Wordgathering

A Journal of Disability Poetry

Volume 2 Issue 3 September 2008

Welcome

In Philadelphia, fall has come somewhat late this year and so, unfortunately, has the Fall Issue of Wordgathering. We hope the increased number of poets and books reviewed will help to make amends. This issue has a slightly international flavor. We present a short interview with Basanta Kar the Delhi director of Care India and offer a review of his book of poetry, The Unfold Pinnacle, based upon his experiences working with women in rural India. We also have both poetry and prose writing from Tendai Mwanaka, a native of Zimbabwe who draws the material for this work from the recent elections in his country. These are rounded out by "Feel Marcello," a poem from Philipine poet Kareen Dietz E. Datoy.

The poetry in this issue comes from a mixture of new and established writers, but most are new to readers of Wordgathering. Poets included in this issue are Cathy Best, Suzanne Bratcher, C. E. Chaffin, Lisa J. Cihlar, Bob Coley Jr., Trace Estes, Arden Eli Hill, Todd Austin Hunt, Karla Huston, Marie Kane, Lisa M. Maloney, Marianne Meese, Michael Meyerhofer, Kathy Pierce, Alma Singleton, Marilyn Brandt Smith, and Martin Willits Jr.

Prose selections include not only Mwanaka's work, but short stories from Abbie Johnson Taylor and Ellen Williams. Poet Joyce Campbell relates her experiences as a writer with a disability in "The Poetic Path," and Stuart Sanderson, one of Wordgathering's editors, gives a short reflection on the computer and communication.

Our interview for this issue is with Nancy Scott, one of the contributors to Kenny Fries now classic anthology of disability literature, Staring Back, and a featured writer of the recently release Behind Our Eyes anthology. We are also especially fortunate in this issue to have been able to review five diverse books of disability poetry. In addition to Basanata Kar's work, we take a look at Ellen LaFleche's Estella, With One Lung, Rebecca Foust's Dark Card, Laurie Clement Lambeth's Veil and Burn, and Petra Kuppers and Neil Marcus' Cripple Poetics: A Love Story.

At the current time Wordgathering is accepting poetry for future issues. We are also accepting a limited number of literary essays and poetry books for review. Writers interesting in submitting work to Wordgathering should look at our submissions guidelines.

As always, we welcome your comments about Wordgathering and the work that you see here. Your input helps us to know how effective we have been and which writers you would like to hear from again. Wordgathering is a quarterly publication. If you are interested in being notified when the next issue comes out or would like to send us your comments, please write to us at comments@wordgathering.com.

The Editors

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