The Alchemical Nature of Poetry with literary professor Laura Hope Gill

What if creativity isn’t something you learn—but something you remember? Welcome to Provocative Conversations from Twice 5 Miles Radio. I’m your host, James Navé, and today poet and educator Laura Hope Gill joins us for a far-reaching exploration of creativity as a vital human intelligence—one that is biological, emotional, and deeply spiritual. Laura challenges the idea that poetry is ornamental or academic. Instead, she speaks of it as a form of natural intelligence that helps us metabolize grief, restore connection, and re-enter community in a fractured world. Drawing from her work with doctors, surgeons, counselors, and lifelong learners, she shares stories of people who turned to writing not to become poets, but to survive, heal, and feel again. We explore why metaphor matters, how creative reasoning differs from analytical thinking, and what happens when a culture loses its relationship to imagination. Along the way, Laura weaves together quantum physics, Romantic poetry, neuroscience, and lived experience to show how writing can guide us through disruption and back to ourselves. This episode is for anyone who feels the pull to write, create, or make sense of their inner life—and wonders why it feels so urgent now.