Poetry as Data Collection in Evaluation: Deep Dive
Updated: 6 days ago
Haiku, erasure, found, and open-form poetry: when they work, how to debrief them, and the mistakes to avoid.
Last updated: October 2026
“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” Maya Angelou
The intersection of what we say - or don’t say - and how that evokes emotions is powerful. But, in evaluation, we rarely slow down to explore this relationship. Instead, we often adopt empty jargon and placeholders for numbers (I’m looking at you, Likert Scale). We say a lot without really saying much. And, we neglect the vibrant wisdom steeped in our language and silences.
Poetry can feel like the most intimidating arts-based method. But, it can be one of the most approachable, because there are so many variations that mitigate risks of blank page anxiety, the ick factor, or added expense.
This post is a deep dive into poetry as a method in evaluation and how we at AND practice. We'll answer the following questions:
What is poetry and how does it work in evaluation?
Poetry as an evaluation method uses poems, made by participants in response to a prompt, to elicit reflections or data. Think of it as the “every word matters” technique. It's magic or usefulness lies in its ability to tap into multi-sensory knowledge, evoke rich imagry and metaphors, support recall (especially key memories or stories), and achieve specificity in understanding (rather than rely on jargon).
What steps are involved?
Craft evaluation questions and goals that guide the whole process
Facilitate an poetry activity that is appropriate for the context
Debrief the poem with a qualitative interview or focus group
Analyze the data from the qualitative debrief (e.g., notes or transcripts)
Use the data to inform learning, make decisions, take action, and share back
When is poetry helpful in an evaluation?
Poetry works best when the evaluation question concerns emotions, experiences, perceptions, beliefs, hindsight, and/or values. And, we find it is especially useful when a project or team is reliant on jargon or overused words and phrases that get in the way of clarity.
Are there any limitations to using poetry in evaluation?
Definitely. Poetry can be an incredibly meaningful and effective tool, but it isn't always. Here are some drawbacks of poetry:
It can be met with a lot of resistance or skepticism. The ick factor is real. People are afraid to look and sound stupid in front of other people, and participation requires trust and likely a leap of faith.
Because it uses words, poetry can be a challenge for people who struggle with literacy or who are participating across different primary languages. While we always invite people to create their preferred language, this can be a challenge if the activity relies on existing text or similar language structure (like syllables).
Getting the activity right takes work. Too much structure can be just as constraining as a non-creative activity and result in a process that feels more like a shopping list. But, too little structure can be overwhelming or yield irrelevant data.
Sharing poems after the evaluation may not make findings more accessible or meaningful. Poems cold function like an inside joke and mean little to others or further obscure findings because the language, rhythm, or tone just don't resonate.
How do you choose which poetry technique to use in evaluation?
There are many types of poetry that can all be used in evaluation. This is what we use and why (but there are many other techniques that could work well too).
Open-form or free verse poetry
Allows people to invent from a blank page and explore a prompt without the constraints of a rhyme scheme, meter, or stanza structure. People can explore a topic in a rhythm, structure, and flow that is intuitive for them.
Pros: most open-ended and participant-directed, doesn't require strict rules
Cons: blank page anxiety is real, takes more skill to facilitate, can be vulnerable
For example, an open-form or free verse activity can be helpful when exploring a concept or experience in-depth and without limits. This is particularly helpful when tapping into the emotionality, vivid imagery or metaphors, and multi-sensory details connected to a memory, perspective, or hope. And poems don't have to be long to be effective. For instance, in a group setting, each person can write just one line to contribute to a collective poem. Pro tip: The activity may require a few steps in addition to the guiding prompt to help people get their creative juices flowing or stop over-thinking. For example, a free-writing ice-breaker can help get people comfortable marking up the page without editing. A series of prompts that help break-up the activity, time, or concept into bite-sized chunks can also help make the exercise manageable. Or, for people who are really nervous about the blank page, just give them a smaller sheet of paper. You can always set the expectation lower with a smaller ask.
Haiku
Invites people to explore something specific in a structured three-line stanza where the first and third lines have 5 syllables, and the second line has 7. The tight structure makes it easier for people to focus on a specific theme, metaphor, emotion, or concept.
Pros: quick, straight-forward to facilitate, helps overcome the use of jargon
Cons: syllable constraints can be tricky, deceptively simple
For example, we often pull Haiku out in planning meetings when teams are start spinning their wheels, repeating each other without adding anything new, or overusing buzzwords that have lost all meaning (like community or innovation). To cut through the noise, we ask team members to take 5 minutes to make a Haiku poem that represents what X overused buzzword means without using it. Why this is great? It just takes 5 minutes and a notes app or scrap piece of paper. We can more effectively surface where teams are on the same page (or not) without getting stuck in a pedantic conversation about definitions. Plus, the creativity can help reignite a brainstorm or energy for decision-making. Pro tip: We always show a Haiku as an example to help people conceptualize the syllable count and rhythm in a tangible way. But, we use an unrelated example (like the one above) to avoid getting a word or image stuck in people's head that might bias their interpretations of a buzzword.
