To Haymarket Books and the larger poetry community:
We’re writing to express disappointment and frustration regarding the just-announced anthology Against Ableism: An Anthology edited by Shira Erlichman, Ilya Kaminsky, and Morgan Parker from Haymarket Books.
Disabled poets and artists have demanded access and equity from hegemonic publishing for decades. However, this anthology buys into respectability politics at its core: it discusses disability without talking about access, avoids identity-first language (an intervention regularly called for by disabled activists), and silos off its themes into a simplified consideration of “life with disability,” as if disability is somehow extricable from other forms of being, living, and creating. Moreover, for three talented, award-winning poets who have demonstrated little investment in the work of other disabled writers and artists to claim leadership in our movement and writing is flagrantly out of touch with the community this anthology claims to center. It only demonstrates mainstream poetry and publishing world’s lack of connection to Disabled arts, writing, culture, politics, impact, struggles, and community.
It’s also important to name that singular Sickness and Disability don’t essentially mean as Mia Mingus puts it, being politically Disabled. The immense violence of ableism of literary and Poetry world only highlights how culturally Disabled Poetics aren’t viewed as literary, aren’t considered in the milieu as being poetry or enough. This invisibility is reflected by the lack of presence in disability communities by these editors, leading — perhaps inevitably — to this halfhearted initiative and anthology.
Some specific concerns:
- The lack of physically disabled/low-mobility/mobility-aid-using editors on a “disability writing” anthology further marginalizes some of the most invisibilized folks in disabled literary spaces who often do not have physical access to literary events held at inaccessible venues.
- What about autistics / neurodivergent folks? Do these authors publicly identify as neurodivergent or autistic or claim those embodied experiences?
- Do the editors and press have the community and political savvy to engage the vast umbrella of Disability?
- Where are the trans, intersex, and gender non-conforming community members? Disability spaces have been historically cis-dominated and actively transphobic, whereas disability justice work is filled with trans activists, culture workers, and writers.
- Lack of transparency around how these editors were selected — and by whom — to lead this project.
At the very least, it’s alarming that this anthology is not editorially centered on actual poets and writers who are committed to and in the movement for disability justice in poetry and writing. Disabled writers have worked endlessly: struggling for accessibility at AWP, accessibility at poetry events, editing journals and initiatives that center Disabled and Sick, Crazy, Mad, and Neurodivergent people.
There is no shortage of brilliant disabled poets and editors who would have been credentialed for this position. In addition to the initial authors of this letter, writers including Ashna Ali, San Alland, Kay Ulanday Barrett, Patricia Berne, Jay Besemer, Isobel Bess, Sheila Black, Liz Bowen, Eli Clare, T.K. Dalton, torrin a. greathouse, Karrie Higgins, Joselia R. Hughes, Natalie E. Illum, Cyrée Jarelle Johnson, Camisha Jones, Petra Kuppers, Travis Chi Wing Lau, Zefyr Lisowski, Jimena Lucero, Constance Merritt, Leroy F. Moore, Aurora Levins Morales, Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha, Khadijah Queen, Amir Rabiyah, Kai Cheng Thom, Jillian Weise, and many more all have extensive histories of doing the precise work required for this anthology. Many of these writers and culture workers have innovated Disabled arts and culture hubs, edited or contributed to Disabled-led literary entities such as Deaf Poets Society and Wordgathering, or Sick and Disabled folios and special issues such as Beyond Resilience by Nat. Brut. Still, many of these writers struggle to find an audience for their work, be taken seriously by the literary community at large, and face the nepotism and gatekeeping of mainstream publishing that ensures their work remains at the margins of publishing.
This invisibilization would be bad enough on its own — PoWorld is filled with critically acclaimed books centering disabled bodies from non-disabled authors — but is especially egregious given the valences of the past year. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, disabled people (especially Black and working-class disabled people) have been the (unnamed) center of the pandemic, yet rarely acknowledged in mainstream conversations. Indeed, as the country pushes to reopen, disabled infections and deaths are treated as “normal” by sources as respected as The Atlantic and the New York Times. Given the widespread invisibility around conversations about disability, even in so blatant a crisis as we have been in of late, we believe this project, as it currently stands with the editors it has, is untenable.
The question we’re raising isn’t the qualification of these editors as writers or editors for poetry and writing in general. The concern is the absence of Disability-centered framing, experience, and access in Disabled-centered art, writing, and poetry that feels — likely unintentionally — dubious, like an afterthought. Instead of reacting with defensiveness and derision, we invite the editors and Haymarket Books staffers to reconsider the goals and framing of a truly “anti-ableist” anthology — especially considering Haymarket’s extensive history as a benchmark of diverse, engaging, and community-connected publications that center collective struggle.
Nothing about us without us!
In Solidarity,
Jesse Rice-Evans
[Redacted]
[Redacted]
[Redacted]
Form to sign:
Additional Signatories:
Zefyr Lisowski
Kay Ulanday Barrett
Audre Wirtanen
Abigail N.
