Issue 3 of Volume 17 is now available to read here! This issue features: -"Working At Life" by Joanne Alfano -"I Believe" by Dawn Vogel -"A Guiding Light" by T. Jeremy Smith -"It’s Raining, It’s Pouring" by Lynn Guttmann -"Beneath the Green Sun" by Elyssa D. Perkins -"How to Lose Over 100 Pounds in Only 10+ Years" by Cher Finver -"Sometimes In The Evening" by Marilyn McVicker -"Opal" by Megan D. Henson -"Brass Rings, Bologna, and Other Gamblers’ Delights, Delusions, and Legacies" by Madeleine Parish -"Under the Southern Cross" by Daniel C. Smith -"The First Ride of The Skeleton Queen" by T.B. Jeremiah -"Crip Camp: Igniting A Fire" by Chris Kuell -"Striding" and "Freedom" by Gerri Leen -"Gifted" by Virginia Betts -New on The Bookshelf, featuring four new works!

Mike Reynolds will be live streaming a story hour at 4:20pm each day from May 5th through 7th. Tune in to our Facebook page to catch him sharing an interview as well as some of his writing! Hope everyone is staying safe out there!

Issue 2 of Volume 17 is now available to read here! This issue features: -"Ode to Cognitive Behavioral Therapy" by Elizabeth Blackwell -"How to Eulogize Everyone You’ve Ever Loved" by Olivia Bradley -"Free The Sky" by Wendy S. Delmater -"Pink Bleeds Red" by Kate Gough -"Making Every Word Count: A Review" by Ann Chiapetta -"At Muldoon" by Damian J. Clay -"The Taste of Salt" by Jayne Warren -"Fool’s Gold" by V.F. Thompson -"The Pigeons Paid In Dropped Feathers" by Emily Randolph Epstein -"Keep It Behind Your Teeth" and "Atlas" by Kendall Hertia -"No Need To Get Excited" by DJ Bartel -"Hawking Selection" by Kaz Morran -"God’s Eyes" by Venetia Sjogren -"Happily Ever After, Every Now and Then: A Book Review" by Erika Jahneke

Issue 1 of Volume 17 is now available to read here! This issue features: -"Autism on the Rise" by David Rubin -"Broken Symphony" by Elizabeth Devin -"Echolalia" and "Two Years" by Olivia Swasey -"Flawless" by Ken Allan Dronsfield -"Four Grocery Lists" by Zach Semel -"Grey" by Elka Scott -"New York City" by Susan M. Silver -"Seeking Shelter" by Amy Heath -"Such a Pretty Girl: A Story of Struggle, Empowerment and Disability Pride- A Book Review" by Erin M. Kelly -"The Garden" by J. Elliott Toren -"The Mad Alphabet Or a Little Trip Down Mnemosyne Lane" by Mehi Loveski -"The Man Who Lived on the Ceiling" by Amanda Dyer -"The Wishing Tree" and "The Photograph" by Frances Koziar

A culture is defined by the literature it produces. As a minority group, people with disabilities have, historically, been defined by what non-disabled people have written or spoken about them. Recently, the literature of people with disabilities has been in the spotlight of popular culture with the Oscar winning film “Breathing Lessons” by Mark O’Brien, and with “Moving Violations”, a memoir by John Hockenberry. The writings of O’Brien and Hockenberry, and over 30 other writers, are featured in a new anthology titled “Staring Back: The Disability Experience from the Inside Out”. The book is published by Plume books. Fries thought of the idea of an anthology after attending a forum on disability and performance art in 1994. “I put out a call for submissions,” Fries stated in a phone call from his home in Northampton, MA Thursday afternoon. “A great deal of time was spent reading. I wanted to make a book that was strong literature, and to worry about any message later.” “Staring Back” is the latest work from Fries, whose disability is due to missing bones in his feet. Fries wrote very honestly and openly about the struggles he felt as a disabled and gay person in his 1996 book “Body, Remember”, which tells a powerful tale of abuse, recovery, and life. Fries is promoting the book heavily, with a book tour that begins soon and will hit Boston on November 20th. “I hope the book can be used as a text book for a disability studies class,” Fries added. “Hopefully people will be compelled to read an anthology completely written and edited by writers with disabilities.” “Staring Back” covers a broad range of writing, including nonfiction, poetry, fiction and drama. The writers involved have a diversity of physical disabilities and present a wide spectrum of perspectives. One of the contributors, current-Californian Jean Stewart, used to work at the University of Maine in the Department of Botany. In 1970, Stewart formed a writers group at UMAINE “which lasted for several years.” Stewart continued from her home in California. “It was a small group of students and faculty. Steve King was in it before he got his first story published. Burton Hatlen was very active, as well as Jim Bishop.” She also stated that Stephen King’s future wife, Tabitha Spruce, was a member as well. “I just received my copy yesterday, but it looks wonderful. The book covers a lot of territory,” Stewart said when asked about the book. Stewart submitted a work of fiction for the anthology. His story, “The Interview”, deals with the process of interviewing a prospective personal care attendant. The book has many authors Stewart knew and respected. “I really enjoy Adrienne Rich. She speaks her beliefs clearly,” Stewart commented. Rich, who was awarded an honor from President Clinton, publicly refused the award. Rich has an excerpt from her work “Contradictions: Tracking Poems”. Other writers are equally honored to appear in the anthology. Mike Ervin, a writer and journalist from Chicago, thought “It was amazing” to be between writers such as Stanley Elkin and Ann Finger. Both are noted writers in disability-related literature. Ervin is a regular contributor to several disability magazines. “Staring Back” does cover a great deal of territory. Many of the writers are some of the most eloquent voices for the rights of people with disabilities. Jean Stewart is a pioneer in the area of rights of prisoners with disabilities. Fries is a strong and eloquent voice telling the world about the experience of being disabled and gay. “I hope this helps people with disabilities realize that they are not isolated,” Fries added. “I never had this type of writing when I was growing up.” “Staring Back” is a wonderful volume of art which is worthy of many hours of solitary, uninterrupted reading. “I hope this anthology will viewed as disabled literature having credible literary value, not as therapy,” Fries said. There is no doubt that “Staring Back” will be an anthology that will stand up to any contemporary literature being published today.

