Wordgathering

A Journal of Disability Poetry and Literature

Volume 9     Issue 4     December 2015

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Welcome

With this issue 36, Wordgathering completes its eighth year as an online journal. Each issue has its own flavor, and our December 2015 is highlighted by the inclusion of work related to autism. These pieces range over several genres including poetry by DJ Savarese and Angeline Schellenberg, an essay from Kathleen Levinstein and an excerpt from Tito Mukopadhyay’s most recent book, Plankton Dreams.

Poetry has a slightly different look as well. In addition to the work Savarese and Schellenberg, are poems by Kathryn Jacobs, Karyn Lie-Nielsen, Emily Michael and Nancy Scott, but what makes this issue a bit unusual is that it also contains a poem each from all of the editors. So there is work from Sheila Black, Linda A. Cronin, Jill Khoury, Sean Mahoney, and Michael Northen.

There is a strong prose presence in this issue as well. In addition to the final installment in Kristen Harmon’s story "What Lay Ahead" is a short fiction piece by Lee Todd Lacks. There are six essays. These include essays that reflect on the nature of disability and disability literature from John Lee Clark and Andrea Nicki, and four personal essays. These come from Timothy Allen, Bill Levine, Peter Pingerelli, Andrea Nicki and, as mentioned above, Kathleen Levinstein.

As always, there is a variety of book reviews. These include books by poets Karyn Lie-Nielsen and Brian Teare, while Raymond Luczak is back with another anthology.he There is a new look at an older novel Joseph Geraci’s The Deaf Mute Boy and Rebecca Chamaa makes her debut with a book of collected writing about life with schizophrenia. The reviews are bolster by several offerings in Excerpts section. In addition to the opening chapter of Mukopadhyay’s latest book, there is a sample essay from Chamaa’s collection and Liv Mammone’s "Advice to the Able-Bodied Poet Entering the Disability Poetics Workshop" from Luczak’s anthology.

Interviews to be found in this issue include conversations with Michael Uniacke about his most recent books on grow up deaf in Australia and a tour with Dawn Waller of Inglis House, discussing the new technologies being used to give wheelchair users and others with disabilities access to the computer. A third interview is really a discussion among four poets: Linda Benninghoff, nancy viva davis halifax, Annalee Johnson-Kwochka and Andrea Nicki about Nicki’s essay on psychological disability poetry.

Finally, Wordgathering is fortunate to have poet and editor Sheila McMullin as the editor for this issue’s Reading Loop. McMullin’s topic is comics and disability; in her essay she explores the graphic work of Georgia Webber, ET Russian and Andrew Godfrey.

Wordgathering can be followed on Facebook and on Twitter at @wordgathering.com. Writers interested in particpating in the DisLit Constortium and having their books representated at the 2016 AWP conference can find out more by clicking here.

Wordgathering continues to seek work that develops the field of disability literature. We invite the submission of poetry, short fiction, drama, art and essays that discuss poetry from a disability perspective or that contribute to the theoretical development of the field of disability literature. The journal appreciates hearing from authors whose books are consistant with the mission of Wordgathering and would like them reviewed. We value our readers' opinions and hope you will send your comments, concerns or ideas to us at comments@wordgathering.com.

The Editors

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