Poetic Transcription as a Powerful Tool in Poetic Inquiry and Research

Research poetry has the potential to add depth and uniqueness to data interpretation that other more traditional forms may not. Poetic transcription is a powerful tool within research poetry that creates a deep yet distilled essence of participant and researcher voices. In this chapter contexts for research poetry and its evaluation will be discussed in general before the more specific categories of poetry inquiry, poetic representation, and poetic forms are explained. Situated within research poetry more broadly, poetic transcription adds to the richness of the available methods as it helps to build relationships with participants, facilitates more personal understanding of the subject, and allows for multiple interpretations of transformative work. Examples of its use and evaluation are provided.