The Traces of Certain Collisions: Contemporary writing and old tropes

This chapter explores both the affordances and the limits of lore and myth for teachers of creative writing. It acknowledges the value of myth and of lore in their role of providing bridges between different paradigms of thinking and doing. Drawing on insights from Donald Schön and from Pierre Bourdieu on the necessary movement between tacit knowledge and reflective/reflexive practice, I argue for a way of teaching, and of writing, that accommodates both the ‘magic’ of story and the rigour of logic: that allows writer-teachers to remain committed not only to the possibilities inherent in myth and in lore, but also to the rigorous and logical thinking that generates high quality curriculum design and pedagogical practice.