Poetic enquiry as an original research method

A poetic methodology

As a complement to the systematic, quantitative methods of data analysis that are gaining in importance in research, this article recalls and emphasizes the emotional or affective "value" of data, and the importance of analyzing it accordingly. It proposes a unique methodological position for accessing this affective reality of phenomena. In a poetic writing workshop, twelve researchers of different nationalities worked on their empirical data using a poetic inquiry method. Step by step, they followed a concrete methodology aimed at a more affective and embodied reading and restitution of their research data. The article retraces the process and gives voice to the participants on the effects felt by this poetic methodology, the ethical questions it raises and the perspectives it opens up.

Making room for freedom of expression

As feminist writers have taught us, poetry leaves more room for freedom of expression than conventional methods of writing and analysis. The poem makes it possible to address marginalized, invisibilized, silenced experiences, precisely because it offers a vocabulary rooted in an affective reality, opening the door to otherness. Within the diversity of feminist approaches, poetry offers the means to speak from a position of situated rather than universal authority. Affective experience gives an account of an observed reality, inviting one to become aware of one's feelings as a researcher, and including these feelings in scientific analysis. Thus, in line with feminist ambition and intention, poetic inquiry has the capacity to destabilize and overcome what is taken for granted in academia, the legacy and dominance of a single form of knowledge production.

It is hoped that this article will pave the way for new scientific spaces where poetry can shed light on organizational phenomena; spaces to see, feel and understand in a sensory and affective way who we are and the world we live in.