On Creative Writing and Disability

A founding editor of The Deaf Poets Society, I’ve presented nationally on writing and disability several times, most recently as part of a featured panel at last year’s AWP conference. I worked as an American Sign Language (ASL)-English interpreter for seven years. Access is part of what I need to work, but also part of how I do my work. This commitment emerges from my work interpreting, most of which was in the public schools and colleges, and all of which shapes my praxis in the college writing classroom.

Previous national presentations on creative writing and disability have included:

“Body of Work: Disability, Creativity, and Inclusivity” (AWP 2017)

A panel discussing the ways that disability shapes creative writing, the place of disabled writers in the literary community, and the disability canon. | Link to Prepared Notes

“Hands Dipped in Ink: On ASL, Writing, and Identities” (AWP 2015)

A panel discussing approaches to representing American Sign Language and the characters who use it in written English prose and poetry. | Link to Prepared Notes

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On Ethics of Care and Children’s Literature

Never an area I necessarily expected to have expertise in, the rich world of contemporary middle-grade/YA fiction offers nearly countless opportunities to discuss ideas I find fascinating, vital, and urgent: ethics of care, collective access, research on themes of cultural traditions, and theories from social science of general interest to first-year students. Below are links to presentations engaging:

• the early reader series Dory Fantasmagory;
• the middle-grade, autobiographical graphic novel El Deafo
• the anthology A Thousand Beginnings and Endings, which includes many YA and middle grade stars

These presentations range from criticism to praxis. In-progress work in this rich area engages the Australian cartoon Bluey, Roshani Chokshi’s Aru Shah series, and Mo Willems’ Elephant and Piggie books