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Our presentation aims to discuss the possibilities of poetry work, not only to develop verbal language through the means of aesthetics but also to develop a sense of understanding for what aesthetics could be used for, when responding to poetry (cf. Jusslin et al., 2024). Since data is collected from multilingual classrooms, Cummins' interdependence hypothesis is used as a starting point (Cummins, 1979). However, it is here used alternatively, i. e. not only to draw attention to the importance of exploiting the relationship between students' (verbal) first and second languages, but to investigate the relationship between the students’ first language and other linguistic and aesthetic expressions known to them. In line with this, 'translanguaging' also takes on a new meaning, as the learning process here is not limited only to verbal language (cf. Garcia and Li Wei, 2014).

The presentation is based on four poetry projects. In an ULF project at the University of Gothenburg a Swedish poet, Lina Ekdahl, takes part of the work. This project is based on action research, including teachers from two Elementary schools. The other three projects, at Uppsala University, involve students aged 6-19. In all four projects data is collected by focus group interviews, and in two of the studies research circles. Additionally, classroom observations are used in two of the Uppsala studies. Of special interest here is the result from one of the Uppsala studies, concentrating on the reception of a specific poem by Bruno K. Öijer, “Skymningen” (“The Dusk”). The data from this study consists of 180 responses, and includes drawings, creative writing and analytical reflections inspired by the poem. 

Generally, the findings indicate a connection between teachers’ attitudes to poetry as a genre, and the students’ response (cf. Cremin 2008, 2013, Dahlbäck et al. 2018, Sigvardsson 2020). Regardless of the students’ lexical understanding of “Skymningen”, it inspired them to express themselves by making use of visual and verbal modalities, in combination, to express their poetic understanding of the poem. 

Torsten Petterssons forskning utmärks av en mångfald och ett djup med få motstycken i nutida svenskspråkig litteraturvetenskap. Under de senaste 40 åren har han rört sig obehindrat mellan litteratur på en rad olika språk och från flertalet epoker. Till den vetenskapliga gärningen ska också läggas Torstens skönlitterära författarskap som omfattar dikter, noveller och kriminalromaner.

Med denna festskrift, som utges i samband med att Torsten fyller 60 år, vill vi hylla honom och hans insats inom litteraturvetenskapen. Bidragen tar fasta på Torstens förmåga att överskrida gränser mellan discipliner, teman och metoder, och är skrivna av svenska och internationella forskare från en rad olika forskningsområden. Texterna behandlar ämnen som tolkningsteori och empirisk läsforskning, svensk, finlandssvensk, engelskspråkig och tysk litteratur, teologi och livsåskådning samt Torstens egen insats både som forskare och som skönlitterär författare.