Rachael A. Zubal-Ruggieri

Micro Mutant Postcard #20  (listen to the poem, read by the author) Speak to me, Billie, and to hell with any generation gaps. We unconventional types must stick together. Lyrics about our Mad Mutant grief reveal that you’re the teacher now. I am so in love with the Mad Crip time coming for me, unlocked… Continue Reading Rachael A. Zubal-Ruggieri

Rachael A. Zubal-Ruggieri

Micro Mutant Postcard #129 (listen to the poem, read by the author) Hades, can’t you spare me a canine? I want my own three-headed dog. Cerberus, come. Vixen can’t share her beastly powers in ways that parables might, forcing me to dream of apocryphal animalistic spirits and Mythic Mutant Multiverses instead, that way I sleep… Continue Reading Rachael A. Zubal-Ruggieri

Rachael A. Zubal-Ruggieri

Micro Mutant Postcard #173 (listen to the poem, read by the author) Peaceful Crip coexistence might still be a possibility, even if it’s a bit of a stretch. Mr. Sinister has never been the best to debunk those Mad scientist tropes. Aren’t his CRISPR chips just the worst? Even the ableist avocados need to be… Continue Reading Rachael A. Zubal-Ruggieri

Rachael A. Zubal-Ruggieri

Micro Mutant Postcard #183 (listen to the poem, read by the author) My Mutant lineage has always been cosmically tainted, Reed. I can’t refute my Mad blood–it proves there is evidence of me. Such Fantastic Foibles never really make any sense. Besides, no matter how rational your argument may seem, the Crip stays in the… Continue Reading Rachael A. Zubal-Ruggieri

Rachael A. Zubal-Ruggieri

Micro Mutant Postcard #41 (listen to the poem, read by the author) Expertise is a tasty craving, but I worry I’ve paid the price. I seek the Cyborg, but I’m the ass in the chair, the voice in your brain, the Crip solution, cracking the code. Knowledge isn’t a crown, it’s the fist that smacks… Continue Reading Rachael A. Zubal-Ruggieri

Rachael A. Zubal-Ruggieri

Micro Mutant Postcard #130 (listen to the poem, read by the author) There are just too many binary stars in the Universe. Light, dark. Red, blue. Hot, cold. Magneto, Xavier. Gravity and mass allow us ways to peacefully coexist. Gaseous nebulae make my Mad brain whistle weird. I can wish on more than one star,… Continue Reading Rachael A. Zubal-Ruggieri

Interview with Rachael Zubal-Ruggieri

Disability Arts, Crip Culture, and Comics  Editor’s Note: This two-part interview was conducted and revised during several collaborative phases, beginning with our using the Zoom platform. (As she notes, Rachael Zubal-Ruggieri’s reference to her “background” was made in the context of our communicating via Zoom.) Ms. Zubal-Ruggieri (aka RZR) and I (the interviewer) utilized a… Continue Reading Interview with Rachael Zubal-Ruggieri

Rachael A. Zubal-Ruggieri

Selections from the Micro Mutant Memoir Postcard Project Micro Mutant Memoir Postcard #9 Before streaming, smart phones, and gaming consoles, Columbia House was my frequent sidekick, and drowned in music, my mind could never stay quiet. The bones of birds gave me proof of life, but was I the living dead or the power girl… Continue Reading Rachael A. Zubal-Ruggieri

Mighty: An Anthology of Disabled Superheroes (eds. Emily Gillespie and Jennifer Lee Rossman)

Reviewed by Rachael A. Zubal-Ruggieri When I learned a new anthology containing Disabled superheroes had been published, I knew I had to review the volume. I’ll admit that my eagerness was…mighty (pun intended). The description for Mighty: An Anthology of Disabled Superheroes tells the reader all they need to know, right? The description reads: “All… Continue Reading Mighty: An Anthology of Disabled Superheroes (eds. Emily Gillespie and Jennifer Lee Rossman)

Volume 17, Issue 2s – Book Reviews and Review Essays Special Supplement – Spring 2024

Esteemed Readers: The Wordgathering team has had so many requests for book reviews, we decided earlier this year to create a “book reviews supplement.” Designated as Volume 17, Issue 2s (“s” for “supplement”), this late Spring 2024 collection of eight book reviews and review essays is otherwise known as “Issue 66b.” The supplement’s reviews were… Continue Reading Volume 17, Issue 2s – Book Reviews and Review Essays Special Supplement – Spring 2024