An alternative way of responding to powerful ideas: notes to accompany the poem entitled ‘Five Principles of Quality in Narratives of Action Research’

Abstract

This paper is written in a personal capacity and mainly takes the form of a poem—in five sections—composed as a response to some of the ideas in the article by Hannu Heikkinen and colleagues in this same issue of Educational Action Research: ‘Action research as narrative: five principles for validation’. The poem takes its title and structure from that article: its coming‐into‐being as a piece of work is described in the short introduction. As the introduction mentions, the author‐poet has discussed, in previous papers, some of the connections and disconnections between the practices of educational research and poetry. The present paper offers actual work‐in‐practice that illustrates how these have been played out in one context—which was as poet‐in‐residence at a conference on inter‐professional learning and practice in healthcare.

The author is very keen to tempt others into dialogue on these issues.

Keywords:

• Poetry
• Poet‐in‐residence

Notes

1. This paper, like the poem, is written in a personal capacity.

2. This section of the poem was written in response to a conference workshop on improving patient safety through the study of teamwork in the operating theatre, led by Alan Bleakley, of the Peninsula Medical School, England—himself a published poet.

3. The venue for the conference