The Intersection of Poetry and Jungian Analysis Through Metaphor: In Creation You Are Created explores the relationship between Jungian psychoanalytical intervention and poetry, focusing on the emergence of metaphor, which occurs in both processes, as it happens in neuroscience and fairy tales.Metaphor is a mode of communication that forms a bridge between different experience domains through associative linkages: it refers to a subject by mentioning another for rhetorical effect. Indeed, the prominence of metaphor in Jungian therapy is a characteristic that differentiates it from other forms of treatment. That's because metaphor-as we will see in this book-is deeply rooted in the body in two ways: It is used to organize bodily sensations cognitively and is located on the border between mind and brain. C. G. Jung uses a metaphor when he observes, in Memories, Dreams, Reflections: "As far as we can discern, the sole purpose of existence is to kindle a light in the darkness of mere being."
Regina Colonia-Willner is a licensed clinical psychologist.
Preface Metaphor and the Threshold of Consciousness In Creation, You Are Created The Incas: Masters of Stars and Metaphors The Powerful Image: Metaphorical Mind Poetry as a Healing Resource Metaphor and Individuation in Fairy Tales: The Green Sandal of Cinderella Groundbreaking Neuroscience: Contemporary Contributions to the Process of Analysis Breaking the Silence: Metaphor in My Practice Concluding Comments Bibliography Index About the Author
In this fascinating book, The Intersection of Poetry and Jungian Analysis through Metaphor: In Creation, You Are Created, Regina Colonia-Willner deftly explores metaphor as a fundamental human impulse while illuminating its relationship to archetype, psychoanalysis, and poetry. Through personal anecdotes, professional insights, relevant history, and thoughtfully chosen poems, Colonia-Willner contributes an important examination of the mind's inherent creativity and the human impulse behind creation. This is a work for seekers from all walks of life-poets and analysts alike-who wish to foster collective understanding and humanity. -- Tina Cane, author of Body of Work and Year of the Murder Hornet Regina Colonia-Willner has succeeded in weaving a probing tapestry out of the warp of psychoanalysis and woof poetry. When she remarks that 'as therapists, we must be alert in our symbolic capacity to allow the client's symbolization to be alive in the room,' we also hear, through close readings (an equivalent kind of analysis) that, as poets, we must be alert to the liminal, dream-like ways in which images seek to surface on the page as sentient organisms. This is a meticulous, critical examination of the intersection of hidden structures. Dr. Colonia-Willner's breadth of scholarship, combined with her autonomy in theorizing and mindful prying apart of many concrete examples of coherence between poetry and psychoanalysis, is audacious, remarkable, fascinating, and provocative. -- Jeffrey Levine, publisher and artistic director, Tupelo Press This rich psychoanalytic exploration of figurative language achieves what few theoretical books achieve: it fully engages me both intellectually and poetically. At once generous and deep, Colonia-Willner's book closely reads narratives and poems in ways that are both novel and natural. An impressive read! -- Kyle McCord, author of Reunion of the Good Weather Suicide Cult Regina Colonia-Willner's work on C.G. Jung, poetry, and the power of metaphor proves utterly original, thrilling, and invaluable. Her exploration of symbols, archetypes, and images offers both intellectual savvy and narrative excitement. The depth of insight is here matched by a clear and companionable prose style. Serious readers, writers, and artists, as well as everyone dedicated to cultivating their own creativity, owe it to themselves to read this book. -- Peter Campion, author of Radical as Reality: Form and Freedom in American Poetry Colonia-Willner certainly has a unique and impressive gift for literary analysis. But to say that Willner merely has a brilliant critical mind would be to underestimate her powers as a writer. Throughout The Intersection of Poetry and Jungian Analysis through the Metaphor, Willner cultivates an innovative, interdisciplinary space where poetry and Jungian theory illuminate one another, presented in prose as erudite as it is gorgeously crafted. This book is a singular achievement and an important addition to Willner's already accomplished body of work. -- Kristina Marie Darling, author of Daylight Has Already Come: Selected Poems
