Poetry Talks Back to Psychiatry: Poetic Retellings of Psychiatric Experience in Venezuela
Main Article Content
Keywords
poetry, psychiatry, survivor literature
Abstract
The following paper explores three Venezuelan contemporary poets who wrote about their psychiatric experiences. Through their poems they “talk back” to a psychiatric language that medicalized their suffering and stripped their experiences of meaning. The parallels between their writings and psychiatric survivor literature are considered.
References
Abberbach, D. (1989). Surviving trauma: Loss, literature and psychoanalysis. New Haven: Yale University Press.
Adame, A. (2006). Recovered voices, recovered lives: A narrative analysis of psychiatric survivors’ experiences of recovery (unpublished master’s thesis). Maimi University, Oxford, OH, USA. Available from http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1152813614
Adame, A., & Knudson, R. (2007). Recovery and the good life: How psychiatric survivors are revisioning the healing process. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 48, 142-164.
Arraiz Luca, R. (1994). Martha Kornblith: Un poema solo sirve para ser feliz. In R. Arraiz Luca, (Ed.), Conversaciones bajo techo. Caracas: Editorial Pomaire.
Barker, P., Campbell, P., & Davidson, R. (Eds.) (1999). From the ashes of experience: Reflections on madness survival and growth. London: Whurr.
Blumenthal, S. (1995). “The tempest in my mind:” Cultural interfaces between psychiatry and literature, 1844-1900. Journal of History of Behavioral Sciences, 31, 3-34.
Bokey, K., & Walter, G. (2002). Literature and psychiatry: The case for a close liaison. Australasian Psychiatry, 10, 393-399.
Champ, S. (1999). Hope, humanity and voice in the recovery from mental illness. In P. Barker, P. Campbell, & R. Davidson (Eds.), From the ashes of experience: Reflections on madness survival and growth. London: Whurr.
Clay, S. (1999). Madness and reality. In P. Barker, P. Campbell, & R. Davidson (Eds.), From the ashes of experience: Reflections on madness survival and growth. London: Whurr.
Cooper, D. (1967). Psychiatry and anti-psychiatry. London: Tavistock Publications.
Davies, L. (1999). Avalon. In P. Barker, P. Campbell, & R. Davidson (Eds.), From the ashes of experience: Reflections on madness survival and growth. London: Whurr.
Foucault, M. (1973). The birth of the clinic. London: Routledge.
Foucault, M. (1965). Madness and civilization: A history of insanity in the age of reason. New York: Pantheon.
Freud, S. (1908/1964). Creative writers and day-dreaming. In J. Strachey (Ed.), Standard edition of the complete psychological works of Sigmund Freud (pp. 141-154). London: The Hogarth Press.
Freud, S. (1932/1964). New introductory lectures on pychoanalysis. In J. Strachey (Ed.), Standard edition of the complete psychological works of Sigmund Freud (pp. 7-191). London: The Hogarth Press.
Goffman, E. (1961). Asylums: Essays on the social situation of mental health and other inmates. London: Penguin.
Holloway, J. (1999). The other world. In P. Barker, P. Campbell, & R. Davidson (Eds.), From the ashes of experience: Reflections on madness survival and growth. London: Whurr.
Jamison, K. (1993). Touched with fire: Manic-depressive illness and the artistic temperament. New York: Free Press.
Kaufman, J. (2005). The door that leads to madness: East European poets and mental illness. Creativity Research Journal, 17, 99-103.
Kaufman, J., & Sexton, J. (2006). Why doesn’t the writing cure help poets? Review of General Psychology, 10, 268-282.
Killick, K., & Schaverien, J. (1997). Art, psychotherapy and psychosis. London: Routledge.
Kornblith, M. (1997a). El Perdedor se lo lleva todo. Caracas: Editorial Pequena Venecia.
Kornblith, M. (1997b). Sesión de endodoncia. Caracas: Eclepsidra.
