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Kenny Fries is often frustrated with the narrative surrounding art created by people with disabilities.

“Historically, writing by writers with disabilities has been seen more as ‘therapy’ than art and culture, and this has been one of the many ways of silencing disabled voices,” said Fries, a professor in the creative writing graduate program at Goddard College.

Fries is attempting to address the disparity in “Disability Futures in the Arts,” a three-part series he curated for Syracuse University’s journal “Wordgathering.” The journal emphasizes disability empowerment, and Fries focuses on accessibility and building community among readers and writers. He hopes to confront everlasting speculation that writing is a coping mechanism for people with disabilities.

Whether through content or presentation, “Wordgathering” — which is a partnership between SU’s Burton Blatt Institute and the University Libraries — aims to challenge norms, Fries said. He added that part of this is in an attempt to bring attention to role models and mentors with disabilities and disability history. The publication is also affiliated with the Disability Literature Consortium, a group of literary magazines for writers with disabilities and displays various forms of art, like paintings, essays and poetry. The spring 2021 issue is now available on the journal’s website.

“Many disabled writers and artists do not know the rich and abundant disability histories and disability culture,” Fries said.

“Wordgathering” was established 14 years ago to accessibly display the experience and expertise of creatives with disabilities, said Diane Wiener, the publication’s editor-in-chief. In doing so, the journal provides a way for those with and without disabilities to disseminate and discuss disability history and culture.

Stephen Kuusisto, the director of interdisciplinary programs and outreach at SU’s Burton Blatt Institute, said that those discussions make art and poetry unique. Kuusisto writes poetry in his free time, and it provides a way for people to express what life is like on the inside.

The arts remind viewers that life is a mystery and they are often a humbling reminder of how much he and others don’t know about their lives, Kuusisto said.

But Fries encourages participating artists to work with what they know by simply providing them with loose parameters. He tells the writers to share their own practices, consider how they view their work using the history of the disability rights movement and imagine the future of disability culture.

“Wordgathering” encourages submissions from both experienced writers and beginners. It’s constantly evolving, and the editorial staff — composed solely of people with disabilities — hopes to quickly expand, with the vision of someday compensating contributors, Wiener said.

Another piece included in the spring 2021 issue is “White Rose.” The journal works to display the expertise and experiences of creatives with disabilities. Courtesy of Michelle Steiner

The editors welcome work from people with and without disabilities and have a clear set of guidelines. These parameters allow writers with disabilities to share work that isn’t necessarily about their disability in the publication, while those without disabilities must submit content that meaningfully contributes to disability arts, culture and literature.

“We are open-hearted but also seek to center disability and ‘CripLit,’ unapologetically,” Wiener said.

She strives to do so vibrantly and while supporting other marginalized groups by including more young artists, artists of color and transgender artists. She said including those perspectives is of “the utmost importance.”

Since its inception, “Wordgathering” has remained open-minded about submissions. There aren’t many rules, but the existing ones are consistent with the disability rights movement’s ideals.

At the top of the list: “We do not publish what is sometimes referred to as ‘inspo-porn,’” or work that presents people with disabilities as inspirations, Wiener said.

“The work is also a far cry from a pity-party,” Wiener said. “Pain and suffering might understandably arise as themes, sure, but an ‘overcoming’ or ‘triumph’ narrative arc is not the bottom line, let alone the driving force. It is about creating spaces for disabled writers and artists to have a home, without sentimentality.”

Published on May 11, 2021 at 10:37 pm

gfpagano@syr.edu