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“The purpose of poetry,” according to poet Paul Muldoon (2002), “is to help us make sense of who we are.” At a time when psychoanalysts are struggling with basic questions about who we are—in relation to each other, to our patients, to nonanalytic colleagues—can poetry help? Diane Ackerman, a widely published poet, essayist, and naturalist, has written a collection of poems about her experience of being in analysis. This was an unconventional analysis by most standards; it was conducted primarily by telephone, and included the use of her poems. Yet it contains within it touchstones that will readily feel familiar to analyst and analysand: intense curiosity about the analyst, grief and longing at the end of sessions, erotic fantasy, profound relief at feeling understood, the extraordinary emotional absorption of the analytic engagement.
At its core, Origami Bridges explores the relationship between poet and analyst. The poet engages the analyst. She shares her feelings, fantasies, worries, and also her poems. The analyst engages the poet. He