Kornblith, M. (1995). Oraciones para un dios ausente. Caracas: Monte Avila.
Laing, R. (1967). The politics of experience and the bird of paradise. London: Penguin.
Ludwig, A. M. (1992). Creative achievement and psychopathology: Comparison among professions. American Journal of Psychotherapy, 46, 330–357.
Manos, E. (1999). The flight of the phoenix. In P. Barker, P. Campbell, & R. Davidson (Eds.), From the ashes of experience: Reflections on madness survival and growth. London: Whurr.
Marquez, M. (2000, 20 February). Poesia del pensar: entrevista a Armando Rojas Guardia. El Universal. Retrieved from http://www.kalathos.com/abr2001/entrevistas/guardia/guardia.html.
Nack Ngue, J. (2007). Colonial discourses of disability and normalization in contemporary francophone immigrant narratives: Bessora’s 53cm and Fatou Diome’s la ventre de l’Atlantique. Wagadu: A Journal of Transnational Women’s and Gender Studies, 4. Retrieved from http://webcortland.edu/wagadu/volume%204/articles4.html
Ossott, H. (1983). Hasta que llegue el día y huyan las sombras. Caracas: Editorial Arte.
Ossott, H. (1986). Plegarias y penumbras. Caracas: Con Textos.
Ossott, H. (1987). El reino donde la noche se abre. Caracas: Editorial Mandorla.
Ossott, H. (1989) Cielo tu arco grande. Caracas: Tierra de Gracia Editores.
Ossott, H. (1993). Defensa de mi poesía. Panfleto Negro. Retrieved from http://www.panfletonegro.com/cuarentaytres/especial7.shtml
Ossott, H. (1993). El circo roto. Caracas: Monte Avila.
Overboe, M. (2007). Disability and genetics: Affirming the bare life (The state of exception). Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology, 44, 219-235.
Parek, P. (Ed.). (2007). Intersecting gender and disability perspectives in rethinking postcolonial identities (special issue). Wagadu: A Journal of Transnational Women’s and Gender Studies, 4. Retrieved from http://appweb.cortland.edu/ojs/index.php/Wagadu/issue/view/29
Perkins, R. (1999). My three psychiatric careers. In P. Barker, P. Campbell, & R. Davidson (Eds.), From the ashes of experience: Reflections on madness survival and growth. London: Whurr.
Post, F. (1994). Creativity and psychopathology: A study of 291 world-famous men. British Journal of Psychiatry, 165, 22–34.
Rojas Guardia, A. (2005, 5 February). La desnudez del loco. El Nacional, Papel Literario, p. 8. Retrieved from http://venepoetics.blogspot.com/2005/02/la-desnudez-del-loco-armando-rojas.html
Rojas Guardia, A. (2000). El esplendor y la espera. Caracas: Pequeña Venecia.
Rojas Guardia, A. (1993). Antología poética. Caracas: Monte Ávila.
Rojas Guardia, A. (1985a). Poemas de la quebrada de la virgen. Caracas: Fundarte.
Rojas Guardia, A. (1985b). El Dios de la intemperie. Caracas: Mandorla.
Romme, M., & Escher, S. (2000). Making sense of voices: A guide for mental health professionals working with voice-hearers. London: Mind Publications.
Saraceni, G. (2003, 20 February). Despedida sin adios. El Universal. Retrieved from http://www.edu.com/verbigracia/memoria/N241/segunda.shtml.
Sherry, M. (2007). Postcolonising disability. Wagadu: A Journal of Transnational Women’s and Gender Studies, 4. Retrieved from http://webcortland.edu/wagadu/volume%204/articles4.html
Thomas, K., & Duke, M. (2007). Depressed writing: Cognitive distortions in the works of depressed and nondepressed poets and writers. Journal of Aesthetics, Creativity and the Arts, 4, 204-218.
Tuhiwai, L. (1999). Decolonizing methodologies: Research and indigenous peoples. London: Zed Books.
