Bringing poetry into staff development.

Abstract

"Quello che mai fue detto d'alfcuna," words from Dante, "strive to say which was never said by anyone." This is the art of true verbal expression, the essence of poetry. Poet W. H. Auden once wrote that "poetry can open spaces of meaning for the human spirit that is more intimate to other human beings than it is to ourselves" (Auden, 1968). Poetry has many definitions. To some, it is the rhythmic verse they remember from grade school or from Mother Goose. To others, poetry is a verse of meter and measure, of balance and harmony. However, to most individuals, poetry is the ultimate expression of human emotion. Roy (1999) believed that nursing is in need of poetry, in order to evoke the deepest of images, fears, questions, and quests of the human spirit and the nursing profession. This article examines the use of poetry and how it might be incorporated into staff education.