Author Identifier (ORCID)
Donna Mazza: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1135-5187
Janine Joyce: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5849-5646
Abstract
A contemporary interdisciplinary reflection on empathy as central to creative writing is presented here, with a focus on emotional contagion and embodied creative process. The centrality of empathic practice to creative writing has urgency as the discipline responds to generative Artificial Intelligence writing, which lacks empathy. The work undertakes a definition of empathy and its deployment, both within and beyond creative writing, and examines intentionality from the perspective of social research and creative writing process. Considering the centrality of empathy to the Romantic poets, the model of Keats’ concept of ‘negative capability’ is reviewed in relation to Maibom’s concept of ‘emotional contagion’. A reading of empathy in the poet’s sonnet ‘When I have fears’ is undertaken in order to test the concept as it applies to creative production of literary works which foreground emotion. The work explores aspects of empathy in relation to research on emotional contagion in social situations and considers the implications for creative practitioners and academics.
Keywords
Creative writing, creativity, embodiment, emotional contagion, empathy
Document Type
Journal Article
Date of Publication
1-1-2026
Publication Title
New Writing
Publisher
Taylor & Francis
School
Centre for People, Place and Planet / School of Arts and Humanities
RAS ID
94339
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Comments
Mazza, D., & Joyce, J. (2026). Empathy as time machine: Some thoughts on heartfelt creativity, Keats, and creative writing. New Writing. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/14790726.2026.2648815