WordgatheringA Journal of Disability Poetry |
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Book Reviews in this IssueOne of the themes that emerge in disability literature is that of form, especially when it comes to de-centering traditional concepts of normal. The books reviewed in this issue are all in some way about form or about transformation in its most literal sense. In most cases, the very forms chosen by the writer illustrates this. Jillian Weise's satiric novel The Colony deals with science's attempt to eliminate statistically non-normal forms of human life through gene therapy. Elective Affinities by poet Kara Dorris uses the form and symbols of fairy tales to explore women's fears of transmogrification. As the title suggests, Denise Leto and Amber DiPietra's Waveform plays with the concept of the impossibility of stable form, both as somatic reality and as en ego-centered identity. Neil Marcus presents the alternative forms that he used to communicate in his 1981 newsletter Special Effects , while Gretchen Henderson's Galerie De Difformité sets up a situation in which the reader at once deforms and creates the work that she is reading herself. Though Wordgathering has reviewed close to fifty books in its five years of publication, the works listed below may be the most challenging and innovative group yet.
If some of these works excite you, as the editors think they will, ask your local bookstore to order them or request them on your Kindle. Wordgathering does use book reviews from guest reviewers. In the past it has published reviews from writers like Marie kane, Tracey Koretsky, and Barbara Crooker. If you are a poet with a book (other than your own) that you are interested in reviewing, please contact us. |
This site is maintained by Michael Northen. |
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