshops

Abstract

This thesis examines the efficacy of reading and writing poetry as a way of healing from sexual violence trauma. Utilizing a version of the creative-writing workshop, this thesis presents the resources required to facilitate creative-writing workshop sessions for participants who have experienced sexual violence. Informed by fields of art therapy, creative-writing pedagogy, feminist poetics, and trauma-informed care, this thesis questions how poetry can lend to a space of healing and community. The theoretical framework of feminist post-structuralism illustrates how poetic language can guide self-expression, agency, and power. The method of poetic inquiry is used to present participants’ poetry and feedback surveys, with this presentation acting as an amalgamation of the data and analysis sections. This thesis also calls into question traditional knowledge-production in academic spaces, using autobiography to advocate for increased value on lived experience and arts-based research methods. This thesis concludes with relevant contributions, limitations, and directions for future research.