Poems as Self-Characterization

Abstract

The core notion of Kelly’s self-characterization procedure, although rarely commented on by subsequent writers, is that of a “protected spot” wherein the client can write about themselves freely. In this article, I shall explore self-characterization, not just by the “client”, but for the “client” – the person informing himself or herself through the self-characterization procedure. Here, I consider the use of poetry as the means by which a grieving person construes grief and its relationship to the self. Poetry is a means of self-characterization that provides concrete evidence of the role of the “protected spot”. Examples are drawn from informal private “journal” poems and their subsequent transformation into formal public verse.

Keywords:

• Poems
• self-characterization
• grief
• protected spot

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was by reported the author.