Short Stories & Essays in Breath & Shadow Disability Literary Journal

The Fall 2014 edition of Breath & Shadow, Ability Maine's journal of disability literature is out! It features short fiction by Stacye Cline-Robinson and Lela Marie De La Garza.

There's also a delicious three-part essay on experiences relating to being a low-vision musician and singer by Emily K. Michael. Here's an excerpt from the third section of "Sight and Singing":

One year ago, I reclaimed my place on the risers next to 60 singing women. I had been absent from this chorus for six years, singing where I could - in college chorales, with friends, at karaoke nights on campus, and, once, with a talented jazz combo in St. Augustine. 

Now that I'm back with my chorus, I have the chance to improve many aspects of my singing technique, and my favorite methods incorporate tactile elements. During rehearsal, one director asks us to turn to the left and place our hands on the belly of the singer in front of us. We should feel movement in the singer's abdomen if she is breathing correctly. One hand rests gently against the singer's ribcage while the other presses her belly - and, sure enough, her breathing pushes both hands forward. Our exercises include a plethora of breathing sounds, routines of sh sh, hee hee, ff ff, ts ts. Hands on each other’s bellies and ribs, we complete the routines with fierce concentration - until a singer murmurs, "Get ready, the baby's coming!"

Read the read of Emily K. Michael's essay, as well as the two short stories, at Breath & Shadow.

New edition of Breath & Shadow online! Poetry, fiction, essays!

Below is the post that went out to Breath & Shadow subscribers from Chris Kuell, editor of Breath & Shadow, the literary journal of Ability Maine. If you, too, would like to subscribe (for free!), please drop us a line at breathandshadow@gmail.com.

Breath and Shadow
Volume 11, Number 2
Spring 2014

April is National Poetry Month, and in this issue we feature excellent pieces from Abigail Astor, Allegra Keys, Lori-Ann Tessier and Bruce Ario. There is also compelling fiction by Raymond Luczak, Susan M. Silver and Day Al-Mohamed. Essays by Michael Lockwood and Patti Rutka round out this exciting issue. So go hug a poet, and happy reading.

As part of a new initiative, poets are invited to submit audio/video clips of their performance pieces (in addition to the text) if they wish. It's not mandatory, but we hope that adding this new dimension will help open up the world of poetry to more of our readers. Visit our guidelines page for details. Our editors hope you enjoy this issue of Breath and Shadow. Please recommend us to your friends and let us know what you think.

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To read our Spring (or past issues) please visit: www.abilitymaine.org/breath

Breath and Shadow Staff:

Chris Kuell, Editor in Chief

Assistant Editors: Abby Astor, Dorothy Baker, Anne Chiapetta, Linda Cronin, Tricia Owsley and Suzanne Westhaver

Breath & Shadow is a collaborative effort of AbilityMaine, Resourcesfor Organizing and Social Change (ROSC), and our many valuable readers and contributors. Please consider donating to Breath and Shadow. We need your support to achieve our mission, and your gift is tax deductible. You can learn more by visiting: http://www.abilitymaine.org/breath/fund.html

The Spring Issue of Breath & Shadow, the Disability Literary Journal, Is Up!

This is 10th year of publication for Breath & Shadow and this spring issue shows it's still going strong, with poetry, essays, and fiction by diverse writers with disabilities. It features poetry by Ani Keaten, Jennifer Ruth Jackson, Sergio Ortiz, and Jordan Jamison, nonfiction by A.K. Duvall, Misti Shupe, and Robert Kingett, and fiction by W.R. Hilary and William Ward.

Read the Spring 2013 issue of Breath & Shadow!

Breath & Shadow essay ~ Persistent Demons of War: A Story of Prolonged PTSD

by Sharon Wachsler

The Fall 2012 issue of Breath & Shadow, Ability Maine's journal of disability literature and culture, is up now.

This edition's essay is a gripping and heartrending story by Arthur W. Schade, "The Persistent Demons of War: A Personal Story of Prolonged PTSD." Schade reveals that it took him three years to write this essay, and it was time well spent. While reading, I sometimes found myself leaning into my computer screen, my teeth clenched, while other times tears sprung into my eyes or a laugh burst from me.

Schade begins his story as an eighteen-year-old entering the Marines and being swept up in the chaos and confusion of enlistment and training: noise, strange surroundings, and, well, naked male butts!

