Poetry of witness, survivor silence, and the healing use of the poetic

Abstract

The focus of this article is on the intersections of poetry of witness, survivor silence, and the healing use of the poetic. The article begins with the classic anthology of poetry of witness by Carolyn Forché. The second section turns from testimony to survivor silence and the transformative role of witnessing. The third section looks at poetry of witness as a healing resource for poetry therapy to help hold atrocity with compassion and awareness. The final section presents for its heuristic value, a case example of a workshop on “nurturing the peacemaker” that the author facilitated for a Buddhist community engaged with witnessing for peace and justice.

Keywords:

• Extremity
• Forché
• poetry of witness
• poetry therapy
• survivor silence
• trauma
• witnessing