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.
Use the passage to answer the question.
Which statement from the text alludes to the central idea that writers with disabilities desire inclusion in the literary world but face obstacles in representation?
(1 point)
Responses
“But the magazine is only one step toward expressing the diversity and point of view of the disability community.”
“But the magazine is only one step toward expressing the diversity and point of view of the disability community.”
“Some of its accomplishments are little noticed by able-bodied people: entrance ramps, wide hallways, even close captioning are all results of efforts to make daily life more accessible.”
“Some of its accomplishments are little noticed by able-bodied people: entrance ramps, wide hallways, even close captioning are all results of efforts to make daily life more accessible.”
“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.”
“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.”
“‘It really made me think about the ways in which we, as disabled people, are kept apart from each other,’ she said.”
1 answer
The statement that alludes to the central idea that writers with disabilities desire inclusion in the literary world but face obstacles in representation is:
“‘It really made me think about the ways in which we, as disabled people, are kept apart from each other,’ she said.”
This statement highlights the challenges faced by disabled writers in connecting with one another and finding a space within the literary community.
1 answer
1 answer
1 answer
1 answer