BPA | The Poetic Mind Seminar

The Poetic Mind Seminar

“Ye Are Many, They Are Few: A Psychoanalytic Exploration of the Power of Political Poetry”

This is the first of a series of dialogues on the capacity for poetry and psychoanalysis to articulate the internal world.

Online, via Zoom, and In person
87-89 Prince of Wales Road,
London NW5 3NT

“Ye Are Many, They Are Few: A Psychoanalytic Exploration of the Power of Political Poetry”

JJ Bola (Poet)

Mary Adams (Psychoanalyst)

David Morgan (Psychoanalyst)

Chair: Catherine McKisack (Psychoanalyst)

Poetry has always been a weapon of resistance, a medium for protest, and a beacon of hope. From Homer’s Iliad to W.H. Auden, from Percy Bysshe Shelley’s rallying cries to JJ Bola’s contemporary urgent verses on migration and displacement, political poetry, has shaped and reshaped the human experience of power, injustice, and collective action.

These papers and poetry readings from JJ Bola examine the transformative power of political poetry through the lens of psychoanalysis, exploring how it resonates in the unconscious and mobilises movements for change.

Poetry readings by JJ BOLA

An Exploration of the Power of Political Poetry: Voices of Protest, Resistance, and Hope

By Psychoanalyst
David Morgan

Poetry and re-imagining in a time of crisis ‘Changing the very terms of the dilemma’

By Psychoanalyst
Mary Adams

Bio

JJ Bola is a Kinshasa-born, British-French poet, writer and educator, based in London. He has written three collections of poetry as well as two novels, No Place to Call Home (2017) and The Selfless Act Of Breathing(2021), and a non-fiction book about masculinity and patriarchy for young people, Mask Off: Masculinity Redefined(2019).His writing explores themes of displacement and belonging.

Mary Adams is a member of the British Psychoanalytic Association and was a training analyst for the Association of Child Psychotherapists. She is the author of James Joyce and the Internal World of the Replacement Child and was Joint-Editor of The Journal of the British Association of Psychotherapists (1999-2005).

David Morgan is Fellow of the BPAS Full Member BPA BPF Training and Supervising Analyst BPA BPF Tavistock. Chair and Organiser of The Political Mind at the BPAS. Author of various books and papers. National and International lecturer. He is involved in organisational work with socio-political groups and whistle-blowers.

Catherine McKisack is a Full Member of the BPA working in private practice in London and at the Tavistock Adult Complex Needs Service in the NHS. She is Chair of the Outreach Committee, Chair of the Selection sub-committee and sits on the Board of the BPA.

Freud remarked, “Poets are masters of us ordinary men, in knowledge of the mind, because they drink at streams which we have not yet made accessible to science.”

Reverie and the Creative Process

Bion introduced the concept of “reverie” to describe a state of open, receptive contemplation within the analytic setting. This state allows the analyst to process and contain the patient’s projected emotions and thoughts, facilitating deeper understanding. This process is akin to the creative mindset of poets, who tap into unconscious material to give form to their expressions. As Catharine Bailey reflects, poetry serves as a form of reverie, influencing psychoanalytic work by opening a window into the internal world and the essence of being human.

Language and the Unconscious

Bion acknowledged the limitations of conventional language in capturing the depths of unconscious experience. He suggested that in psychoanalytic sessions, patients might use words as tangible objects or fragmented parts of themselves, projecting these onto the analyst. This dynamic underscores the necessity for more nuanced, symbolic forms of communication—such as poetry—to bridge the gap between conscious and unconscious realms. Annie Reiner, a psychoanalyst and poet, emphasizes that both poetry and psychoanalysis strive to articulate the unspoken aspects of the human psyche, delving into the language of the unconscious.

The Poet’s Intuitive Insight

Bion recognized that poets often possess an intuitive grasp of the mind’s complexities, articulating truths that psychoanalysis seeks to uncover. His later writings, which became progressively more mystical, drew on a wide range of philosophical, literary, and mystical sources, reflecting his belief in the profound insights that poetic and artistic expressions can offer into the human condition.

Implications for Psychoanalytic Practice

Integrating poetic sensibilities into psychoanalytic practice encourages both analysts and patients to engage with the fluid, dynamic nature of the unconscious. This approach fosters a deeper exploration of internal experiences, facilitating personal growth and transformation. By valuing the poetic aspects of thought and expression, psychoanalysis can enrich its understanding of the human mind and enhance its therapeutic efficacy.

In summary, the interplay between Bion’s psychoanalytic concepts and poetry is well-documented and highlights the importance of creative, symbolic language in accessing and articulating the depths of the unconscious mind.

These reflections demonstrate Freud’s appreciation for the deep and often pre-emptive insights that poetry offers into human nature and the unconscious mind.

Poetry and psychoanalysis both delve into the depths of human experience, utilising language to access and articulate the complexities of the unconscious mind. Their shared focus on the nuances of expression highlights the profound connection between articulating the internal world and psychological insight.

In psychoanalysis, language serves as the primary medium through which unconscious thoughts and feelings are brought to awareness. Freud emphasised that dreams, much like poetry, employ mechanisms such as metaphor and symbolism to convey latent content.

Similarly, poets harness the evocative power of words to explore and express inner experiences that often elude direct articulation. This parallel suggests that both disciplines recognise the capacity of language to transcend literal meanings, accessing deeper layers of the psyche.

Both poetry and psychoanalysis are acutely aware of the limitations and possibilities inherent in language. Psychoanalyst Thomas Ogden has noted that the therapeutic process often involves navigating the spaces where language fails, using the rhythm and tone of speech to access unspoken emotions.

Poetry, too, thrives on the unsaid, employing structure, pacing, and imagery to evoke feelings and ideas that resonate beyond the words themselves. This shared focus underscores how both fields utilise the subtleties of language to evoke the sensations of lived experience.

Shared Symbolic Space

In the therapeutic setting, psychoanalysis creates a space where patient and analyst collaboratively explore the symbolic meanings of language, much like the dynamic between poet and reader. This interaction allows for the co-construction of meaning, where both parties engage with the fluidity of language to uncover and interpret unconscious material. The process mirrors the poetic experience, where the reader actively participates in deriving personal significance from the text.

The Poetic Mind Seminar

A series centered on the intersection of poetry and psychoanalysis can explore how both disciplines utilise language to navigate the complexities of human experience.

Future topics

Metaphor and Meaning: Examining how metaphors function in both poetry and therapeutic dialogue to reveal unconscious content.

The Poetics of Therapy: Investigating the role of narrative and in psychoanalytic practice.

Language and Healing: Exploring how the expressive qualities of language in poetry can inform therapeutic techniques aimed at emotional processing and integration.

By delving into these areas, we could illuminate the rich, symbiotic relationship between poetic expression and psychoanalytic exploration, offering deeper insights into the human condition through the lens of language.

Image: The cupola above the stage in the Wigmore Hall, incorporating the painting 'The Soul of Music' by Gerald Moira.  Reproduced thanks to Historic England.
The opinions and views expressed are entirely those of the speaker in a personal capacity and do not necessarily reflect the policies or opinions of the BPA.
Refunds available up to 10 days before the event start date.