Wordgathering

A Journal of Disability Poetry

Volume 4     Issue 3     September 2010

Book Reviews and Excerpts in This Issue

Knowing the new books that come out is especially important in an emerging field like disability literature. Wordgathering is fortunate to have three very different books to review this time around. Of special note is Tilling the Hard Soil: An Anthology of Poetry Prose and Art by South African Wrters with Disability edited by Kobus Moolman. To date there has been no previous anthology focused solely on the work of writers with disabiities from South Africa and Wordgathering readers are among the first in the country with a chance to read about it. Another important work is Raymond Luczak's Men with Their Hands. Though this is hardly the first of Luczak's books, its importance lies in its being a novel. Full length books of fiction by and about people with disability are still remarkably rare, even in the United States. Our final review will be of a small chapbook of poetry, White Girl Lynching by Elizabeth P. Glixman.

In addition to the reviews, this issue contains two excerpts of full length books by writers with disabilities. Musa Zula is one of the writers whose work is sampled in Moolman's collection by South African writers. Jonathan Chiccino is a new writer, the first chapter of whose surprising debut book - a work of science ficition - is presented here as a sneak preview for Wordgathering readers.

Wordgathering reviews works of literature related to disability as well as theoretical work on disability writing. Though the the journal's focus is on poetry, it also welcomes works of fiction and drama. Writers interested in having their books reviewed should contact the editors with a letter of inquiry.

This site is maintained by Michael Northen.