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'Urgent, compelling and lyrically, luminously beautiful . . . a
brilliant, heart-rending read.' Psychologies Magazine Brown
constellates the subjects that define her inside and out: a
disabled and conspicuous body, a religious conversion, a missing
twin, a life in poetry. As she does, she depicts vividly for us not
only her own life but a striking array of sites and topics, among
them Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and the world's oldest anatomical
theater, Eugenics, and Jerry Falwell's Liberty University.
Throughout, Brown offers us the gift of her exquisite sentences,
woven together in consideration, always, of what it means to be
human: flawed, potent, feeling.
Whose lives count as fully human? The answer matters for everyone,
disabled or not. The ancient Greek ideal linked physical wholeness
to moral wholeness - the virtuous citizen was "beautiful and good."
It's an ideal that has all too often turned deadly, casting those
who do not measure up as less than human. In the pre-Christian era,
infants with disabilities were left on the rocks; in modern times,
they have been targeted by eugenics. Much has changed, thanks to
the tenacious advocacy of the disability rights movement.
Yesteryear's hellish institutions have given way to customized
educational programs and assisted living centers. Public spaces
have been reconfigured to improve access. Therapies and medical
technology have advanced rapidly in sophistication and
effectiveness. Protections for people with disabilities have been
enshrined in many countries' antidiscrimination laws. But these
victories, impressive as they are, mask other realities that
collide awkwardly with society's avowals of equality. Why are
parents choosing to abort a baby likely to have a disability? Why
does Belgian law allow for euthanasia in cases of disability, even
absent a terminal diagnosis or physical pain? Why, when ventilators
were in short supply during the first Covid wave, did some states
list disability as a reason to deny care? On this theme: - Heonju
Lee tells how his son with Down syndrome saved another child's
life. - Molly McCully Brown and Victoria Reynolds Farmer recount
their personal experiences with disability. - Amy Julia Becker says
meritocracies fail because they value the wrong things. - Maureen
Swinger asks six mothers around the world about raising a child
with disabilities. - Joe Keiderling documents the unfinished
struggle for disability rights. - Isaac T. Soon wonders if Saint
Paul's "thorn in the flesh" was a disability. - Leah Libresco
Sargeant reviews What Can a Body Do? and Making Disability Modern.
- Sarah C. Williams says testing for fetal abnormalities is not a
neutral practice. Also in the issue: - Ross Douthat is brought low
by intractable Lyme disease. - Edwidge Danticat flees an active
shooter in a packed mall. - Eugene Vodolazkin finds comic relief at
funerals, including his own father's. - Kelsey Osgood discovers
that being an Orthodox Jew is strange, even in Brooklyn. -
Christian Wiman pens three new poems. - Susannah Black profiles
Flannery O'Conner. - Our writers review Eyal Press's Dirty Work,
Steve Coll's Directorate S, and Millennial Nuns by the Daughters of
Saint Paul. Plough Quarterly features stories, ideas, and culture
for people eager to apply their faith to the challenges we face.
Each issue includes in-depth articles, interviews, poetry, book
reviews, and art.
Getting acquainted with local flora and fauna is the perfect way to
begin to understand the wonder of nature. The natural environment
of Southern Appalachia, with habitats that span the Blue Ridge to
the Cumberland Plateau, is one of the most biodiverse on earth. A
Literary Field Guide to Southern Appalachia-a hybrid literary and
natural history anthology-showcases sixty of the many species
indigenous to the region. Ecologically, culturally, and
artistically, Southern Appalachia is rich in paradox and
stereotype-defying complexity. Its species range from the iconic
and inveterate-such as the speckled trout, pileated woodpecker,
copperhead, and black bear-to the elusive and endangered-such as
the American chestnut, Carolina gorge moss, chucky madtom, and
lampshade spider. The anthology brings together art and science to
help the reader experience this immense ecological wealth. Stunning
images by seven Southern Appalachian artists and conversationally
written natural history information complement contemporary poems
from writers such as Ellen Bryant Voigt, Wendell Berry, Janisse
Ray, Sean Hill, Rebecca Gayle Howell, Deborah A. Miranda, Ron Rash,
and Mary Oliver. Their insights illuminate the wonders of the
mountain South, fostering intimate connections. The guide is an
invitation to get to know Appalachia in the broadest, most poetic
sense.
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