Poem of the Week | August 28, 2017

Christine Gosnay: “Compassionate Theory of Mind”
This week, we are excited to present a new poem by Christine Gosnay. Gosnay’s first book of poetry, Even Years, was selected as the winner of the 2016 Stan & Tom Wick Poetry Prize and was published by Kent State University Press in August 2017. Her poetry has appeared most recently in POETRY, Redivider, Third Coast, The Collagist, Sugar House Review, and TYPO Magazine. She is the founding editor of The Cossack Review and lives, this year, in Israel.
Compassionate Theory of Mind
Author’s Note:
I’ve always been fascinated by the implications of self-awareness and theory of mind, and curious about what it would be like if I didn’t have it, if I stopped introspecting and projecting: Would it be like anything at all? Would it be peaceful, terrifying? The question of whether non-humans possess “theory of mind” (the ability to understand that other beings have desires, feelings, and motives—minds—of their own) is open, and the experiments having to do with self-awareness and theory of mind in animals are captivating and often moving to watch.
I began to wonder about how theory of mind might apply to my “sense of self,” the actual idea I have of my own consciousness, which accompanies everything I do when I’m thinking. Does my sense of self have theory of mind, self-awareness? Subjected to psychological scrutiny, could she pass the mirror self-recognition test? Would she cooperate or refuse the experiment?
SEE THE ISSUE
SUGGESTED CONTENT

Poem of the Week
Feb 18 2019
Clemonce Heard “G.A.P: You Dropped a Bomb on Me”
This week’s Poem of the Week is “G.A.P: You Dropped a Bomb on Me” by Clemonce Heard. Heard was a finalist for Missouri Review’s 2019 Jeffrey E. Smith Editors’ Prize.… read more

Poem of the Week
Feb 11 2019
Heidi Seaborn “What It’s Like to Fall in Love”
This week we present “What It’s Like to Fall In Love” a new poem by Heidi Seaborn. Heidi Seaborn is Poetry Editor for The Adroit Journal, a New York University… read more

Poem of the Week
Feb 04 2019
“Swarm Migration” Luisa A. Igloria
This week we present “Swarm Migration” a new poem by Luisa A. Igloria. Luisa A. Igloria is the winner of the 2015 Resurgence Prize (UK), the world’s first major award… read more