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Stairs and Whispers: D/deaf and Disabled Poets Write Back
Publisher's description:
Stairs and Whispers: D/deaf and Disabled Poets Write Back, edited by Sandra Alland, Khairani Barokka and Daniel Sluman, is a ground-breaking anthology examining UK disabled and D/deaf poetics. Packed with fierce poetry, essays, photos and links to accessible online videos and audio recordings, it showcases a diversity of opinions and survival strategies for an ableist world. With contributions that span Vispo to Surrealism, and range from hard-hitting political commentary to intimate lyrical pieces, these poets refuse to perform or inspire according to tired old narratives.
“This is a collection which redefines what poetry is. This is a collection which is nearly as varied as the diversity of impairment and disability and D/deaf experiences in Britain today. This is a collection which I will read and re-read until I have absorbed the richness and colour and anger and misery and humour and power of it.”
– Tom Shakespeare, author, Disability Rights and Wrongs
“The face of next-generation disability poetics announces itself with a roar – razor-fine lyric, body knowledge, crip humour and revolutionary grief are all on display, along with something more: the joy of the discovered self. The poems here are gorgeous and important.” – Sheila Black, co-editor, Beauty is a Verb
“Stairs and Whispers is an incredible addition to crip literature that I’m excited to add to my shelf! The poems and essays featured here are at once devastating, enraging, and uproarious for me as a queer neurodivergent writer of colour.” – Lydia X. Z. Brown, activist, writer and speaker
“Watching the new surge of Deaf poets take on the world of BSL, film and creative captioning feels very important … to reclaim the right to be a poet and to use both signed and written word to demonstrate the diversity and richness of the Deaf community … commenting on being Deaf, politics of identity and a celebration of who we are." – Jenny Sealey, Artistic Director, Graeae Theatre
About the Editors:
Alland’s collections include Blissful Times (BookThug, 2007) and Naturally Speaking (espresso, 2012). Barokka's works include Indigenous Species (Tilted Axis, 2016) and Rope (Nine Arches, 2017). Sluman has two books with Nine Arches: Absence has a weight of its own (2012) and The Terrible (2015).
Stairs and Whispers: D/deaf and Disabled Poets Write Back, edited by Sandra Alland, Khairani Barokka and Daniel Sluman, is a ground-breaking anthology examining UK disabled and D/deaf poetics. Packed with fierce poetry, essays, photos and links to accessible online videos and audio recordings, it showcases a diversity of opinions and survival strategies for an ableist world. With contributions that span Vispo to Surrealism, and range from hard-hitting political commentary to intimate lyrical pieces, these poets refuse to perform or inspire according to tired old narratives.
“This is a collection which redefines what poetry is. This is a collection which is nearly as varied as the diversity of impairment and disability and D/deaf experiences in Britain today. This is a collection which I will read and re-read until I have absorbed the richness and colour and anger and misery and humour and power of it.”
– Tom Shakespeare, author, Disability Rights and Wrongs
“The face of next-generation disability poetics announces itself with a roar – razor-fine lyric, body knowledge, crip humour and revolutionary grief are all on display, along with something more: the joy of the discovered self. The poems here are gorgeous and important.” – Sheila Black, co-editor, Beauty is a Verb
“Stairs and Whispers is an incredible addition to crip literature that I’m excited to add to my shelf! The poems and essays featured here are at once devastating, enraging, and uproarious for me as a queer neurodivergent writer of colour.” – Lydia X. Z. Brown, activist, writer and speaker
“Watching the new surge of Deaf poets take on the world of BSL, film and creative captioning feels very important … to reclaim the right to be a poet and to use both signed and written word to demonstrate the diversity and richness of the Deaf community … commenting on being Deaf, politics of identity and a celebration of who we are." – Jenny Sealey, Artistic Director, Graeae Theatre
About the Editors:
Alland’s collections include Blissful Times (BookThug, 2007) and Naturally Speaking (espresso, 2012). Barokka's works include Indigenous Species (Tilted Axis, 2016) and Rope (Nine Arches, 2017). Sluman has two books with Nine Arches: Absence has a weight of its own (2012) and The Terrible (2015).
