Hot-Spots, Diffractions, and Interstellar Poetry: Self-Directed Violence Research Meets Postqualitative Inquiry

Seldom is self-directed violence, whether suicidal or nonsuicidal, explored in postqualitative and arts-based ways that eschew binary thinking (e.g., safe/unsafe, researcher/researched). This article explores self-directed violence as part of a dynamic assemblage that includes myriad subjectivities, social discourses, materialities, theory, and data from various spaces—including Reddit. Drawing from MacLure’s notion of “hot-spots” and from poetic inquiry, we selected hot-spots from the research process and rendered them into a version of found poetry we call Interstellar Diffraction Poems. These poems invite readers to encounter open-ended themes including (1) unconventional understandings of a “glimmer” for people experiencing self-directed violence, (2) uncertainty about what helps and what harms, (3) navigating personal boundaries while still showing up for difficult conversations, and (4) the power of the word and . We end with a discussion of how this inquiry might decenter dominant realities of self-directed violence and open space for those that have been shrouded.