by Corinne Segal
Deaf Poets Society, a new digital literary magazine, has a message for writers with disabilities: We see you. We want you to be here. And this is your space.
Writer Sarah Katz, the magazine’s founder, grew up in North Potomac, Maryland, and attended a school with a program for students who were deaf or hard of hearing. “I had grown up around other deaf and hard of hearing people and took for granted that I had easy access to other people like me,” she said.
That wasn’t the case at the University of Maryland, College Park, where Katz said she was the “only deaf student I knew.” As a young writer, she began seeking out the disability community and went on to earn an MFA in poetry from American University.
Katz said members of the disability community have struggled to find its place in the literary world, with many writers asking who is afforded space to write in a world that often renders disabled people invisible.
“There’s been a lot of controversy about how people with disabilities are represented in the literary community, and whether publishers are really giving a platform for disabled writers, and also the diversity of disability literature,” she said.
She decided to found an online literature and art magazine, naming it in a nod to the 1989 movie “Dead Poets Society.” Writers and artists with any kind of disability can contribute to the magazine, which will release new issues on a bimonthly basis, Katz said.
When creating the first issue, the editors of the Deaf Poets Society considered how to make the magazine accessible for all people, including people who are deaf, blind or have other disabilities.
Most pieces are presented in both text and audio, and pictures are accompanied by descriptions for people who cannot see the images. The editors are also considering options for online workshops that could allow people to attend from home.
But the magazine is only one step toward expressing the diversity and point of view of the disability community.
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Question
Use the passage below from “Deaf Poets Society” to answer the question.
How does the author use details to support the central idea of this passage?
(1 point)
Responses
by making an allusion to the film Dead Poets Society
by making an allusion to the film Dead Poets Society
by stating the new magazine will be published every two weeks.
by stating the new magazine will be published every two weeks.
by identifying the hometown of the writer Sarah Katz
by identifying the hometown of the writer Sarah Katz
by explaining how magazines can be accessible to those with disabilities
by explaining how magazines can be accessible to those with disabilities
1 answer
The correct response is:
by explaining how magazines can be accessible to those with disabilities
This detail supports the central idea of the passage by highlighting the magazine's commitment to inclusivity and accessibility for writers and readers with disabilities.