264 pages, Paperback
First published May 30, 2017
8 people are currently reading
339 people want to read
About the author
Sandra Alland
11 books4 followersSandra Alland is an Edinburgh-based Scottish-Canadian writer, interdisciplinary artist, small press publisher, performer and filmmaker.
Sandra Alland grew up in Scarborough, a suburb of Toronto, Canada. She was raised by a Scottish migrant father and grandfather, and a mother of French-Canadian descent. Alland completed undergraduate studies in Drama at the University of Toronto, graduating with high distinction in 2000.
Alland began publishing and performing her work in Toronto in 1995. From 1995-1997, she was part of the performance poetry band, Stumblin' Tongues, with Bermudian poet Andra Simons and musicians Garth and Grant Kien. Alland worked extensively in Toronto's theatre, literary and visual art communities until she relocated to Scotland in 2007. Alland has published two collections of poetry, Proof of a Tongue (McGilligan Books, 2004) and Blissful Times (BookThug, 2007). In 2009, Edinburgh's Forest Publications published a chapbook of her short stories, Here's to Wang. Her chapbook of poetry, Naturally Speaking, a meditation on disability poetics and gender, was published in 2012 by Toronto's espresso and co-won the 2013 bpNichol Chapbook Award. Alland's work focuses on social justice, language, humour and experimental forms.
Besides text, Alland works in multimedia, film, performance poetry and sound poetry. She currently collaborates with the Scottish interdisciplinary group, They They Theys, who received 5 stars from Scotland's The Skinny in March 2014. From 2007-2012 Alland collaborated with the poetry-music-video fusion group, Zorras. In autumn 2009, Scotland's ultimatemetal.com said of her work: "A very unique mix of poetry, music, stories and just plain weird. The poetry was sharp and funny, the placement effective, the visuals fitting; a rather unforgettable experience."
Sandra Alland grew up in Scarborough, a suburb of Toronto, Canada. She was raised by a Scottish migrant father and grandfather, and a mother of French-Canadian descent. Alland completed undergraduate studies in Drama at the University of Toronto, graduating with high distinction in 2000.
Alland began publishing and performing her work in Toronto in 1995. From 1995-1997, she was part of the performance poetry band, Stumblin' Tongues, with Bermudian poet Andra Simons and musicians Garth and Grant Kien. Alland worked extensively in Toronto's theatre, literary and visual art communities until she relocated to Scotland in 2007. Alland has published two collections of poetry, Proof of a Tongue (McGilligan Books, 2004) and Blissful Times (BookThug, 2007). In 2009, Edinburgh's Forest Publications published a chapbook of her short stories, Here's to Wang. Her chapbook of poetry, Naturally Speaking, a meditation on disability poetics and gender, was published in 2012 by Toronto's espresso and co-won the 2013 bpNichol Chapbook Award. Alland's work focuses on social justice, language, humour and experimental forms.
Besides text, Alland works in multimedia, film, performance poetry and sound poetry. She currently collaborates with the Scottish interdisciplinary group, They They Theys, who received 5 stars from Scotland's The Skinny in March 2014. From 2007-2012 Alland collaborated with the poetry-music-video fusion group, Zorras. In autumn 2009, Scotland's ultimatemetal.com said of her work: "A very unique mix of poetry, music, stories and just plain weird. The poetry was sharp and funny, the placement effective, the visuals fitting; a rather unforgettable experience."
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
January 5, 2018
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I received an review copy of Stairs and Whispers from Nine Arches Press. I requested a copy after talking with one of the editors, and mentioning to them how excited I am to read this anthology. This is the only poetry anthology I know that has collected poems by D/deaf and disabled poets.
This poetry anthology is #ownvoices for all of its poems.
__
Those of you who follow me on Twitter, know that this collection took me a long time to read. Not because I was bored by the poems, but because they made me feel so many emotions and were so beautiful, and I wanted to savour them and enjoy them over a long period of time. You can check out my Twitter thread to read my live-tweeting.
