Chapter 11: Space in the Margin

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Abbi Flint

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On opening the book
I find the pages are filled
with paragraph after paragraph
of dense text, passive voice.
A reference list that spills
from covers to devour days.
Look here, you say, under hegemony
a spidery line tracks left
to penciled notes, aslant.
There is space in the margin.

This hanging indent an invitation
to prise the words apart
shake loose the strokes of letters
remake the text. All we must do
is smooth down the paper and begin.

Reflection Questions for Readers

  • When reading these poems, was it a staff or student voice you imagined speaking? Does your reading of the poem change if you imagine the other voice as the “I”? What assumptions or ideas might this surface?
  • How do the poems relate to your own understandings and experiences of partnership?
  • How could you use poetry or other arts-based approaches in your partnership practice? For example: as a means of exploring the nature of partnership; as a way of sharing learning from partnership; as a research or evaluation method?