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Research is the Poetry: Poetic Inquiry for Writing Studies Researchers

By Sandra L. Tarabochia
Copy edited by Karen Peirce. Designed by Mike Palmquist.

In Research is the Poetry, Sandra L. Tarabochia demonstrates the promise of poetic inquiry, the arts-based method of creating poems with, as, and in relation to qualitative research data. Informed by studies from a range of disciplines, each chapter introduces a particular poetic research practice and features dynamic examples from Tarabochia’s eight-year longitudinal study of faculty writing lives. Thorough discussion of the affordances and challenges of each approach and guiding questions for reflection prompt readers to imagine when, why, and how they might practice poetic inquiry in their own research contexts. Candidly sharing her own process of discovering and learning the method, Tarabochia makes a compelling case for poetic inquiry as a form of methodological surrender, a way of loosening our grip on certainty and what we think we know about scholarly meaning making. Research is the Poetry shows writing researchers how to tap into the human dimensions of our work and begin to know, be, and do differently.

Table of Contents

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Front Matter

Acknowledgments

Introduction. Poetic Inquiry and Writing Studies Research

Chapter 1. Composite Poetry: Relationship Between the One and the Many

Chapter 2. Poetry Clusters: Constellating Meaning in Writers’ Lives

Chapter 3. Juxtaposing Poetic Inquiry Practices for Deep Listening

Chapter 4. Collaborative Poetry: Rewriting Research Relationships

Conclusion. Poetic Inquiry as an Ethic of Attunement

References

About the Author

Sandra L. Tarabochia is Associate Professor of English at the University of Oklahoma, where she serves as Director of Rhetoric & Writing Studies. Her book Reframing the Relational: A Pedagogical Ethic for Cross-Curricular Literacy Work is part of the CCCC/NCTE series Studies in Writing and Rhetoric. She has published scholarship in Peitho, Written Communication, Composition Studies, and Writing & Pedagogy. She a founding co-editor (with Aja Y. Martinez and Michele Eodice) of the open-access journal Writers: Craft & Context.

Publication Information:

Tarabochia, Sandra L. (2026). Research is the Poetry: Poetic Inquiry for Writing Studies Researchers. The WAC Clearinghouse; University Press of Colorado. https://doi.org/1010.37514/PRA-B.2026.2968
Digital Publication Date:

May 8, 2026
Print Publication Date:

TBD
ISBN:

978-1-64215-296-8 (PDF) | 978-1-64215-297-5 (ePub) | 978-1-64642-954-7 (pbk.)
DOI:

10.37514/PRA-B.2026.2968
Contact Information:

Sandra L. Tarabochia: sltarabochia@ou.edu

Practices & Possibilities

Series Editors: Aimee McClure, Clarke University; Aleashia Walton, University of Cincinnati; Jagadish Paudel, Clemson University; and Mike Palmquist, Colorado State University

Acrobat Reader DownloadThis book is available in whole and in part in Adobe’s Portable Document Format (PDF). It will also be available in a low-cost print edition from our publishing partner, the University Press of Colorado.

Financial support for the development and publication of this book was provided from the Dodge Family College of Arts and Sciences, Office of the Vice President for Research and Partnerships, and University Libraries, University of Oklahoma.

Copyright © 2026 Sandra L. Tarabochia. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License. 194 pages, with notes, illustrations, and bibliography. This book will be available in print from University Press of Colorado as well as from any online or brick-and-mortar bookstore. Available in digital formats for no charge on this page at the WAC Clearinghouse. You may view this book. You may print personal copies of this book. You may link to this page. You may not reproduce this book on another website. For permission requests and other questions, such as creating a translation, please contact the copyright holders.