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Literary Resonance
Unfolding my cane and donning my dark glasses, I leave the Writing Lab and walk to the lobby to collect our next tutoring appointment. I stand at the mouth of the lobby and call the student’s name. I wait, listening for the rustling and zipping that indicates a student gathering his or her things and…
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Blind Student
Before time pulls a fine, shimmering mist over my academic experiences, I must write from the perspective of the blind student. Though my studies pass beyond each graduation, I find myself in a new role, the teacher’s role, and my ideas about students are changing. So, meet me at the door of all my classrooms,…
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Wax On, Wax Off
(In this entry, I am going to shamelessly use Javier as a narrative catalyst. He drives me where I want to go, describes some events and expressions after the events take place, and has 1-2 lines of significant dialogue. I can’t tell the story without him, so I hope he’s OK with being a rather…
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Meditations on a gray day
“It’s the blind leading the sighted,” Karen cheerily remarks, as we push our way through the door whose automatic OPEN button rarely performs its duty. She doesn’t need me to lead her to Starbucks – she knows where it is – but I want to lead her there. I want to choose the path we…
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A little help
I am standing at the front of the classroom, a black dry-erase marker clutched in my hand. As the class settles down, I pop the marker’s cap on and off, enjoying the satisfying click of the plastic. My colleague, Chris, has just handed the lesson over to me. The room fills with the sound of…
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Braille Fail: On the Blink Investigates the Dotty Placement of Elevator Embossment
Now that I am traveling independently on campus, I am responsible for opening doors for myself and calling for my own elevators. I do not mind these tasks; I use them as an opportunity to rejoice in my own autonomy. I reach eagerly for the high-contrast chrome door-pulls and jab resolutely at the glossy roundness…
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Overheard and Underwhelmed
it’s the second day of class and I am assigning group work. The students must gather in groups of 5-7 and complete a series of definitions. While they work, I sit at my desk (which is much too high for me) and take notes on their work habits. On my paper, I write things like…
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Inferiority Complex
Today I came across this quote by 19th-century politician Robert G. Ingersoll, and it did not agree with me. “The superior man is the providence of the inferior. He is eyes for the blind, strength for the weak, and a shield for the defenseless. He stands erect by bending above the fallen. He rises by…
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A Cane-User’s Education: First Lessons
Today I began my first experience of teaching independently at the college level. I’ve spent several semesters as a TA and delivered seminars and presentations to younger students, yet I was untried as the authoritative educator in a college classroom. I considered myself prepared for the opportunity: I had a plan for the day’s lesson…
About Me
Emily K. Michael is a blind poet, musician, and writing instructor. She serves as the poetry editor for Wordgathering at Syracuse University. She is also a poetry mentor in AWP’s Writer to Writer program. Her work focuses on music, embodiment, teaching, and ecology. Emily is passionate about birds, medieval history, singing, and guide dogs.
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