Positive emotion, participation, relationships, a meaning, and achievement (PERMA) are what psychologist Martin Seligman says make up a happy life in his book "Flourish." Recent research has shown that a paradigmatic or archetypal example of mental health would display most or all of the above PERMA elements, however the subject of what defines flourishing and psychological well-being has been discussed for a long time among academics. Recent poetry therapy research has revealed that poetry practise may be utilised as "an efficient therapeutic tool" for patients with a range of diseases, lending credence to the idea that poetry practise could be beneficial to one's flourishing and improved mental health. However, the most recent study on poetry therapy has not been analysed and integrated into the positive psychology PERMA paradigm. This article contributes to the current body of literature by reviewing recent studies on the link between poetry and mental health, offering evidence that poetry practise can increase mental health by boosting feelings of happiness, participation or "flow" experiences, connections to others, a feeling of purpose or meaning in life, as well as individual achievements. Recent studies on poetry therapy suggest that poetry activity can be utilised as "an effective helpful tool" for patients who have a variety of conditions (cf. Kempler, 2003), lending credence to the idea that poetry activity may contribute to one's thriving and enhanced mental health. However, the most recent study on the use of poetry has not been integrated with the PERMA paradigm from the field of positive psychological literature.

relationship, PERMA, paradigm, psychological literature, poetry, mental health