Wordgathering

A Journal of Disability Poetry and Literature

Volume 7     Issue 2     June 2013

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Essays in This Issue

The issue of Wordgathering continues to offer a variety of disability-related essays. The second part of André Le Mont Wilson's essay continues his discussion of working with the poetry of writers with cerebal palsy. This half focuses on the poetry of Monique Harris. A very different kind of essay comes from satirist Mike Ervin, drawn from his blog Smart Ass Cripple. Ervin discusses the natural ability of people with disabilities to loiter. Two very different personal essays are also included in this issue. Louis Bourgeois recounts his experience as a young man with a disability in a Louisiana whorehouse prior to his career as a writer. Diane Hoover Bechtler's veiw comes from the other end of experience, as a successful writer who now has to see her life through the eyes of a person with a disability.

• Diane Hoover Bechtler, "Broken People (Part 1) "
• Louis Bourgeois, "Port Allen"
• Mike Ervin, "I Am, Therefore I Loiter"
• André Le Mont Wilson , "Ghosts and Poets: Poets"

The Reading Loop section of Wordgathering also provides space for a somewhat lengthier essay that examines the poetry of a group of writers. In this issue, the reading loop is "Ten Poems to Kickstart Your Disability Lit Class" by Michael Northen. Writers wishing to submit essays should consult the submission guidelines.

This site is maintained by Michael Northen and Eliot Spindel.