Logan Middleton, Graduate Worker, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Jina B. Kim
féi hernandez
James Factora
Saúl Hernández
Jane Shi
Melissa Bennett, chronically ill poet/writer/chaplain/educator
{Redacted}
Rabbit Richards
The Cyborg Jillian Weise
Kate Meuser
Q Lawrence
Lydia X. Z. Brown
Will Fitzgerald (disabled activist)
Megan Lynch, UC Access Now
Jennifer St. Jude
JA Fields
A.G.
Shannon Hope Dingle
Carrie Lorig
C. Siobhán Pomeroy, trans autistic she/her
Gretchen Felker-Martin
Camellia-Berry Grass
Natalie E. Illum
syan jay
Lea Anderson
Kelsi Long
Tenley Lozano
Daniel Shank Cruz
Amanda Galvan Huynh
Justin A. Davis
Fiona Robertson, disabled poet
[Redacted], unnamed because I fear retaliation and further (invisible) marginalization by the PoWorld
Hailey Lamb
Heather Kerstetter, MSW
E Jamar
Jason Kokoszka
J. Cuzzocreo
Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha
Tim Jones-Yelvington
edxi betts
Andréa Stella
Hannah Sullivan Facknitz
Aimee Francaes
A. H. Reaume
Sarah Cavar, PhD Student, UC Davis; editor, Stone of Madness Press
Meg Day
Ellen Samuels
[Redacted]
Liz Bowen
Bassam Sidiki
Abby Lawlor
Mad Marshall
Grace Lapointe, writer with cerebral palsy
Valentine Conaty
Claudia Alick, Calling Up Justice
Kate
Sarah Perchikoff
Jennifer Brown
Edyka Chilomé
Marina Tsaplina @MarinaTsapliina
Ariana Brown
Luke Blackwell-Drummond
Sarah Blahovec
Austin Smith, disability justice organizer & writer
T.G.
Mallory Seegal
Emily Johnson, poet and editor
chessa rae, a wee fan & reader
Syble Heffernan
Don Allen
Mon M
Ngozi Alston
Laura Keeney
Ally Ang, poet
Amy Gaeta, Disabled Poet & Disability Justice Activist
Elizabeth Groux
Matt Mitchell
Adriana White
Aidan Z. (Bird), disabled chronically ill, ADHD nonbinary poet/writer
Joey De Jesus
R.M. Haines
Sofia Tagkaloglou
Amanda Meth
Travis Chi Wing Lau
mai c. doan
Majo Delgadillo
Natalie Eilbert
Bri M., POWER NOT PITY podcast
Randy M.
Jessica Nirvana Ram
Teona Studemire
Alice Wong, Disability Visibility Project
David A. Bradley
J. Hughes
Erin Schick
Mallory Hudson
Aleida Olvera
Katherine Morgan
Nathan Spoon
Maria C.
Sanna Wani
Bunny Morris
Jessica Kim, disabled poet and student
syan jay
Teona Studemire
Ella Walker
Elisa Rowe (Crawley)
anna zeemont
imogen xtian smith
Edward Vidaurre
Isobel Bess
Loreto P. Ansaldo
[Redacted] (with care)
Jordan Taitingfong
Mary McGee
Ellen Young
Megan Adams
Kirsten Rodning
Zeyn Joukhadar
Caleb Luna
Asher Harriman-Smith
Etain Ryan
Alber Saborío
Stephanie Melendez
Jane Lewty
Ella Walker
Elisa Rowe (Crawley)
Polina West
Monica Rico
Danielle Pafunda
Meredith Mars
Morgan Michaels
Kyle Carrero Lopez
sarah madoka currie.
SaraEve Fermin, living with epilepsy and multiple brain surgery survivor
Georgie Fooks
Levi Cain, poet
Regie Cabico
Melissa Cugley
Victoria Newton Ford
Salvation Burnette
heena sharma
Sami Schalk
Scout Ruppe
Kara Goraya
Sarah Maxfield
Jihyun Yun
Miles A.M. Collins-Sibley
Brandon Roiger (he/him)
Madeline Lessing, MSW
Alexandra Corinth, disabled and chronically ill poet and activist
Kirby Kellogg, autistic writer and journalist.
