Disability Resources

A groundbreaking collection of first-person writing on the joys and challenges of the modern disability experience- Disability Visibility brings together the voices of activists, authors, lawyers, politicians, artists, and everyday people whose daily lives are, in the words of playwright Neil Marcus, "an art . . . an ingenious way to live." A Vintage Books Original. ONE OF THE PROGRESSIVE'S BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR One in five people in the United States lives with a disability. Some disabilities are visible, others less apparent-but all are underrepresented in media and popular culture. Now, just in time for the thirtieth anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, activist Alice Wong brings together this urgent, galvanizing collection of contemporary essays by disabled people. From Harriet McBryde Johnson's account of her debate with Peter Singer over her own personhood to original pieces by authors like Keah Brown and Haben Girma; from blog posts, manifestos, and eulogies to Congressional testimonies, and beyond- this anthology gives a glimpse into the rich complexity of the disabled experience, highlighting the passions, talents, and everyday lives of this community. It invites readers to question their own understandings. It celebrates and documents disability culture in the now. It looks to the future and the past with hope and love.

The first critical study of personal narrative by women with disabilities, Unruly Bodies examines how contemporary writers use life writing to challenge cultural stereotypes about disability, gender, embodiment, and identity. Combining the analyses of disability and feminist theories, Susannah Mintz discusses the work of eight American autobiographers: Nancy Mairs, Lucy Grealy, Georgina Kleege, Connie Panzarino, Eli Clare, Anne Finger, Denise Sherer Jacobson, and May Sarton. Mintz shows that by refusing inspirational rhetoric or triumph-over-adversity narrative patterns, these authors insist on their disabilities as a core--but not diminishing--aspect of identity. They offer candid portrayals of shame and painful medical procedures, struggles for the right to work or to parent, the inventive joys of disabled sex, the support and the hostility of family, and the losses and rewards of aging. Mintz demonstrates how these unconventional stories challenge feminist idealizations of independence and self-control and expand the parameters of what counts as a life worthy of both narration and political activism. Unruly Bodies also suggests that atypical life stories can redefine the relation between embodiment and identity generally.

Called the best essayist of his time by luminaries like Philip Roth, John Updike, and Edward Abbey, Edward Hoagland brings readers his ultimate collection. In Sex and the River Styx, the author's sharp eye and intense curiosity shine through in essays that span his childhood exploring the woods in his rural Connecticut, his days as a circus worker, and his travels the world over in his later years. Here, we meet Hoagland at his best: traveling to Kampala, Uganda, to meet a family he'd been helping support only to find a divide far greater than he could have ever imagined; reflecting on aging, love, and sex in a deeply personal, often surprising way; and bringing us the wonder of wild places, alongside the disparity of losing them, and always with a twist that brings the genre of nature writing to vastly new heights. His keen dissection of social realities and the human spirit will both startle and lure readers as they meet African matriarchs, Tibetan yak herders, circus aerialists, and the strippers who entertained college boys in 1950s Boston. Says Howard Frank Mosher in his foreword, the self-described rhapsodist "could fairly be considered our last, great transcendentalist."

"In the 21st century, the disability experience offers new perspectives on issues that promise to dominate the collective (un)consciousness: diversity vs. unity; difference vs. normalcy; rugged individualism vs. it-takes-a-village political ideologies; right-to-die; healthcare as a for-profit industry; care-giving within families and across the boundaries of gender, race and class. "This anthology offers insights into the ongoing dialogue in our theatres about diversity, multiculturalism and universality, and the debates in our civic life about interdependence vs. independence. But in the end, I offer this anthology as a collection of irreverent, comic, terrifying and beautiful plays."--Victoria Ann Lewis This anthology, the first of its kind, explores how disabled artists depict the world they inhabit with their disabilities. Includes: P.H. *reaks: a collaborative project developed by Doris Baizley and Victoria Ann Lewis (Los Angeles, CA) Gretty Good Time by John Belluso (Los Angeles, CA) The History of Bowling by Mike Ervin (Chicago, IL) Creeps by David Freeman (Canada) Shoot by Lynn Manning (Los Angeles, CA) A Summer Evening in Des Moines by Charles Mee, Jr. (New York, NY) No One as Nasty by Susan Nussbaum (Chicago, IL) Victoria Ann Lewis is the founder and past director of the Mark Taper Forum's "Other Voices Project." Emerging from the disability civil rights movement, the "Other Voices Project" is the only professional playwriting program for writers with disabilities in the regional theatre.

