Understanding the pandemic: self and other alignment with COVID poetry

This article examines how readers in an empirical study of COVID poetry make sense of the events and experiences depicted in a COVID poem. We draw on data generated through pre-reading questions, reading group discussions and post-reading journals to analyse how readers in our study both align their reading with their own pandemic experiences and demonstrate empathetic alignment with the experiences of others. Our findings demonstrate that reading COVID poetry triggers powerful responses in readers that may help them better understand the impact of the pandemic. These findings have implications for the medical humanities' use of poetry for well-being, in health contexts, with those affected by the pandemic, as well as more broadly for researchers and practitioners interested in the role of literature as a tool for remembering and reflection.