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Poetry: Personal Mythologies
If you’re like me, you’ve created a personal mythology, starring YOU, the protagonist.
It sounds so boorish, so self-aggrandizing, but some psychologists (and novelists) say we all do it. Carl Jung, who wrote exhaustively about the function of myth in the human psyche, generated a host of followers who expanded this idea.
The arts can be one way to access or untangle our personal mythologies — the tales we tell ourselves, the stories that help us make sense of chaos and survive through difficult times, the ones that also, sadly, encourage us to make the same mistakes over and over again.
Writers including Diane Wakowski have written treatises on using the personal mythology in creative endeavors, and poets including Albert Goldbarth have written poems titled “Personal Mythologies.”
A little introspection can help us see at least an outline of our personal myths. The story patterns will sound familiar: the rags-to-riches waif, the loyal but jilted lover, the abandoned child, the powerful but tender man.
Our lives can resonate with more than one myth. I see myself as the abandoned child, but I also see myself as the survivor.
Some poets use astrology or tarot to locate their personal myths. Others use literature or film, or meditation, or hypnosis.