* 2021 EUREKA! Nonfiction Children's Honor Book "An inclusive and upbeat collection ideal for classrooms and libraries." - School Library Journal In this stylishly illustrated biography anthology, meet 34 artists, thinkers, athletes, and activists with disabilities, from past and present. From Frida Kahlo to Stephen Hawking, find out how these iconic figures have overcome obstacles, owned their differences, and paved the way for others by making their bodies and minds work for them. These short biographies tell the stories of people who have faced unique challenges that have not stopped them from becoming trailblazers, innovators, advocates, and makers. Each person is a leading figure in their field, be it sports, science, math, art, breakdancing, or the world of pop. Challenge your preconceptions of disability and mental health with the eye-opening stories of these remarkable people: Ludwig van Beethoven, Gustav Kirchhoff, Henri Matisse, Eliza Suggs, Helen Keller, Frida Kahlo, John Nash, Stephen Hawking, Temple Grandin, Stevie Wonder, Nabil Shaban, Terry Fox, Peter Dinklage, Catalina Devandas, Wanda Diaz-Merced, Victor Pineda, Arunima Sinha, Abraham Lincoln, Demi Lovato, Matt Haig, Redouan Ait Chitt, Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah, Farida Bedwei, Jonas Jacobsson, Trischa Zorn, Ade Adepitan, Stella Young, Lady Gaga, Naoki Higashida, Isabella Springmuhl Tejada, Aaron Philip, Michelle Akers, Lil Wayne, Dynamo

In this groundbreaking and far-reaching collection, writers such as Andre Dubus, Stanley Elkin, and Adrienne Rich, confront what it means to be disabled in our society. Through the vehicles of nonfiction, poetry, fiction, and drama, Staring Back is the first anthology to open the landscape of the disabled experience for exploration and discussion.

Chosen by the American Library Association as a 2012 Notable Book in Poetry. Beauty is a Verb is a ground-breaking anthology of disability poetry, essays on disability, and writings on the poetics of both. Crip Poetry. Disability Poetry. Poems with Disabilities. This is where poetry and disability intersect, overlap, collide and make peace. "[BEAUTY IS A VERB] is going to be one of the defining collections of the 21st century...the discourse between ability, identity & poetry will never be the same." --Ron Silliman, author ofIn The American Tree "This powerful anthology succeeds at intimately showing...disability through the lenses of poetry. What emerges from the book as a whole is a stunningly diverse array of conceptions of self and other."< --Publishers Weekly, starred review From "Beauty and Variations" by Kenny Fries: How else can I quench this thirst? My lips travel down your spine, drink the smoothness of your skin. I am searching for the core: What is beautiful? Who decides? Can the laws of nature be defied? Your body tells me: come close. But beauty distances even as it draws me near. What does my body want from yours? My twisted legs around your neck. You bend me back. Even though you can't give the bones at birth I wasn't given, I let you deep inside. You give me--what? Peeling back my skin, you expose my missing bones. And my heart, long before you came, just as broken. I don't know who to blame. So each night, naked on the bed, my body doesn't want repair, but longs for innocence. If innocent, despite the flaws I wear, I am beautiful. Sheila Blackis a poet and children's book writer. In 2012, Poet Laureate Philip Levine chose her as a recipient of the Witter Bynner Fellowship. Disability activistJennifer Bartlettis a poet and critic with roots in the Language school. Michael Northenis a poet and the editor ofWordgathering: A Journal of Poetics and Disability.

Throughout the United States, there are several progressive art centers, studios, and galleries which provide services specially tailored to patrons with special needs or disabilities. Whether focusing specifically on art therapy or providing more general services like art classes and exhibitions, these art centers can play a positive role in encouraging personal growth, creativity, and self-reliance through art education and appreciation. This book provides a detailed directory of art centers in the United States which provide services for physically or developmentally disabled men, women, and children. Each entry includes a brief description of the art center's program and objectives, an overview of the program's on-staff artists or administrators, and a list of relevant contact information including web sites, phone numbers, fax numbers, and physical addresses.

The Creative Growth Book celebrates the first 40 years of the titular Oakland, California, art center for people with disabilities. As the world's oldest and largest center of its kind, Creative Growth Art Center's history mirrors the evolution of a growing disability rights movement and the increased interest in self-taught art. This visual history looks at the center's start and how its artists evolved from being seen as people with disabilities to outsider artists--and, increasingly, as acclaimed contemporary artists--and at its current international design, museum, and fashion partnerships.

Fairy tales shape how we see the world, so what happens when you identify more with the Beast than Beauty? If every disabled character is mocked and mistreated, how does the Beast ever imagine a happily-ever-after? Amanda Leduc looks at fairy tales from the Brothers Grimm to Disney, showing us how they influence our expectations and behaviour and linking the quest for disability rights to new kinds of stories that celebrate difference. "Leduc persuasively illustrates the power of stories to affect reality in this painstakingly researched and provocative study that invites us to consider our favorite folktales from another angle." --Sara Shreve, Library Journal

Deaf by the time she was 12, Scottish percussionist Evelyn Glennie performs with great orchestras around the world. Born with a severe form of cerebral palsy, Ireland's Christy Brown became a well-known writer and painter. Internationally renowned British-Nigerian sculptor Yinka Shonibare is paralyzed on one side of his body. This book spotlights 12 artists from around the world who followed their dreams despite their disabilities. Each chapter includes attention-grabbing photos and fascinating facts. Sidebars go beyond the basics, and prompts invite readers to think for themselves. A Learn More page zooms in on types of disability.