Composing Disability

The upcoming iteration of this conference, Crip Ecologies, is scheduled for April 7-8, 2016 at The George Washington University’s Jack Morton Auditorium.  Registration is free, and it is available at the Composing Disability Eventbrite page.  Register now!  

In the meantime, of course, watch this space, and follow the conference on Twitter and Facebook.

Thank you for your comments.

All, an event schedule is now available on our dedicated "schedule" page.  Peruse at your leisure!

... again from the Ohio State University Press: _The Problem Body: Projecting Disability on Film_, edited by Sally Chivers and Nicole Markotić!

Mel Nichols, whose most recent books are _Catalytic Exteriorization Phenomenon_ (Edge Books, 2009) and _Bicycle Day_ (Slack Buddha, 2008). She teaches at George Mason University.

Here's one of several students who will be speaking on "Futures of Access at GWU": Jaggar DeMarco * see/hear/experience him on Friday, April 4 @ 2-3:15 DeMarco is a sophomore at The George Washington University, where he is studying Political Communication with an applied Ethics minor. He is originally from Princeton, NJ. At GW, DeMarco writes as a columnist for the opinion section of the school newspaper, _The Hatchet_. He has written multiple columns focused on disabilities within the university setting. Jaggar is also a member of the DSS Speakers Bureau, whose mission is to eliminate the taboo of talking about disability. To that end, the Speakers Bureau recently presented at the Foggy Bottom TedX Conference. Jaggar hopes that the skills he learns at GW will help him with his intended career in public advocacy.

Catch Composing Disability speaker Leslie Freeman in Toby MacNutt and Company's premiere of _One, Two_ in Burlington, VT, on March 29: "This work was designed to explore the breadth of relationships available between diverse bodies through the dynamic of multi-modal and mixed-ability dance. We look not only at how bodies relate to each other, but what actually comprises a single body, how the self relates to the body, and what happens when an organic body or bodies interacts with inorganic objects, extensions, or forces - like environmental structures, mobility aids, or gravity. Comprised mainly of small-group, intimate pieces with a cast of six dancers, One, Two teases out the unique ways each person relates to their body and their world." Audio description, large print programs, music description & lyrics printouts, and wheelchair seating will all be available--and the space itself is wheelchair accessible (bathrooms included). For more information, including photos and cast bios, check out the webpage: http://tobymacnutt.com/one-two.html Image description: Upper half has four vertically-oriented photos of dancers in motion. From left to right, Toby in orange with crutches, stretched back in full extension; Toby and Dylan in grey, bent sideways and reaching upwards in close contact; Marly and Christine in green tops reach and gaze upward, seen from above; Christine and Leslie in reddish purple dresses, Christine bent forward, supporting Leslie who is arched over Christine's back.

Thomas Hummel * find him @ www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8xJ13pAZNw#t=60 Hummel is a poet and performing artist living in the Midwest. He has published four chapbooks from Projective Industries, Cannibal Books, Greying Ghost, and Shirtpocket Press, and individual poems have been published widely in national and international journals. As a performing artist, his most recent role was as a cast member in Nature Theater of Oklahoma’s OBIE-winning production _No Dice_ at Soho Repertory Theater in New York. His first book, _Letters & Buildings_, is forthcoming from Subito Press.

... and the second poet-performer who will join us is: Ken Jacobs find him @ http://deegeep.com/Relegy/relegy-main.html Jacobs is a poet working in traditional and digital forms. A small book, _Sooner_, was published by Phylum Press in 2009 and a full length collection _Hypervigil_ will be published by Edge Books in 2014. In the spring of 2012 _Relegy_, a digital poetry and composition tool, was used as the centerpiece in a performance in collaboration with two other poets at the G Street Gallery in Washington D.C.

Bartlett is co-editor of _Beauty is a Verb: The New Poetry of Disability_. She is currently writing a biography on the poet Larry Eigner. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband, son, and four animals.

Reason #373 to attend Composing Disability:  Two lucky attendees will receive a FREE copy of Jonathan Hsy's _Trading Tongues_, compliments of the Ohio State University Press!! P.S. For the less lucky, additional copies will be for sale. P.P.S. Since he'll be with us for the conference, you may even be able to talk him into autographing your copy.

Two lucky attendees will receive a FREE copy of Harilyn Rousso's _Don't Call Me Inspirational_, compliments of Temple University Press (@TempleUnivPress)!!

https://gwired.gwu.edu/s/ext/dss/symposium/