"Something made in language": the poet s gift?

Purpose — The purpose of this paper is to offer a meditation on what is especial, and especially difficult, about poetry in its guise as inspiration for, or expression of, efforts and accomplishments in other human and social disciplines such as teaching or research or leadership. At the time of writing, the author — an educational researcher, policy adviser and poet — has been invited to act as poet-in-residence at a conference on interprofessional learning and practice in spring 2006; she is taking the opportunity of this paper to think out loud about the possible responsibilities and rewards of such a role; about what kinds of relationship between poetry and these other modes of being-in-the-world are feasible; and about what kinds of integrity, intrinsic to poetry, need to be made room for in such relationships. Responding to some persuasive ideas of Abbs (academic and poet) and Heaney (poet and literary critic) about the tasks of the poet and the value of poetry respectively, the author argues that poetry is characterised above all by its "gratuitousness" — a notion which is expounded in the paper — and that therefore the straightforward application of poetry to non-poetic contexts and purposes, as a sort of superior didactic instrument, is worth questioning. Design/methodology/approach — The paper makes some recommendations for relating the practice of poetry to the practice of professionalism in whatever sphere without detriment to the essential tasks of poetry. Findings — The paper concludes that the especial gift of poetry, as "something made in language", is to enlarge our imaginations; that a poet's paradoxical responsibility is therefore to do the ungovernable work of the imagination; and that it is the quality of silences (as well as of words) in poetry which give such work its force and meaning. Originality/value — Whilst acknowledging that poetry may often be used as an expression of efforts and accomplishments in other human and social disciplines, the paper takes poetry seriously as an aesthetic and ethical practice in its own right. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]