There were poems that conveyed important messages, that were important for abled and hearing readers to know. Poems that discusses ableism and how society was inaccessible due to infrastructure, and not due to disabilities or being D/deaf. There were a lot of empowering and strong poems. A lot of the poems did not focus on disability or being D/deaf. I felt so many emotions while reading this collection. Laughter, sadness, indecision, confusion, anger, etc.
Some of my favourite poems include Alice in Check and The Alice Case, which are poems inspired by Alice in Wonderland. Joanne Limburg’s poetry was so beautiful, that I have put her book The Autistic Alice on my TBR. Bilingual Poet’s Dilemma was another poem that I found very intriguing. The video was an amazing way to convey the words.
I really enjoyed the various forms of poetry that I encountered in the book. Most poetry books only offer written poetry. This is one of the few that offers the reader spoken poetry, visual poetry and poetry conveyed through the medium of film. This does not mean that the book is not accessible to some readers, as all poems have been described so that the reader can know what is being portrayed and_or spoken. The variety of poetry meant that I was able to immerse myself in new creative styles every so often, and thus I stayed interested in the anthology throughout my reading of it.
One of the parts of the book that I learnt the most from, was the little boxes in which the poets described what poetry meant to them and how they use it. Some poets also explained how the definition of mainstream poetry excludes them from certain events, which is something I will be more aware of from now on.
A very concise list of trigger warnings for each poem can be found at the end of the anthology.
__
Stairs and Whispers is a fantastic poetry anthology. I am so happy to have read it. I truly believe that this is a book that can be read multiple times. In my opinion, it actually is a great book to put on display, as any guest of yours will be able to flip through the pages and discover a poem that they can call a favourite of theirs.
Trigger warnings: ableist terms (which are reclaimed), descriptions of ableism and_or anti-Deaf sentiment, state violence, hospitalisation, procedures, drugs, illness, pain, death, loss, scars, self-harm, suicide, violent/graphic imagery, war, sexual violence, sexual imagery, strong language, dead or injured animals, descriptions of racism, colonial violence, heterosexism, cissexism, transmisogyny, forced gender conformity, and classism.
I received an review copy of Stairs and Whispers from Nine Arches Press. I requested a copy after talking with one of the editors, and mentioning to them how excited I am to read this anthology. This is the only poetry anthology I know that has collected poems by D/deaf and disabled poets.
This poetry anthology is #ownvoices for all of its poems.
__
Those of you who follow me on Twitter, know that this collection took me a long time to read. Not because I was bored by the poems, but because they made me feel so many emotions and were so beautiful, and I wanted to savour them and enjoy them over a long period of time. You can check out my Twitter thread to read my live-tweeting.
There were poems that conveyed important messages, that were important for abled and hearing readers to know. Poems that discusses ableism and how society was inaccessible due to infrastructure, and not due to disabilities or being D/deaf. There were a lot of empowering and strong poems. A lot of the poems did not focus on disability or being D/deaf. I felt so many emotions while reading this collection. Laughter, sadness, indecision, confusion, anger, etc.
Some of my favourite poems include Alice in Check and The Alice Case, which are poems inspired by Alice in Wonderland. Joanne Limburg’s poetry was so beautiful, that I have put her book The Autistic Alice on my TBR. Bilingual Poet’s Dilemma was another poem that I found very intriguing. The video was an amazing way to convey the words.
I really enjoyed the various forms of poetry that I encountered in the book. Most poetry books only offer written poetry. This is one of the few that offers the reader spoken poetry, visual poetry and poetry conveyed through the medium of film. This does not mean that the book is not accessible to some readers, as all poems have been described so that the reader can know what is being portrayed and_or spoken. The variety of poetry meant that I was able to immerse myself in new creative styles every so often, and thus I stayed interested in the anthology throughout my reading of it.
One of the parts of the book that I learnt the most from, was the little boxes in which the poets described what poetry meant to them and how they use it. Some poets also explained how the definition of mainstream poetry excludes them from certain events, which is something I will be more aware of from now on.
A very concise list of trigger warnings for each poem can be found at the end of the anthology.
