WordgatheringA Journal of Disability Poetry and Literature |
|
|
Essays and Interviews in this IssueEssays and interviews are arguably the two features of Wordgathering that give readers the best chance to know writers most directly. As in previous issues, there is a wide range in the essays offered. Ona Gritz's very personal essay describes recent time spent with poet David Simpson, who was diagnosed with ALS a year and a half ago. Two short, somewhat lighter, essays come from Minter Krotzer and Paul Hostovsky. Krotzer recalls an encounter after her husband, the poet Hal Sirowitz was diagnosed with Parkinson's. Hostovsky's poetic prose meditates on the meaning of a sunset for one who is blind. Roy White adds to the growing field of disability poetics by looking at the role rhythm plays for him as a blind man. Kerry Neville's powerful narrative captures the difficulty in balancing between raising children and coping with bipolar disorder. Finally, Saloua Ali Ben Zahra provides readers with the chance to view the plight of women with disabilities in Islamic culture through the exploration of Moroccan novelist Tahar Ben Jelloun's The Sand Child.
Complementing Ben Zahra's essay on disabity in Islamic culture is a short story about disability by Faleeha Hassan, originally written in Arabic availble in the fiction section. Victoria Lewis' estensive essay on disability women's theater is featured in this issue's Reading Loop. Two interviews in this issue provide readers with a chance to discover the work being done by others in disability studies and literature. British poet Daniel Sluman, whose poetry has appeared in Wordgathering in the past, discusses his upcoming book of poetry and his work on what is projected to be Britain's first anthology of disability poetry. Beth Haller, a scholar at Towson University discusses her role as a watchdog for portrayals of disability in the media. Wordgathering is always interested in receiving fresh work from writers exploring ideas in disability literature. Anyone interested in submitting an essay or who has a candidate that they would like to interview for the journal should check the guidelines. Return to Top |
This site is maintained by Michael Northen and Eliot Spindel. |
|