Wordgathering

A Journal of Disability Poetry and Literature

Volume 10     Issue 1     March 2016

• Home
• About Us
• In This Issue
  • Poetry
  • Essays
  • Book Reviews
  • Fiction
  • Interviews
  • Excerpts
  • Reading Loop
  • The Arts
  • Author Index
• Contact Us
• Submission Guidelines
• Past Issues
  • Past Issues

Book Reviews and Excerpts in this Issue

The book review section in this issue of Wordgathering takes on particular important because it signals the wonderful variety of work by writers with disabilities that is now available and will be represented at this years AWP conference in the form of the Dis Lit Consortium booth that will be offering the books of dozens of writers. While not all of the books reviewed below will be available at the booth, a complete list of all of the books is available in this journal’s essay section.

One of the books that will be available is Eileen Cronin’s Mermaid, a memoir of growing up without legs as a result of the effects of thalidomide. Two other single author books reviewed in this issue are poet Ellen McGrath Smith’s latest book, Nobody’s Jackknife and Gretchen E. Henderson’s Ugliness, a detailed sampling of the way that the concept of ugliness has developed and transformed throughout history and its relationship to disability. Unusual for book review sections, the March issue takes a look at three new and very diverse anthologies. The first is Susan Antebi and Beth E. Jörgensen’s Libre Accesso, a much needed look at disability literature and the work of writers with disabilities in Latin America. A seconded, viewpoint is provided by Tendai Mwanaka and Daniel da Purifacação’sBest "New" African Poetry 2015. Finally, Tracy Todd and Sean Mahoney are joined by Laura Kolaczkowski and Caroline Kyriakou in putting out volume 3 of Something on Our Minds, a collection of work from writers with multiple sclerosis.

• Antebi and Beth E. Jörgensen, Libre Acesso
• Eileen Cronin, Mermaid
• Gretchen Henderson, Ugliness: A Cultural History
• Tendai Mwanaka and Daniel da Purifacação (ed.), Best "New" African Poetry 2015
• Ellen McGrath Smith, Nobody's Jackknife
• Laura Kolczkowski, et al. (ed.), QDA: Something on Our Minds (Vol. 3)

Two of the books above can be explored in more depth in the journal’s Excerpts section. From Something on Our Minds, comes Tara Sellman’s "Ouroboros. " Mwanaka and da Purifacação’s anthology is represented by sample poems of four of the writers whose work it contains: Christina Coates, Christopher Kudyahakudadirwe, Hailey Gaunt and deziree a. brown. In addition to these excerpts, are two poems from Brian Teare’s The Empty Form Goes all the Way to Heaven, reviewed in the previous issue. Combining the written and audio versions of Teare’s work allows readers to experience the creativity of the medium in which Teare works.

• African Poets , Selected Poems
• Tara Sellman, "Ouroboros"
• Brian Teare, The Empty Form Goes All the Way to Heaven

Reviewers for this issue are Sheila Black, Erin Kelly and Kobus Moolman. Wordgathering welcomes hearing from other writers who are interested in writing book reviews and writers or publishers interested in having a disability-related book reviewed. For the latter, please send a query, briefly describing the book.

This site is maintained by Michael Northen and Eliot Spindel.