A Seethe of Poets: Creativity and Community

This article explores the social and cultural status of contemporary poetry, with reference to the enduring myth of the lone genius. Drawing on a corpus of research interviews with poets and on creativity literature, we analyse the validity of isolated poetic genius, comparing the narratives of the solitary life with the material evidence of lives spent in connection with others. Indications in previous studies of creativity suggest the importance of community and networks in building creative thought and capacity, and we examine transcripts from our interviews with 76 contemporary poets to compare their experience with that of other communities. Our findings indicate the importance of social and community networks among poets of high repute.