Embodied writing
Embodied writing practices are used by academics and artists to highlight the connection between writing and the body.,[1] bring consciousness to the cultural implications of academic writing,[2] and inform an understanding of art forms as first person narrative.[3]
Definition
In her article, "Embodied Writing: A Tool for Teaching and Learning in Dance", dance theorist Betsy Cooper defines embodied writing as:
vividly descriptive writing inclusive of an array of sensory mechanisms such that a kinesthetic and visceral experience unfolds during the act of writing and a sympathetic response ensues for the reader.[3]
Psychologist Rosemarie Anderson also describes embodied writing:
Embodied writing seeks to reveal the lived experience of the body by portraying in words the finely textured experience of the body and evoking sympathetic resonance in readers. Introduced into the research endeavor in an effort to describe human experience-- and especially transpersonal experiences-- more closely to how they are truly lived, embodied writing is itself an act of embodiment, entwining in words our senses with the senses of the world.[1]
Practices
Certain psychologists utilize embodied writing as a practice of putting the experience of the body into words to connect to it more deeply. Some link this to meditative practices[1]
In dance theory, choreographic writing (a form of embodied writing) is done by imagining words as dancing across a page [4]
Others use forms of yoga to more deeply connect the body to the writing[5]
Each of these practices aim to create more awareness of the sensation of the body in space and to think of writing as a physical act.
References
- ^ a b c Anderson, Rosemarie (2001). "Embodied Writing and Reflections on Embodiment" (PDF). Journal of Transpersonal Psychology.
- ^ "Decolonize This! Writing as Embodied Double Consciousness". The Writing Center at MSU. 2016-03-28. Retrieved 2018-04-17.
- ^ a b Cooper, Betsy (2011-04-01). "Embodied Writing: A Tool for Teaching and Learning in Dance". Journal of Dance Education. 11 (2): 53–59. doi:10.1080/15290824.2010.540527. S2CID 142578726.
- ^ Ulmer, Jasmine (2015). "Embodied writing: choreographic composition as methodology". Research in Dance Education. 16: 33–50. doi:10.1080/14647893.2014.971230. S2CID 143545338.
- ^ Wegner, Christy (Winter 2012–2013). "Writing Yogis: Breathing Our Way to Mindfulness and Balance in Embodied Writing Pedagogy". JAEPL.