Conceptualise Things Anew

The arts-based researcher
sets out on a journey of discovery;
and must surrender in the process.

Surrender to encounter the data
with total involvement
to let it wash over you.

Skilled and knowledgeable,
immerse yourself playfully
and passionately;
and have the skills
to notice,
to catch,
to make meaning.

To awaken the heart beat
and create a warmth against the chill—
a provocation
for further talk.

As the research process unfolds,
you comprehend, conceive,
and conceptualise things anew.

Found poem drawn from Esther Fitzpatrick and Mohamed Alansari’s “Creating a Warmth Against the Chill: Poetry for the Doctoral Body” (2018).