Adame, A. (2006). Recovered voices, recovered lives: A narrative analysis of psychiatric survivors’ experiences of recovery (unpublished master’s thesis). Maimi University, Oxford, OH, USA. Available from http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1152813614
Adame, A., & Knudson, R. (2007). Recovery and the good life: How psychiatric survivors are revisioning the healing process. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 48, 142-164.
Arraiz Luca, R. (1994). Martha Kornblith: Un poema solo sirve para ser feliz. In R. Arraiz Luca, (Ed.), Conversaciones bajo techo. Caracas: Editorial Pomaire.
Barker, P., Campbell, P., & Davidson, R. (Eds.) (1999). From the ashes of experience: Reflections on madness survival and growth. London: Whurr.
Blumenthal, S. (1995). “The tempest in my mind:” Cultural interfaces between psychiatry and literature, 1844-1900. Journal of History of Behavioral Sciences, 31, 3-34.
Bokey, K., & Walter, G. (2002). Literature and psychiatry: The case for a close liaison. Australasian Psychiatry, 10, 393-399.
Champ, S. (1999). Hope, humanity and voice in the recovery from mental illness. In P. Barker, P. Campbell, & R. Davidson (Eds.), From the ashes of experience: Reflections on madness survival and growth. London: Whurr.
Clay, S. (1999). Madness and reality. In P. Barker, P. Campbell, & R. Davidson (Eds.), From the ashes of experience: Reflections on madness survival and growth. London: Whurr.
Cooper, D. (1967). Psychiatry and anti-psychiatry. London: Tavistock Publications.
Davies, L. (1999). Avalon. In P. Barker, P. Campbell, & R. Davidson (Eds.), From the ashes of experience: Reflections on madness survival and growth. London: Whurr.
Foucault, M. (1973). The birth of the clinic. London: Routledge.
Foucault, M. (1965). Madness and civilization: A history of insanity in the age of reason. New York: Pantheon.
Freud, S. (1908/1964). Creative writers and day-dreaming. In J. Strachey (Ed.), Standard edition of the complete psychological works of Sigmund Freud (pp. 141-154). London: The Hogarth Press.
Freud, S. (1932/1964). New introductory lectures on pychoanalysis. In J. Strachey (Ed.), Standard edition of the complete psychological works of Sigmund Freud (pp. 7-191). London: The Hogarth Press.
Goffman, E. (1961). Asylums: Essays on the social situation of mental health and other inmates. London: Penguin.
Holloway, J. (1999). The other world. In P. Barker, P. Campbell, & R. Davidson (Eds.), From the ashes of experience: Reflections on madness survival and growth. London: Whurr.
Jamison, K. (1993). Touched with fire: Manic-depressive illness and the artistic temperament. New York: Free Press.
Kaufman, J. (2005). The door that leads to madness: East European poets and mental illness. Creativity Research Journal, 17, 99-103.
Kaufman, J., & Sexton, J. (2006). Why doesn’t the writing cure help poets? Review of General Psychology, 10, 268-282.
Killick, K., & Schaverien, J. (1997). Art, psychotherapy and psychosis. London: Routledge.
Kornblith, M. (1997a). El Perdedor se lo lleva todo. Caracas: Editorial Pequena Venecia.
Kornblith, M. (1997b). Sesión de endodoncia. Caracas: Eclepsidra.
Kornblith, M. (1995). Oraciones para un dios ausente. Caracas: Monte Avila.
Laing, R. (1967). The politics of experience and the bird of paradise. London: Penguin.
Ludwig, A. M. (1992). Creative achievement and psychopathology: Comparison among professions. American Journal of Psychotherapy, 46, 330–357.
Manos, E. (1999). The flight of the phoenix. In P. Barker, P. Campbell, & R. Davidson (Eds.), From the ashes of experience: Reflections on madness survival and growth. London: Whurr.
Marquez, M. (2000, 20 February). Poesia del pensar: entrevista a Armando Rojas Guardia. El Universal. Retrieved from http://www.kalathos.com/abr2001/entrevistas/guardia/guardia.html.
Nack Ngue, J. (2007). Colonial discourses of disability and normalization in contemporary francophone immigrant narratives: Bessora’s 53cm and Fatou Diome’s la ventre de l’Atlantique. Wagadu: A Journal of Transnational Women’s and Gender Studies, 4. Retrieved from http://webcortland.edu/wagadu/volume%204/articles4.html
Ossott, H. (1983). Hasta que llegue el día y huyan las sombras. Caracas: Editorial Arte.
Ossott, H. (1986). Plegarias y penumbras. Caracas: Con Textos.
Ossott, H. (1987). El reino donde la noche se abre. Caracas: Editorial Mandorla.
Ossott, H. (1989) Cielo tu arco grande. Caracas: Tierra de Gracia Editores.
Ossott, H. (1993). Defensa de mi poesía. Panfleto Negro. Retrieved from http://www.panfletonegro.com/cuarentaytres/especial7.shtml
Ossott, H. (1993). El circo roto. Caracas: Monte Avila.
Overboe, M. (2007). Disability and genetics: Affirming the bare life (The state of exception). Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology, 44, 219-235.
Parek, P. (Ed.). (2007). Intersecting gender and disability perspectives in rethinking postcolonial identities (special issue). Wagadu: A Journal of Transnational Women’s and Gender Studies, 4. Retrieved from http://appweb.cortland.edu/ojs/index.php/Wagadu/issue/view/29
Perkins, R. (1999). My three psychiatric careers. In P. Barker, P. Campbell, & R. Davidson (Eds.), From the ashes of experience: Reflections on madness survival and growth. London: Whurr.
Post, F. (1994). Creativity and psychopathology: A study of 291 world-famous men. British Journal of Psychiatry, 165, 22–34.
Rojas Guardia, A. (2005, 5 February). La desnudez del loco. El Nacional, Papel Literario, p. 8. Retrieved from http://venepoetics.blogspot.com/2005/02/la-desnudez-del-loco-armando-rojas.html
Rojas Guardia, A. (2000). El esplendor y la espera. Caracas: Pequeña Venecia.
Rojas Guardia, A. (1993). Antología poética. Caracas: Monte Ávila.
Rojas Guardia, A. (1985a). Poemas de la quebrada de la virgen. Caracas: Fundarte.
Rojas Guardia, A. (1985b). El Dios de la intemperie. Caracas: Mandorla.
Romme, M., & Escher, S. (2000). Making sense of voices: A guide for mental health professionals working with voice-hearers. London: Mind Publications.
Saraceni, G. (2003, 20 February). Despedida sin adios. El Universal. Retrieved from http://www.edu.com/verbigracia/memoria/N241/segunda.shtml.
Sherry, M. (2007). Postcolonising disability. Wagadu: A Journal of Transnational Women’s and Gender Studies, 4. Retrieved from http://webcortland.edu/wagadu/volume%204/articles4.html
Thomas, K., & Duke, M. (2007). Depressed writing: Cognitive distortions in the works of depressed and nondepressed poets and writers. Journal of Aesthetics, Creativity and the Arts, 4, 204-218.
Tuhiwai, L. (1999). Decolonizing methodologies: Research and indigenous peoples. London: Zed Books.
Article Sidebar
Published
Nov 3, 2014
Article Details
Issue
Section
Research Articles and Essays
RDS Journal is an open-access journal, create a free account to read full articles and to submit a proposal. For visual arts and multimedia, submission will be considered evidence that you are offering RDS the right to display your work without penalty, compensation or royalties.
Author Biography
Manuel Llorens, Specialization in Clinical Community Psychology, Universidad Católica Andrés Bello
Manuel Llorens is a clinical and community psychologist who teaches critical approaches to clinical practice at the Specialization in Clinical Community Psychology at the Universidad Católica Andrés Bello in Caracas, Venezuela.