This fascinating book comprises a poetic ethnography, featuring poems that capture the experiences of students, professors, administrators, custodians, a chancellor, and other people who work in institutions of US higher education.

Using established poetic research methods, it invites readers to consider various points of view, while providing granular, concrete insight into working life at a US university. Across the volume, participants’ interviews are analyzed through a lens of embodied cognition to explore the physical experiences and metaphors that university workers use when discussing their roles and lives. The result is a truly innovative and multi-layered look at the lived experiences and emotions of individuals within the university setting, as well as the sense of community that comes from inhabiting the same social and physical spaces.

A vivid ethnographic picture of academic culture, this volume will appeal to qualitative and arts-based researchers, students, academic staff as well as anyone interested in understanding more about the university experience through poetic ethnography.