The late Canadian poet and scholar Hilary Gravendyk coined the phrase “Chronic Poetics” to describe poetry that hones in on the relationship between chronic illness and generational form in order to extend the reach of disability criticism’s relevance to all bodies, not just disabled bodies. Though my intentions are not so much political as existential, I share Gravendyk’s recognition that although biomedical research into the management of chronic disease and terminal illness is well-established, far less valued much less documented is the experiential knowledge of patients as a means of understanding the impact of living with chronic and with terminal illness. Such a poetics recognizes the ability to perceive with that pain from within a body that refuses to recede from consciousness. While poetry therapy is an immensely valuable tool in this context, this presentation will focus on poetry written by well-established poets whose work becomes a portal that provides entry into another way of being. Such poetry portals ask the reader to consider their own potential as well as limitations in light of histories of isolation, exclusion and liminal experience that come with chronic and terminal illness. Merleau-Ponty’s emphasis on the expressiveness of language in relation to embodiment also enters the conversation though primary emphasis remains on the poetry of those including the late Jane Kenyon, Stanley Plumly, and Saskia Hamilton, with attention to John Keats as well as Emily Dickinson.

Authors:
Jacqueline Kolosov, Texas Tech University, United States

About the Presenter(s)
Professor Jacqueline Kolosov is a University Professor/Principal Lecturer at Texas Tech University in United States

See this presentation on the full schedule – Saturday Schedule

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