Poetic world-writing in a pluriversal world: a provocation to the creative (re)turn in geography

• Published in: Social & cultural geography Vol. 17; no. 6; pp. 778 - 785
• Main Authors: Eshun, Gabriel, Madge, Clare
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Abingdon Routledge 17-08-2016; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Creative geographies; Creativity; Geography; Geopolitics; Multiculturalism & pluralism; pluriversal world; Poetry; Postcolonialism; Provocation; Storytelling
• ISSN: 1464-9365; 1470-1197
• DOI: 10.1080/14649365.2016.1156147

We are creative souls. We have therefore embraced with relish the creative (re)turn in geography (Hawkins, 2013; Hawkins & Straughan, 2015; Marston & de Leeuw, 2013). However, in this paper, we want to intervene in debates on this creative (re)turn to question how might creative geographies become more attentive to a pluriversal world perspective (a perspective in which many diverse worlds are valued and belong)? We are particularly interested in approaching this question as active creative agents, using self-produced poetry to consider this provocation. Bristow (2015) and Magrane (2015) have provided accounts of the various uses of poetry in geography, while in previous publications, we have explored the potentials of poetry to express an affective geopolitics (Madge, 2014), as a form of embodied storytelling (Madge, 2016) and as a postcolonial research tool (Eshun & Madge, 2012). In this paper, we want to expand these arguments to explore how poetry might provide further fresh insights for the creative (re)turn in geography, particularly whether it might enable creative geographies become more attentive to a pluriversal world perspective.