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

Audio & Slam Poetry comes to Breath & Shadow, Disability Literary Journal

The latest issue of Breath & Shadow, the journal of disability culture and literature published by Ability Maine, is up now. Editor Chris Kuell included this note to subscribers of the journal:

April is National Poetry Month, and as part of the celebration Breath & Shadow is launching a new initiative. Beginning now, 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.

With the increasing popularity of poetry performances on youtube or other media, and with slam poetry continuing to hold an important place in the poetry world, Breath & Shadow hopes this openness to accessible multimedia approaches to poetry will be exciting to readers and poets alike.

And just to kick things off, here are a couple of poetry performances from youtube:

[If you're reading this post in an email, watch these two videos from Special Poetry Slam here: Life in Drag and Ice Skating.]

Breath & Shadow Editor, Chris Kuell, Interviewed in Wordgathering

Chris Kuell, the editor of Breath & Shadow literary journal, was interviewed in this month's issue of Wordgathering. Read the interview here!

Wordgathering: A Journal of Disability Poetry, as its name suggests, was launched as a poetry journal with a focus on disability. However, as it's established itself -- now in its sixth year -- the journal has branched out to include disability-related reviews, essays, visual art, and fiction, too.

This interview is a terrific behind-the-scenes look of what goes on at Breath & Shadow and is a must read for writers who are interested in submitting their work to the publication. Chris discusses favorite writers and pieces from past editions of Breath & Shadow, upcoming work in the journal, his own writing background and projects, and the history, mission, and goings-on at Breath & Shadow.

Chris keeps things interesting with his wit and political perspective, too, as this excerpt shows:

Wordgathering: What role do you feel a magazine like Breath and Shadow and Wordgathering play in disability culture? How do you feel they can influence what people think about people with disabilities?

Chris Kuell: The goal of the disability movement, and I do think of it as a movement, is to bring about a change in the way that society sees us. From a stereotype of "less than" to a new paradigm of unique person of value–which is how I try to think of everyone (Rush Limbaugh, I'm not so sure about). There is no single way to bring about such a societal shift in thinking, so it requires a multi-pronged approach. One of those prongs is through disability literature. Our goal, our hope, is to encourage people from all walks of life to dip their toe in the water and give us a try. I'm a writer, so obviously I'm biased, but I believe literature is a very powerful tool for change. If we can get them to dip that toe, we might get them to feel something new, to dissolve that stereotype and glimpse truth.

Breath & Shadow is a project of Ability Maine and is entirely written and produced by people with disabilities. If you're interested in fiction, poetry, essays, reviews, and other literature by disabled writers, Breath & Shadow is for you. For a free, quarterly email subscription, send an e-mail to  breathandshadow@gmail.com and put "subscribe" in the subject line. Or, for more information, visit Breath & Shadow's subscription page.

Thanks, Wordgathering, for this engaging interview! (And make sure to check out the rest of the September 2012 issue of Wordgathering for poetry, fiction, reviews, and essays from a wide variety of new and emerging writers.)