__
Stairs and Whispers is a fantastic poetry anthology. I am so happy to have read it. I truly believe that this is a book that can be read multiple times. In my opinion, it actually is a great book to put on display, as any guest of yours will be able to flip through the pages and discover a poem that they can call a favourite of theirs.
Trigger warnings: ableist terms (which are reclaimed), descriptions of ableism and_or anti-Deaf sentiment, state violence, hospitalisation, procedures, drugs, illness, pain, death, loss, scars, self-harm, suicide, violent/graphic imagery, war, sexual violence, sexual imagery, strong language, dead or injured animals, descriptions of racism, colonial violence, heterosexism, cissexism, transmisogyny, forced gender conformity, and classism.
February 26, 2018
I can tell that Stairs and Whispers: D/deaf and disabled poets write back is going to be one of those anthologies I return to again and again, such as American Hybrid, which is fully dog-eared, as this one would be if I hadn’t bought it as an e-book. Instead I have a pile of digital bookmarks. There are poets in this anthology I have never encountered before, their words are striking and original. The essays were fascinating and relevant to poetic practice in general as well as causing me to think about the role of various disabilities in poetic practice, the role of constant distraction from the body or the mind. And yes, there were poems that dealt directly with the writers’ disabilities and abilities in surprising and eye-opening/heart-opening/mind-opening ways. There were films in BSL with captions and without. Thoughts on consideration of language. Soundcloud files where the poems are read aloud by the poets in the anthology. Quite simply, this was the most versatile and thoughtful anthology I’ve ever experienced. I also appreciated the notes written by the poets about their poems. I highly encourage everyone to read this anthology.
November 22, 2017
A super anthology with some really excellent poetry and essays, very long overdue and important. And don't make the mistake of thinking because it's D/deaf and disabled poets writing that the work is in any way inferior or not relevant or that it needs to be read and judged from some different perspective to work from poets who don't 'fit' under such labels. Highly recommended.
September 16, 2018
Saya membeli buku ini karena saya merasa tak banyak yang berbicara mengenai seni orang-orang difabel. Inklusi dan keragaman adalah dua kata paling seksi di circa 2010, tapi seringkali wacananya tetap meninggalkan orang-orang yang memiliki kebutuhan tambahan untuk mental dan fisik. Saya tahu salah seorang perempuan Indonesia yang terus mendorong inklusi dan akses untuk masyarakat difabel adalah Khairani Barokka (a.k.a Kak Okka – sok kenal via temanku Hanna dan Kitkut huhuhu #fangirling). Dan ketika bukunya sampai, saya juga membaca tanpa bisa berhenti. Akhirnya. Pikir saya. Dan bukan hanya soal kualitas puisi, buku ini benar-benar soal akses. Mereka menyediakan audio untuk pembacaan puisi, hingga tautan video-video. Ini adalah proyek multimedia yang bisa diakses orang-orang difabel. Di bagian terakhir buku ada keterangan tentang kategori puisi, sehingga jika ada tema tertentu yang membuat trauma/membangkitkan PTSD, bisa dihindari. Kudos. Kudos. Kudos.
Puisi favorit saya antara lain Abi Palmer “Doublespeak”, Holy Magill “What Can You See?”, Markie Burnhope “On the Final Days Before Your Transformations”, dan dari semuanya, Catherine Edmunds “Careering Down the Hillside”.
Puisi favorit saya antara lain Abi Palmer “Doublespeak”, Holy Magill “What Can You See?”, Markie Burnhope “On the Final Days Before Your Transformations”, dan dari semuanya, Catherine Edmunds “Careering Down the Hillside”.
February 20, 2022
Critically, I think this is a very important book. There is very little recognition of disability within the UK, let alone UK poetry (and other creative expressions) so this serves to make a place for disability. I really enjoyed some of the poems but, on a more personal level, I did find it hard to connect to more than a handful (even as a disabled person) which frustrated me. I guess I expected it to feel like more of a revelation and to fix me, which was an unfair expectation to put on an otherwise very well put together anthology. However, I did appreciate the visibility that it brings to the notion of disability and D/deafness, especially on a broad spectrum.
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February 28, 2020821.9208 S7823 2017
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews