About Emily K. Michael

Welcome

Well met, dear reader!

This blog is my place to explore a wide spectrum of topics – from the experiences of travel, work, and socializing to the larger concerns of a more-than-human society. I devote many words to my passions: music, nature, and poetry. And from my perspective as a disabled woman, I strive to forward proposals for peaceful and empathetic integration: practical solutions for daily irritations and challenges to common ways of considering and representing disabled people in the twenty-first century.

Here, I borrow Milton’s words and “consider how my light is spent.” I reflect on my abilities, perception, and experience – and find ways to direct that light outward, to nurture a spirit of genuineness, civility, and empathy.

I write about my disability because I value that experience. As a writer, I draw from my life because it is mine. I write about disability because there aren’t enough voices talking about disability in a way that encourages people to acknowledge our equal share in humanity. My perspective is not valuable because I’m blind—and therefore unequivocally different from you, the nondisabled or non-blind reader. My experience is valuable because it is a different perspective among people who are equally different. The norm is a myth.

Why do I write as Modwyn? Click here.

I hope you enjoy what you find in this civil space.

I welcome your suggestions for future topics in the comments below.

About the Writer: Emily K. Michael (Modwyn)

I am a blind poet, musician, and writing instructor living in Jacksonville, FL. I design grammar and style workshops for multilingual learners and developing writers. I love to crochet, cook, sing, and read. My latest project is learning to bird by ear.

Find me on Academia.edu, Amazon, Facebook, Goodreads, Poets & Writers, and Twitter.

Bibliography

Creative Nonfiction

• “Sounding Out Poetry.” AWP Writer’s Notebook, 2017.
• “Shades of Shame.” Barriers and Belonging: Personal Narratives of Disability. Temple UP, 2017, pp. 151-156.
• “Working Resonance: Concerto for Guide Dog, Handler, and World.” The Hopper. 29 May 2016.
• “Border Talk.” Mosaics: A Collection of Independent Women (Vol. 2),  edited by Jessica West. DayDreams Dandelion Press, 2016, pp. 183-190.
• “Stylish Negotiations.” Wordgathering: A Journal of Disability Poetry and Literature, vol. 10, no. 1, 2016.
• “Designing the Parachorus.” Wordgathering: A Journal of Disability Poetry and Literature, vol. 9, no. 2, 2015.
• “Quartet Beyond Measure.” Wordgathering: A Journal of Disability Poetry and Literature vol. 9, no. 2, 2015.
• “Barbershop singing: A true test of vocal prowess, with or without straw hats.” Classical MPR. 18 Feb 2015.
• “Voices in Error: Counting against Competence.” Disability Rhetoric. 18 Dec 2014.
• “Introducing my guide dog to the world of classical music.” Classical MPR. 14 Oct 2014.
• “Sight and Singing.” Breath & Shadow: A Journal of Disability Culture and Literature, vol.11, no. 4, 2014.
• “Review: Courtney Lewis leads the Jacksonville Symphony in a rousing Symphonie Fantastique.” Classical MPR. 30 Sept 2014.
• “Expecting the Invisible.” I Am Subject Stories: Women Awakening,  edited by Diane Z. DeBella, Wild Ginger Press, 2014, pp. 117-122.
• “Therapeutic music: Edith Moore-Hubert on the healing properties of classical music.” Classical MPR. 3 Sept 2014.
• “Lightspending.” Wordgathering: A Journal of Disability Poetry and Literature, vol. 8, no. 3, 2014.
• “Dialogue on Blindness and Writing.” Wordgathering: A Journal of Disability Poetry and Literature, vol. 8, no. 3, 2014.
• “The Tutor’s Voice: Exploring the Magic of Writing Tutors.” NCLCA Summer Newsletter, 2014.
• “Answering Blindness: A Poet Makes Amends.” Wordgathering: A Journal of Disability Poetry and Literature, vol. 8, no. 2, 2014.
• “Surprising summer reads for classical music lovers.” Classical MPR. 27 May 2014.
• “What is opera like for a listener – and singer – with limited vision?” Classical MPR. 5 Mar 2014.
• “Surprised by Disability.” Narrative Inquiry in Bioethics, vol. 3, no. 3, Johns Hopkins University, 2013, pp. 207-210.
• “In the Care of a Chorus.” The Pitch Pipe, 2012.

Poetry

• “4PM.” Saw Palm: Florida Art & Literature, no. 11, 2017.
• “Small Hours.” Nine Mile Magazine, Fall 2016.
• “Inside Jokes.” The Fem. 22 Aug 2016.
• “Kiwano.” The Hopper. 19 Aug 2016.
• “Trading Threes.” The Deaf Poets Society, vol. 1, no. 1, 2016.
• “A Phenomenology of Blindness.” Rogue Agent 16 (2016).
• “Crushed.” Wordgathering: A Journal of Disability Poetry and Literature, vol. 10, no. 2, 2016.
• 2 poems: “Wordbomb” and “Old Music.” Wordgathering: A Journal of Disability Poetry and Literature, vol. 9, no. 4, 2015.
• “Green time.” Bridge Eight, vol. 1, no. 1, 2014, p. 63.
• 2 Poems: “Comparing apples” and “Travel.” Compose: A Journal of Simply Good Writing., vol. 2, no. 2, 2014.
• “Cello.” Artemis Journal, vol. 21, no. 1, 2014, p. 19.
• 2 Poems: “Transcription” and “Conversation with the Adjacent Friend.” Wordgathering: A Journal of Disability Poetry and Literature, vol. 7, no. 1, 2013.

Permissions

Unless otherwise specified, all posts on this blog have been composed by me. If you would like to republish or reprint essays that you find on this blog, please consult with me first. In the past, my blog posts have been reprinted without my knowledge in other publications. While I was correctly listed as the author, these editors did not ask my permission or notify me in any way before republishing my work.

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