Atlantis on TV in the late 1970s (although I did), to find these lines evocative. 4. I want to close by sharing some ofmy experience of editing this collection. It’s fair to say that all of us—the lead editorial team and I —were blown away by the volume and quality ofthe submissions. We quickly realized that the only way to accommodate them was with a double issue. Many of the poets who submitted, whether or not their workwas included, commentedon the importance ofthis opportunity and their gratitude for the level ofengagement they felt they were able tohavewithus as editors. This feedbackmeans theworld tome. There were writers who said explicitly howmuch they valued the purposeful inclusion of mental illness, as it is so often excluded from disability conversations as well as from poetic realms. The landscapes and waterscapes in Mad Pride are very personal to me as a poet and as a person. The poetry in this collection highlights necessarily themes of access, both in terms of who gets to write or compose—and, under what circumstances—and how the writing and composition are received and read. It may be that you utilize text-to-speech including screen readers, a tactile reading device, eye gaze technology, a sign language interpreter, augmentative and alternative communication devices, etc., just as some ofthe writing and composition inDisability, Neurodivergent, Deaf, Mad, and Crip poetics are fashioned in a multitude of ways. 5. We hope that you enjoy this Special Double Issue of Nine Mile. Below, as promised, are some significant links of interest. Beauty is a Verb: The New Poetry ofDisability, (Cinco Puntos Press, 2011) See It Feelingly: Classic Novels, Autistic Readers, and the Schooling ofa No-Good English Professor (Thought in the Act) by Ralph James Savarese (Duke University Press Books, 2018) Page 28 - Nine Mile Magazine
29 Publizr Home