I'm a blind poet, musician, and English instructor, living in Jacksonville, FL. I enjoy reading, writing, gardening, singing, and cooking. When I'm not involved in academic pursuits, I work with blind and visually-impaired people and their families, teaching self-advocacy and independent living skills. I advocate with humor and compassion.
It is a beautiful day to be outside. With bright sunlight throwing the path before me into high contrast and a cool breeze threatening to yank the cane out of my hand as I walk, it’s the kind of day I revel in, a day where my concentration is wrenched from cautious mobility by a … More Accidental Affability
If you were to ask my mother to name one of the happiest days of her life so far, she might tell you, “The day I got married,” “The day my son got married,” or maybe, “The day my daughter got married.” (In my fantasies, she smiles brightly, dabs at her eyes, and replies, “The … More Clean Up Your Act: Household Chores and Low Vision
Dance lessons always begin the same way. I enter the room, walking confidently with my cane and possibly holding the arm of a girlfriend, and we laughingly find our way to a chair or bench, depending on the room’s amenities. We take off our everyday shoes and strap ourselves into Dancing Shoes – high heels … More On the Floor: Blindness & Ballroom Dancing
Springtime. Adorable baby chicks. Pastel colors everywhere. The punchy smell of vinegar as Mom prepares the colors for dying eggs. A line of little coffee cups hold the little colored tabs fizzing away. I claim the red one. And the purple. A beribboned Easter dress in shades of pastel pink or lavender, maybe even yellow. … More Happy Easter, Boys and Girls!
I stand up, swinging the heavy bag over one shoulder, unfolding the six sections of the cane with their hearty, reassuring clicks. Mobility is a mess of sensations. “Can you make it?” — it’s the question on others’ lips, but they’re whispering compared to the voice in my head. “Can you make it?” Don’t be … More Three Turns
A few years ago, my brother and I were doing a bit of grocery shopping, and, as we wandered through the produce section, he abruptly stopped the cart. Trying to suppress a mischievous laugh, he reached for something on a shelf and said, grinning, “Feel this!” When he put it into my hand, I immediately … More “How does it feel?”: Exploring touch and texture
After I graduate, I want to audition for a group that brings musicians and artists to hospitals, nursing homes, hospices, and similar facilities. The idea of singing as healing has always appealed to me, much more so than the thought of performing. I don’t feel the urge to be the center of attention onstage where … More The curing hymn
Some days I feel like a substandard ecopoet. I have only walked the UNF Nature Trails twice in my six years’ experience on this campus. Yet each time has brought forth the same conclusions, thoughts that have been steeping awhile and now must be given a voice. The first occasion, according to the dark green … More Impossible autonomy
Sitting in the plush theater seats, my friend informs me, “There’s a girl with a cane over there.” And now that I know, I can’t help but hear the determined tapping as she walks down the poorly-planned aisle stair. At first I ignore her, convinced I don’t care, and then I begin to theorize. What … More The Other Blind Girl
I have decided to embark on a series of “visionary recipes” – recipes written for cooks with low or no vision. I can’t take all the credit for this idea. I must give credit to my friend Henry, an up-and-coming cook. He asked me for some simple recipes, and, because he’s a) totally blind and … More Visionary Recipes: A series of kitchen-friendly instructions for aspirational blind cooks!
I am reading an essay for class called “Beholding” that discusses the patterns and ethics of staring. It’s an essay that offers a few different ways to stare at things and people and also proposes a way for the “starees” to look back, to take control of the staring interaction and make something educational, productive, … More Visual curiosity
Dear Commissioner Robinson and the members of the Florida Board of Education, I write to you today, filled with concern for your upcoming decision to assign grades to Jacksonville’s “center schools” – Mt. Herman and Alden Road. I implore you to consider the far-reaching consequences of such a decision, consequences that will not only affect … More a plea for exceptional students and those who believe in them
I wrote this last year when I was TA-ing for an Ecocriticism seminar and thought I would post it here. I want to explore these issues further. September 4, 2011 “Cry of shore-bird and crash of surf were the sounds of the edge of the land—the edge of the sea” (Carson 139). Living in the … More “Still Water”: Thoughts on blindness and nature-writing
I’m standing in the hallway, talking to J and K, two girls from class. J and I stand, enthusiastically discussing the merits of “Downton Abbey” while K, seated against the wall, reviews the 40-page article we had to read. A lull in our conversation gives me the opportunity to notice two guys standing just behind … More “The Blind Leading the Blind”: Watch your language.
There’s a popular theory that when one of your senses is diminished, the other four (let’s call them four for now, but we can debate this later) are heightened, accentuated, incalculably brightened in some way. So I’ll be devoting a series of entries to exploring this phenomenon in completely un-medical terms, as it relates to … More Heightened Senses: Smells (Part 1)
On the Blink 