The Way of Kintsugi Writing®

Abstract

Conceived by Dome Bulfaro in 2017, kintsugi writing is understood by the author not only as a poetry therapy practice but also as healing process. The article explains what kintsugi writing is, how it originated, what literary, artistic and therapeutic forms it was inspired by, how many types exist, how it is composed and with what users it is employed. Two types in particular are explored: the kintsugi short story and the classic kintsugi quatrain.

The entire article, except for the introductory part, is a restitution of what was theoretically expounded by the author in the first part of the kintsugi writing workshop he conducted at the 1st European Biblio/Poetry Therapy Conference held in Budapest (Hungary, 2024) and at the 2nd European Biblio/Poetry Therapy Conference held in Jyväskylä (Finland, 2025).

Kintsugi writing is widely used by Dome Bulfaro and the facilitators in poetry therapy and poet therapists who are trained in his School of Poetry Therapy (PoesiaPresente). The fifteen types devised have enabled this form of therapeutic writing to be very effective with groups of very different ages and characteristics. The author, who has been practicing poetry therapy professionally in Italy and abroad since 2009, after eight years of massive direct experimentation in the field (2017–2025), calls it the most powerful therapeutic writing technique he has used.