Enacting Artful Knowing Through Collective Poetic Inquiry: “Space, Movement, Entanglement, Ambiguity, and Flow”

Pithouse-Morgan, Kathleen; Pillay, Daisy; Naicker, Inbanathan

Abstract

The article traces the authors’ polyvocal work at the interface of poetry, social cohesion, and in/justice in higher education, asking, “How is our poetic knowing artful inquiry?”, “How do we enact poetic artful inquiry?”, “What does poetic artful inquiry produce?”, and “Why does poetic artful inquiry matter?” Eight collective poetic artful inquiries were explored using a multilayered analysis design characterized by a progression of ever-more-concise poetic forms. The study was founded on the reflexive ubuntu principle of connectivity, caring for, and growing with others. Composing and interpreting three layers of poetry—pantoum poetry clusters, tanka poems, and a lantern poem—we identified the interconnected concepts of space, movement, entanglement, ambiguity, and flow, showing why and how collective poetic inquiry contributes to artful knowing in higher education. We offer this poetic conceptualization as a contribution to understanding enactments of artful inquiry, and encourage others to take it in new directions.

Citation

Pithouse-Morgan, K., Pillay, D., & Naicker, I. (2025). Enacting Artful Knowing Through Collective Poetic Inquiry: “Space, Movement, Entanglement, Ambiguity, and Flow”. International Review of Qualitative Research, https://doi.org/10.1177/19408447251319417

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jan 6, 2025
• Online Publication Date: Feb 12, 2025
• Publication Date: Feb 12, 2025
• Deposit Date: Feb 12, 2025
• Publicly Available Date: Feb 14, 2025
• Journal: International Review of Qualitative Research
• Print ISSN: 1940-8447
• Electronic ISSN: 1940-8455
• Publisher: University of California Press
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/19408447251319417
• Keywords: poetic artful inquiry; poetic analysis; poetic knowing; higher education research
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/45310813
• Publisher URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/19408447251319417