Erasure or blackout poetry
Invites a new interpretation of existing text by blocking out and selectively revealing specific words and phrases.
Pros: most approachable for skeptics or participants with blank page anxiety
Cons: relies heavily on getting the source text right For example, we often turn to erasure poetry when co-creating recommendations. A one-page summary of findings or shortlist of recommendations as the text and a specific prompt can help us generate poems that illustrate priorities, surface key learning, and articulate values and assumptions. All of these make it easier to co-create recommendations that are meaningful and feasible.
Found poetry
Reimagines the structure, rhythm, and meaning of existing words and phrases by cutting and pasting text onto a new page. Digital variations also invite people to duplicate and distort passages.
Pros: invites the most creative control without starting from a blank page
Cons: relies heavily on getting the source text(s) right and requires more time
For example, found poetry can be helpful to reflect on outcomes relative to expectations. For instance, using program promotional materials with participants to reflect on their experience moving through the program or what has happened since the program can help surface reflections, trigger memories, and draw comparisons. By transforming the promotional materials, we can understand what resonated or realized, what didn't, and unintended outcomes. And, this same concept works well with program teams, not just participants. We've done this with grant or program proposals as the source text.
To choose an appropriate technique, we start with the evaluation goal and context. Then, we work with the client or participating group to understand what would be most meaningful and effective.
Choosing between techniques is requires a deeper understanding and confidence with the method. Want to build that confidence? Evaluators can learn erasure poetry, found poetry, and Haiku in our hands-on Arts-Based Methods for Evaluators course, work with us on a project, or ask sticky design questions in Evaluation/Research Advising hours.
Organizations that want poetic methods in their next evaluation can start with an Evaluation Project, plan a Custom Workshop for their team, or tell us more about what they have in mind.
How do you use poetry to collect and analyze data in evaluation?
The “data” part of the activity comes after the poem is made. A facilitator holds a qualitative activity like an informal chat, interview, or focus group to unpack:
The experience of making the poem (e.g., what came up or was surprising)
What the poem means relative to the original prompt
What is not being said (e.g., what words were left out, blacked out, or out of reach)
If in a group, what the range of poems says about a key topic or experience
So, the data are the qualitative reflections about the process of making a poem and the poem itself. The poem is not the data. Then, an evaluator or team can analyze the transcripts or notes with a suitable technique, like discourse analysis or inductive/deductive thematic analysis.
Can you analyze the poems?
Technically, yes. In research, literary, media, or discourse may be helpful in generating theory. But, in evaluation, this is where a lot of teams make mistakes. Because poems use words, it is easy to make assumptions about what each word or phrase means. But, how can you be sure if words were used because they were available (e.g., in a found or erasure poem), accessible (e.g., in a Haiku), or safe to share (e.g., in an open-form)? Are words used literally, ironically, or subversively? What about the wisdom of what is not said, which words were left out, and the tone or rhythm? Our best advice is to resist the urge to analyze poems because we can never truly know what they mean unless we ask (and even then...).
Can you use poems in reports and presentations?
With consent, absolutely. But, it is important to do so thoughtfully. Here are a few considerations before sharing:
Attach an artist statement or brief caption from the poet's own perspective to help others interpret the poem in-step with the intended meaning
For found or erasure poetry, check the copyright for your sources before sharing to avoid any potential issues
Give the poem some context or put it in conversation with key findings to illustrate the point (like you would with a qualitative quote).
What are ethical questions to answer before using poetry in evaluation?
This is by no means an exhaustive list or a short-cut to an ethics review if your organization or project is mandated to have one. Rather, these are questions that will help you develop an ethical protocol for using poetry in your evaluation.
How will consent work?
How will participants be able to opt-in or opt-out of:
The poetry activity
The qualitative debrief
Sharing their poem with you or in a group (if its a focus group, circle, or informal meeting)
Sharing their poem and reflections beyond the evaluation (e.g., in a final report or any other public materials)
Can people consent to one thing and not something else (e.g., doing an interview, but not writing a poem)?
If you are collecting texts for a found poem exercise by sourcing tangible texts from a space or listening and writing down overheard words and phrases, do you need additional permissions?
How will you mitigate potential risks?
What happens if the process of writing or reflecting on poem evokes uncomfortable feelings, memories of a difficult experience, or past pain?
If you provide materials or require participants to find their own (for a found or erasure poem), how might this impact the participating group?
Any additional risks to be mindful of?
Do you need to check with anyone or get additional permissions to use certain materials (e.g., if you want to use an excerpt from organization's strategic plan, a grant proposal, or cultural materials, who sould be consulted?)
Any potential risks or weird vibes to navigate?
How will you be thoughtful about self-expression and representation?
What happens if someone writes a poem that may be perceived by others as stereotypical or deficit-framing and creates a risk of causing harm to others?
What will you do during the evaluation (e.g., as part of a focus group or team meeting)?
