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’s here, it’s here, the release of Mosaics 2: A Collection of Independent Women!!! You can enjoy the book in print or Kindle, and the Kindle price for today is $0.99. All our proceeds go to The Pixel Project, so please consider supporting this anthology – the second installment in the Mosaics series. (Did you … More Launch Day is here!
Rhoda Monihan is an atheist poet and writer and has most of her poems on the PoetrySoup website. They span from being about religion, politics, and technology to being about science, evolution, and WW II. She believes that all people are of equal inherent worth and understands humanism to give the best view of life … More April Poet Profiles: Rhoda Monihan
Travis Lau is a Franklin/Fontaine doctoral candidate at the University of Pennsylvania Department of English. His research interests include eighteenth- and nineteenth-century British literature, the history and theory of the novel, the history of medicine, disability studies, body studies, and gender and sexuality studies. His dissertation, tentatively titled “Prophylactic Fictions: Immunity and Biosecurity,” explores the … More April Poet Profiles: Travis Lau
I am honored to present the work of my friend Andres Rojas. Andres was born in Cuba and came to the U.S. at age 13. He holds an M.F.A. and a J.D. from the University of Florida, and his poems have most recently appeared or are forthcoming in Barrow Street, Colorado Review, Massachusetts Review, New … More April Poet Profiles: Andres Rojas
Today my piece “Blackbird Habits: A Letter to Virginia Woolf” went up on BREVITY‘s Nonfiction Blog! Check it out! The piece is beautifully laid out with pictures of Mrs. Woolf and yours truly. I get a thrill from seeing my picture on the same page as hers! BREVITY‘s blog is connected with BREVITY, a literary … More My first guest post for the BREVITY Blog!
Trish Hopkinson has always loved words—in fact, her mother tells everyone she was born with a pen in her hand. She has two chapbooks Emissions and Pieced Into Treetops and has been published in several anthologies and journals, including Stirring, Chagrin River Review, and The Found Poetry Review. Trish is co-founder of a local poetry … More April Poet Profiles: Trish Hopkinson
I’m excited to offer you the work of my friend and colleague Kelsi Hasden. Kelsi writes poetry on life. Love life, rage life, race life, gender life, and experiencing life. She is an adjunct instructor in Rhetoric and Composition in Jacksonville, Fl, and she adopts stray cats in her neighborhood. She has published in Bridge … More April Poet Profiles: Kelsi Hasden
The next poet in our series is Jillian Weise. Jillian Weise’s most recent work is the satirical series “AWP Tips for Writers” on YouTube. Her books include The Amputee’s Guide to Sex (2007), The Colony (2010) and The Book of Goodbyes, which won the 2013 James Laughlin Award from the Academy of American Poets. She … More April Poet Profiles: Jillian Weise
The next poet in my April Profiles series is G.M. Palmer, a Jacksonville high school teacher and adjunct instructor. I first heard him read his work at the FSCJ Annual Writers’ Festival in October, 2015, and his lines have been running ’round my brain ever since. G.M. Palmer writes literary and pop culture criticism. He … More April Poet Profiles: G.M. Palmer
April is National Poetry Month! Even though poets and poetry-lovers will find any excuse to celebrate poetry, it’s fabulous to have 30 days set aside, especially since there’s a popular idea that poetry is dead. So even though we love poetry every day, let’s treat April as a feast-month, a sacred space to honor poetry! … More April Poet Profiles: Emily K. Michael
On May 1, I will be celebrating my first official Launch Day! My essay, “Border Talk,” is part of the anthology Mosaics 2: A Collection of Independent Women! Mosaics Vol. 1 launched on March 8 (International Women’s Day), and I was so excited to celebrate with those authors. Now we’re gearing up for a second … More Launch Day Giveaway!
Some of you probably think I talk about disability too much or that I sound bitter about certain disability issues. Watch the movie trailer for Me Before You. It will show you why I frequently express irritation. My problems with this trailer: The disabled guy has nothing to live for until the nondisabled girl comes … More How the Silver Screen Tarnishes Disability
My latest essay, “Stylish Negotiations,” was published in the March issue of Wordgathering: A Journal of Disability Poetry and Literature. This essay decodes the submission guidelines of several disability-related journals and magazines and offers a course of action for handling stories of disability. It begins as follows: “Submission guidelines rarely make me angry. Perhaps because … More Essay: “Stylish Negotiations”
So many disability resources and testimonials talk about regaining dignity. With the help of a new product, service, or skill, a disabled person can reclaim their independence and sense of self. I do not dispute this at all. But if this “reclaiming reclaiming dignity” message is the go-to strategy in disability services, perhaps we … More Reverse-engineering rhetoric: Some informal thoughts
In January, I set up a challenge through Goodreads: to read 35 books in 2015. So here are my books—a snapshot of my literary consciousness this year! 1. A Stranger to Command by Sherwood Smith My first book of 2015 was a leisurely choice, the prequel to Sherwood Smith’s Crown Duel. I was so moved … More 35 in 2015 : What I read this year
On the Blink 