Poetry, the Brain and Human Creativity
What drives a human being to create poetry? Where does creativity come from? And why is it that even with so many carefully chosen words set to snare it, the meaning of a poem seems to dance somewhere beyond the words themselves? The appreciation of a poem requires openness, a welcoming spirit on the part of the listener/reader. But the “spirit” requisite both in the writing and the reading of a poem is mediated by operations occurring within our brains, convoluted bundles of tissue that somehow transmute chemical and electrical signals into exquisite emotive sensations. What can recent research into the brain, the "wetware" supporting our thinking, tell us about the way poetry is made and appreciated? Will this new knowledge help us create better poetry just as a deeper knowledge of the characteristics of wood aids the woodworker in his craft? Is there a discernible link between poetics, the imagination, and what science is teaching us about human consciousness?
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the panelists
• A lifelong student of philosophy, Janet Ward received her Master's degree from Trinity College and taught metaphysics and ethics before developing a keen interest in advocating the integrated teaching of the sciences and the humanities. This interest led to her founding of The Scientist as Humanist Project, and to her tenure as co-director of the two NH Humanities Council year-long programs, "Of Apples and Origins: Stories of Life on Earth and The Brain," and "The Mind and Human Meaning." She was executive producer of the documentary, Mind Talk: The Brain's New Story. Ward currently serves as co-president of Frontiers of Knowledge, a Concord-based non-profit lecture series, and as a representative of Just Food, a citizen's committee that disseminates information on genetically modified food.
• Holly Taylor received her BA in Mathematics from Dartmouth College, and her Ph.D. in Cognitive Psychology from Stanford University. Taylor's research has appeared in journals such as Canadian Journal of Experimental Psychology, Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, Physiology and Behavior, and Journal of Mathematical Psychology. She has been funded to research such topics as spatial navigation, cognitive processes and the effects of sugar on cognitive activity in children. Taylor received the UNITE Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching in 1997, as well as the Shahin Hashtroudi Memorial Prize for Best Dissertation on Cognitive Approaches in 1993. Taylor now directs Graduate Studies in Psychology at Tufts University, where she has been a professor since 1994.
• Parker A. Towle, MD currently serves as staff neurologist and attending physician at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, NH. He received his AB from Yale University, and his MD from the University of Vermont College of Medicine. Towle's professional activities in the neurological field have included serving as a Neurology Resident at Yale University, an Associate Visiting Physician for Neurology at Boston City Hospital, and a clinical neurologist for the State Bureau of Special Services, Epilepsy Clinic. Towle was a founding member of the Cooperative (free) Clinic in Littleton, NH. Towle's teaching positions have included Clinical Instructor in Neurology at Harvard Medical School, and Adjunct Associate Professor of Medicine (Neurology) at Dartmouth Medical School. In addition to neurological and medical publications, Towle has published poetry and essays. He received his MFA in Writing in 1995 from Vermont College of Norwich University.
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