What will you do after the evaluation (e.g., as part of sharing poems and findings out)?
How does ownership and stewardship work (for both the poems and data)?
Who will own the poems and qualitative data?
Who can access, use, or share the poems and data?
Until when, with what caveats or conditions, and with what safeguards?
What privacy and data storage considerations need to be in place?
If you are using existing texts, are there any copyright considerations for you to be mindful of?
What if people change their mind?
You cannot unshare a poem. Once its out there its out there.
Is there a timeline or limit for when people can change their mind about participating or sharing their poem?
Are there any additional safeguards you can offer (e.g., giving people time to edit their poem ahead of sharing)?
What are common mistakes to avoid when using poetry in evaluation?
We actually don't see that many poetry projects in evaluation. Visual techniques, like photography, are far more common. That being said, we want to see more people use poetry (when it is the right tool for the job and done well). And, to do that, we need to ask critical questions and learn from each other to support high-quality practice.
In the spirit of learning (not shaming), here are some poetry mistakes we have observed that others can learn from and avoid.
Claiming that poetry offers participants health benefits or healing
The method itself does not heal. It may be cathartic and a participant may describe the experience as therapeutic, but it is not equivalent to art therapy. Be wary of methodological snake oil. Read more about the difference between arts-based methods and arts therapy in our post Arts-Based Methods 101.
Claiming that poetry is empowering or "gives voice to the voiceless"
There is no such thing as a voiceless person.
When done well, participants may have more agency in the data collection and analysis processes. But, do they have more power, freedoms, opportunities, benefits, and/or control in the evaluation process, in their communities, and in society?
Poetry can be used to uphold structures of oppression just as easily as a survey or interview. The key isn't the art. It's how the evaluator attends to power, decision-making, and benefits at every stage of the process.
Analyzing the poem or skipping the qualitative debrief
It is so tempting to do this. But, the words may not mean what we think. There is a significant risk that when evaluators analyze poems (rather than the transcripts or notes from the debrief) they are just making assumptions, rather than interpreting findings in a methodologically sound way. We have also seen people make poems as a way to analyze qualitative data. This can be a helpful way to get unstuck, approach a topic from a new angle, or do some creative sense-making with a group. But, the analysis still needs to (a) speak to the evaluation questions, (b) surface meaning that stays close to the essence of what was shared by participants, and (c) be respectful of the data. If the poetry as analysis is akin to throwing spaghetti on the wall to see what sticks, it's not a sound approach.
Attempting to quantify the poems
We often see content analysis used in evaluation. This is a technique that involves counting the number of instances something comes up. In poetry, this could be how many times a word, phrase, theme, event, or experience comes up in a poem or group of poems. In our opinion, this is not an effective form of analysis. There is no way to quantify a poem or suggest that the number of times something comes up is tied to its significance. Some of the most powerful poetry exercises we have done limited what words people could use or involved conversations about what was unsaid, implied, or absent. Had we used content analysis to quantify the results, we would have missed the point.
If the goal of an activity is to produce metrics, we recommend skipping arts-based and qualitative methods altogether.
Making poems from data (rather than to elicit data)
In the context of research and poetic inquiry, researchers commonly make poems out of their data. And, it can be powerful when researchers are building theory, drawing connections, or doing their own interpretive work. In evaluation, where the goal is learning and action, this can be a risky or out-of-place move. If participants aren't invited to make poems, the poetry activity becomes disconnected from the mechanism of gathering rich feedback (which is the whole point). Furthermore, the poems then centre the evaluators' perspectives and interpretations, which can obscure the data and make it harder to learn from or act on. Plus, the benefits can be harder to pinpoint. Who benefits from or wants an evaluator to turn their feedback into a poem?
The bottom line
Poetry asks people to slow down and choose their words carefully. Good evaluations do the same. But, with the looming threat of deadlines, over-stretched capacity, and pressure to count things, it can be difficult to make the case for poetry or practice evaluation in this way. That's why more approachable techniques like Haiku, erasure, and found poetry are helpful. The structure helps alleviate blank-page anxiety. The short time commitment and limited resources costs appeal to budget-conscious teams. And, the whimsical invitation to think differently can cut through the noise of project jargon and AI-generated content.
Start small. Try taking 5 minutes to write a Haiku that defines a word you or your team keeps using (without using that word). Grab a scrap of paper, set a timer, and just go for it (without over-editing or policing syllables). Then, spend a few minutes reflecting on what is there, what is not there, and what this tells you about your underlying values or assumptions. You might be surprised at how little it takes to think differently and get unstuck.
Want to go further with poetry?
Learn it yourself: our Arts-Based Methods for Evaluators course covers poetry, drawing, collage, and photo elicitation. No artistic skill required.
Bring it to your team: Custom Training & Workshops, built around your team’s real context.
Team-up: let's work together on a project at whatever level of involvement works for you.
New to arts-based methods? Start with our free blog post Arts-Based Methods in Evaluation 101.
Like what you read? Subscribe for new posts and resources.
Comments