Qualitative Inquiry, Ahead of Print.
This article proposes a methodology centered on collective, creative engagement to explore marginalized and silenced perspectives on disability. Focusing on collective poetry writing as a qualitative research tool, the article examines the collaborative poetry writings of 16 disabled people, specifically people living with cerebral palsy (CP). Drawing on Gary Alan Fine’s (2012) “Group Life” theory, the article analyzes the social dynamics involved in establishing a shared history through collective poetry writing. It analyzes the emotional bonding among participants and the collective energy that emerged throughthis engagement. These group dynamics served as a resource for re-evaluating and advancing frameworks for writing about, reflecting on, and understanding disability, and for giving people with disability the opputunity to collectively shape knowledge about their own lives. This article discusses how collective poetry writing can be a tool for amplifying often marginalized voices as well as the emerging challenges and methodological dilemmas inherent in the use of this method.