TC Tolbert
Niina Pollari
T.A. Noonan
Brad Richard
Ashna Ali
Megan E. Doherty, PhD
M. Mack, autistic, chronically ill, physically disabled poet
Baxstar Jonmarie
Chris L. Butler
Dan Holloway, award-winning disabled poet and novelist
Dena Igusti
Shannon Barber
Cara Wieland
JD Scott
Emily Rose Cole
Raye Hendrix
Rasha Abdulhadi
HL Doruelo
chelsea cleveland
Jed Walsh
Catalina
Elizabeth King
Layne Ransom
Jasmine Noseworthy Persaud
Amy Nagopaleen
Jen Deerinwater, disabled writer and citizen of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma
Natalia Sylvester
Lucia Lorenzi
Pınar Banu Yaşar
Kinsey Cantrell
Meg W
vee bui
Francesca Lisette
Sarena Brown
Maxine Krenzel
Gracen Brilmyer
Krystal Kara
Leila Ortiz
Bara Hladik
Alecia Gatlin
Brandon Shimoda
Temar France
Naomi Ortiz
Krystal Kara
Elæ Moss
Jen M. Wang
Prince Bush, Poet
Amethyst Carey
Sam Rush
Melissa A Milinovich
Sanchari Sur
Ness Shortley
J.B. Stone
Jimena Lucero
Solange Castellar
Michele Diaz (neurodivergent writer)
Madeleine Barnes
Natasha Alcalde
Lizz Schumer
Jonce Marshall Palmer
[Redacted]
Shayna Gee
Russell D.H Lee
Rachelle Toarmino
Kourtney Rose
Catherine Garbinsky
Maya Gittelman
Karina Vahitova
Bryan Borland
Patrick Mullen-Coyoy
[Redacted]
s.g. maldonado-vélez
Seth Pennington
Mary Fashik
Nuha Fariha
Amanda Cherry
Lisa Ko
Oliver Baez Bendorf
Sarah Brannan
Alan Pelaez Lopez
Mason Hamberlin
Kelly Davio
C.P.
Jen LoPiccolo
Charlie Garcia-Spiegel, he/him, queer disabled organizer
Zara Jamshed
Eddie Maisonet
Destiny Toro
Leslie Contreras Schwartz
Felix Lecocq
Eli Clare
Pelenakeke Brown- disabled artist
Yumi T
Miriam Karraker
Ariel Mae Lambe
RE Katz
James Manzano
Nicole Steinberg
Jennifer Patterson
Akua Lezli Hope
Emma Wilson
Marie Hinson
Simran
dana middleton
amália tenuta
Mark Cugini
Salvatore Pane
Kristin Gillespie
Jessica Kurtz
Kora Schultz
NM Amadeo
Karen Buenavista Hanna, PhD, Assistant Professor of Gender, Sexuality, and Intersectionality Studies, Connecticut College
Taylor Cook
Sydney Ji (they/them)
Pratima Munagala
Britt Billmeyer-Finn
Devon McKnight
Azza Altiraifi
Beatrice Adler-Bolton
Dominick Knowles, PhD candidate & poetry editor, Protean Magazine
Zipporah Arielle
Amy K Coody
Hannah Holmberg
Olivia Z.
Becca
hannah harris-sutro, mad femme writer & facilitator
Jessica O’Brien
Jules C
Jaye Elizabeth Elijah
Amanda Crowell, ADHD Poet
Samira Nadkarni
AW
Davd John
Isabel Rae McKenzie
The Rev. Lindsey R. Briggs
Jess Sherwin
So Mayer
donia salem harhoor
Ricardo Alvelo
Sarah Bailey
Elijah Lockhart
Tessa Miller, author of “What Doesn’t Kill You: A Life with Chronic Illness — Lessons from a Body in Revolt”
Kala Del Giorno
M. Munoz
Leslie Sainz
romham pàdraig gallacher, Radical Access Mapping Project
Monica Segura
Osher Lee
Emerald Rose Anastasia
Kari Cooke
B. Legenbauer, chronically ill and neurodivergent community organizer, MSW student
Liú Méi z.b. Chen
Jennifer Gorman
Jessica Lopez
Dana Garza
sophie klahr
Holly Aldrich
Tina Zafreen Alam
Susanne Antonetta
katie wills evans
Jennifer Barroso
Jane Rohrer
Rachel DL
Elina Zhang
jekara noelle govan
lily le
Kyla Jamieson
Day Heisinger-Nixon
[Redacted]
Jo Bear
Charlie Neer
Misha Ponnuraju
Luiza Flynn-Goodlett
Chad Koch
Robin Wilson-Beattie Disabled Writer, Disability and Sexuality Educator and Writer
Vivek Kembaiyan
G Peters
Gillian Ladd
Kail Woods
Christel Adina Loar
Samwise Gamegee, Disabled & Chronically Ill Activist & Creator
Jessica Pace
Rebecca Higgins
Zachary Jeffreys
A.Colebaugh
[Redacted]
Darin Michael Stewart
Jake Lyon
Mary Sue, Haymarket Books book club subscriber
Venus Selenite
Lisa J. Ellwood, Autistic & disabled Lenape & Nanticoke writer & journalist
Camisha Jones
jo reyes-boitel
Claudia Cortese
ana
Paul S.U.
Anita Cameron
carolyn ogburn
Sarah Tuttle
Karolyn Gehrig
Lily Frenette
z- with support and respect
Dan Schapiro
Lucas Scheelk (white autistic poet with bipolar disorder)
Subini Annamma
Rhiannon Kim (she|her)
DI M
Karah Greene, MSW student and health disparities researcher
Foglifter Journal and Press
Aymon E. Langlois, disabled award-winning writer; scholar of disability and/in nineteenth century transatlantic literatures
Nadia Gerassimenko
Han Olliver
Amanda Enzo
Lisa Porter
