The poet Shuki Gutman is the first to define the concept of “poetic intelligence” as a world-view that is essential in the contemplation of a person's inner and outer world using combinations of words which have meaning beyond the words themselves.

What is Poetic Intelligence?

Poetic intelligence is an approach whereby every person's intelligence is also derived from his poetic ability. People with well-developed poetic intelligence can easily focus their emotions, thoughts and desires. It helps them dive into the subconscious and articulate mental images accurately and meticulously, using knowledge, language, symbols and words.

How is poetic intelligence different from other types of intelligence?

In the world where we live and function, we are exposed to more than three thousand messages a day. This impairs our ability to refine our thinking and enhance our mental abilities. The best way to counter this is to write poetry. While other types of intelligence such as emotional intelligence, which emphasize being in the present, poetic intelligence preserves and develops future thinking skills which encourage creativity in multidimensional space.

Advantages in developing poetic intelligence:

1. Effective decision making in uncertain situations both in the short term and long term
2. More advanced conceptions of creativity and innovation
3. In-depth self-exploration of existing capabilities and latencies we have acquired
4. Sharpening and shaping a clear and sharp vision of reality
5. Increased empathy
6. Refinement of intuition
7. Emotional focus and expression of inner feelings
8. A deeper connection to human environments: internal, business and social
9. Enhanced resilience and sense of self

Who is it for?

Improving, strengthening and maintaining poetic intelligence is necessary from an early age when young people build and shape their personality. It is also vital to anyone seeking to make a mark in the workplace, in their personal and future career development, entrepreneurs and businesspeople seeking to sharpen their decision making, creativity and innovation.

The foundation stones of poetic intelligence

Poetic intelligence is based on five foundations:

1. Meaning – wondering about the cause and purpose of existence in general, and human existence in particular. Meaning is what drives a person to choose a purpose and goals for a full life. Searching for the meaning of life is the focus of many works, including “Man's search for Meaning,” by neurologist and psychiatrist Victor Frankel. Poetry allows for authentic self-discovery and to find out who the person is within the poem. There is a reference to a poem in its entirety which is more than just words.

2. Self-awareness – Man's attention to his feelings, thoughts, and desires. In theprocess of writing poetry, conscious and unconscious aspects are expressed that allow self-awareness to deepen. As a result, self-portraiture in poetry enables connection to strengths and weaknesses and accurate recognition of self-worth.

3. Empathy – the ability to perceive and understand other people's mental states while developing sensitivity and closeness to others. There is a possibility to “be” with the other, to understand the situation but not to identify with it. In poetics, this ability is expressed in word combinations, using analogies, personification, images and metaphors of transference, between two worlds that allow emotional processing. Empathic ability has a tremendous impact on developing interpersonal communication and understanding relationships.

4. Creativity – the process of producing a new, original and breakthrough idea, which rests on imagination, improvisation and flexibility. This has neurological, philosophical and psychological aspects. Creativity develops in the right part of the brain and to release it, it must be practised. Poetics allows for a rich and multidimensional world and makes extensive use of imagination, word combinations and language, thus developing hidden creativity.

5. Intuition – the ability to receive and interpret interpersonal messages without involuntary thinking and sudden enlightenment. It is very significant in the decision making process in our modern age of uncertainty, change and challenges. Poetry enables the intuitive knowledge and the inner voice to be developed by associations that form the basis of dreams and enable new ideas to be brought up.