The Poetry in Portraiture: Seeing Subjects,Hearing Voices,and Feeling Contexts

Abstract

Creating poetic portraits allows scholars to communicate research findings in multidimensional and more accessible ways. The author explores womanist theory and two dimensions of portraiture research—context and voice—used to create poetic portraits about the experiences and practices of three Black women teacher educators. Research participants included Olivia, an assistant professor at a predominately White, comprehensive higher education institution; Tulip, an associate professor at a liberal arts and predominately Black higher education institution; and Tulani, an associate professor at a predominately Black research institution. Data were collected through interview, observation and shadowing, and document review to answer two research questions: In what ways do the participants’ experiences as outsiders-within inform their practices? and How does the theme of race uplift inform the participants’ pedagogy? Examples are presented of poetic techniques from research. The author discusses the use of poetry as a means for educational scholarship to influence wider audiences.