We went through lines of examinations and stood around for hours, recognizing one another's bare asses before we could learn each other’s names. We did not realize so many of us would remain together in squads and fire teams, building deep-seeded bonds of friendships along our journey. Our initial ‘shock’ indoctrination began immediately at Parris Island; intimidating drill Instructors scrambled our disoriented butts off the bus, organized us into a semblance of a formation, and herded us to the barracks for a night of hell.  Following what we thought would be sleep (but in actuality was a nap), we awoke in awe to explosive clamor as the DIs banged on tin garbage can lids next to our bunks, yelling “get up you maggots.” Even the largest recruits trembled. Flooded with anxiety and apprehension, already we were second-guessing our decision to enlist.

Everything changes from literally the moment that Schade stands on Vietnamese soil, revealing a shocking mishap that I had never even known was a danger of war. He describes how just fourteen months in 1966 and 1967 changed him forever and left him feeling out of place among his nineteen-year-old peers when he returned the United States. Yet, for decades he managed to keep his "demons" to himself -- the nightmares, anxieties, and other symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) -- and "pass," explaining how and why it was so important to him to cope the way he did. Until the option to keep everything under wraps was yanked away by a new war:

When the first Gulf War began in 1990, I sensed the demons bursting from within. No matter how hard I tried to avoid them, I saw vivid images and news coverage of every aspect of the war. The bodies and faces in the media were not strangers anymore. Instead, they were my brothers from a much older and forgotten war. I sought refuge with the Veteran’s Administration and began attending group therapy.

Connecting with fellow vets and PTSD survivors took Schade on a new journey he shares with Breath & Shadow readers. I am moved and grateful for having read his story. I learned a great deal from being able to learn from what Schade witnessed, heard, felt, and did before, during, and after his tour in Vietnam and his time now as a warrior in supporting veterans with PTSD.

Read Arthur W. Schade's essay at Breath & Shadow here.

Children's Essay Writing Contest on Disability

by Sharon Wachsler

A disability law website is running an essay contest for children in New England, grades 2 through 6, on the topic of "how someone with a disability has inspired them." The word limit is 500. The deadline is October 31.

According to the listing in the Bangor Daily News, "In an effort to encourage disability awareness among students, Social Security Disability Help, is hosting our first ever New England Disability Awareness Essay Contest."

Although "inspiration" is not a theme that this disability rights activist generally thinks of as a useful tool for disability-awareness raising -- there is already so much "inspiration porn" in the media about disability -- since role models of other kids and adults with disabilities can be so useful to kids with disabilities, and so scarce, I'm hoping a disabled kid will be the winning writer! Plus, you're never too young to learn to write something persuasive or moving.

Several winners will be selected. A cash prize will be donated to the charity of each winner's choice; they will also each receive a gift card from Barnes and Noble.

For details on the contest, check out this listing, or call Molly Clark at 857-366-7629.

Does Mitt Romney Have a Disability Policy?

Up now at Ability Maine, an essay by Michael Reynolds: "Does Mitt Romney Have a Disability Policy?"

We all know now that Romney is friends with Clint Eastwood, the outspoken anti-ADA activist and creator of the pro-euthanasia movie, Million Dollar Baby. But where does Romney stand on disability issues like the Affordable Care Act, Medicare, Social Security, and how does having a wife with a disability affect his perspective?

Mike tries to sort through the haze of mixed messages in his discussion of Romney and disability:

Romney does not mention people with disabilities (except for a brief reference to veterans) on his official website, although he devotes a lot of space to his plans to repeal the ACA. When he details his plans to change Medicare and Social Security, he states that his proposed plan will affect neither senior citizens who are current beneficiaries of these programs nor future beneficiaries over 55. He makes no mention of how his plan will affect younger disabled people who receive Medicare and Social Security. He also does not touch on his plans to convert Medicaid into block grants to the states, which could reduce overall Medicaid funding and have serious consequences for both PWDs and senior citizens. 

To read the complete essay, hop over to Ability Maine!

Languaging Disability: Where do "Ability" and "Dis/Ability" Fit In?

What word do you use for people who either have or don't have a disability, such as for an antidiscrimination policy? Do you say, "We welcome everyone, regardless of  age, race, religion, sexual orientation, class, gender, or ability?" Or do you say "dis/ability"?

In a new essay at Ability Maine, Sharon Wachsler argues against the use of "ability" to mean "disability" and offers two alternatives that she believes are more accurate, honest, and respectful.

Why is using "ability" this way problematic? The first reason is that it's inaccurate and misleading because whether or not one is disabled doesn't actually have much to do with one's abilities. I know that the letters "a-b-i-l-i-t-y" are contained in the word "disability," but the etymology of the word and its meaning as a social construct are not the same thing.

Read Languaging Disability by clicking here. (Have comments on the article? Agree? Disagree? Other ideas? Come back here to our blog and speak your mind!)