This paper addresses long form poetry as non-fiction medium—specifically as biographical medium—discussing examples by writers such as Jordie Albiston, Susan Howe and Lyn Hejinian, to consider the diversity of ways in which poets are writing/documenting the lives of historical figures. My aim is to demonstrate how poetic biographies can extend our representations of these characters into new dimensions, using poetic play—the line, metaphor, frisson, juxtaposition, space and rhythm—to convey aspects of character and experience in innovative and exciting ways. I propose an extension of non-fiction writing into the poetic form as a way towards addressing historical inaccuracies and aporias, thus not only opening a space for the representation of marginal voices, but offering new frameworks for life writing.
Beyond Facts and Accuracies
Long Form Poetry as Biographical Method
