ABSTRACT
Keith Oatley closes our collection with a reflection on the future of cognitive poetics. His discussion considers both those explorations undertaken over the course of the preceding chapters, and those yet to be embarked upon in this new and developing field. The fact that Oatley has written this chapter from within the field of cognitive psychology rather than cognitive poetics, and that he himself is a published author of literary fiction, makes his discussion all the more interesting and provocative. Oatley’s chapter is the only one in this volume not to be followed by a ‘further activities’ section. We hope, instead, that you will use this final discussion as a springboard for your own thoughts on the possible future directions cognitive poetics might now take.