The implementation of Recreational Marijuana Sales set to begin in Maine sometime within the next year. While the 2016 vote for legalization was one of the closest elections in Maine’s history, the majority of the organized opposition was from the medical marijuana community. The fear was that recreational cannabis could severely damage the program that was considered the best state for patient access in America. While the referendum made reference to a canopy cap, which many argued would lead to a monopoly by the players with the most money, the idea of a “canopy cap” was abandoned by the Maine Legislature’s Marijuana Legalization Implementation Committee when the recreational marijuana law was brought before the legislature. In mid-October, Maine began having training for Biotrack seed-to-sale tracking software for both medical and recreational users. Earlier this spring, I had the chance to visit Colorado. I was lucky to be able to schedule a six-hour layover in Denver. The state has the longest recreational marijuana program, which began in 2014. While Colorado does have a robust medical marijuana program, but it does not give reciprocity to medical patients from other states. In most cases, if you are above the age of 21, you can use the recreational marijuana program. But to be a medical patient in Colorado, you need to reside in the state for for at least thirty days. I arrived in Denver and took the regional train service to Union Station. The fare was very reasonable, the train was completely accessible, and the ride from the airport had stunning views of the Rocky Mountains and amazing street art. When I arrived in Union Station, I grabbed some fresh pizza and went off to find a recreational cannabis store. It took less than ten minutes before I was seated inside a store waiting my turn to buy some merchandise. I thought there were some very good parts of the Colorado program, like the fact that the woman who I bought my flower from had a license issued by the state. I was a bit less enthusiastic when the strain I really wanted to try was only available in a half gram preroll. I was trying to buy a full gram preroll, and they could not “make” one up because their inventory system was very tightly controlled. Overall, I was impressed that the experience felt very professional (maybe controlled might be a better word). Unfortunately, when I asked for literature, I was handed a handful of different cannabis magazines. The people who worked at this first store were tremendously helpful, and I probably would visit them again because they had great customer service. And as I would find out a bit later, the cannabis flower was superb. R was on her way. She wanted to take me to see some sights as well as another store, and we also wanted to enjoy the cannabis. Like Maine, it’s illegal to consume cannabis in public spaces, but in Denver the fine can be as much as a hundred dollars, and a large percentage of the people who are fined are the homeless. Denver is incredibly beautiful, and I got to see a large part of the cool places to see in Denver, like the Zoo and the Botanical Gardens. It was quite bizarre to be in what was referred to as “downtown” Denver and literally not see any signs of poverty. I enjoyed three prerolls of cannabis with R, and like everyone else who R has been with when they tried Colorado cannabis, I was dumbfounded by how potent it was. I didn’t try any edibles or concentrates simply because I didn’t have enough time to use them responsibly. When I did get a chance to read the six different magazines that I picked up, the prices on cannabis were similar to the prices in Maine, but generally they were probably lower, especially if you look for monthly coupons or daily specials every store seems to have. The level of professionalism is unparalleled in Colorado. They’ve had an active market for five years now, and working in the cannabis industry doesn’t seem like it was considered a disrespectful way to earn a living. If anything, it seems to actually have status as a respected job. Differences in cost seem probably due to the sheer magnitude of the industry compared to the size of Maine. Furthermore, Colorado is strange because there are large parts of the state that are considered federal lands where cannabis is not supposed to be brought on those lands. Concentrated wax or shatter is sold not only by the gram like in Maine, but by the ounce, and at costs that would be considered unprofitable in Maine. When you consider that wax or shatter has no smell, is small and easy to transport, and that “Dabbing culture” seems to be huge in Colorado, it’s a program that seems to work best for the needs of the people of Colorado. While there are always reasons to be cautious, it would be too easy to be fearful of what is new and could potentially cause issues with the medical program. Given the time and attention to detail the legislature has taken, the fact that medical cannabis itself has been a boost to the Maine economy, and that Maine Cannabis patients can effectively organize, I think it will certainly be a help to some patients. ### The author was one of the first legal Cannabis patients in Maine.

On the morning of Monday, September 16th, the western Maine town of Farmington was rocked by a propane gas explosion that would level the new offices of Life Enrichment Advancing People (LEAP Inc), a local non-profit that provided services to severely disabled adults. One firefighter, Captain Michael Bell, who was 68 and had thirty years experience as a firefighter, was killed. Six other firefighters were injured, along with maintenance worker Larry Lord. Lord has been credited with saving nearly a dozen lives by evacuating everyone when he smelled gas in the newly constructed building minutes before it exploded. Lord himself received extensive injuries and was evacuated via Life Flight to a hospital in Boston, where he remained over six weeks later. According to a statement, the firefighters injured included: Fire Rescue Chief Terry Bell Sr., 62, with serious injuries; Lord, the LEAP maintenance worker, with serious injuries; Captain Tim Hardy, 40; Capt. Scott Baxter, 37; firefighter Theodore Baxter, 64; and firefighter Joseph Hastings, 24. They were all admitted into intensive care at Maine Medical Center in Portland. Fire Rescue Deputy Chief Clyde Ross was also injured, but he was treated and released the same day. As of the writing of this article, all six firefighters have been released from the hospital, with all of them receiving a heroes procession of fire firefighters meeting the injured firefighter in Rome, on Route 27, which proceeded for over twenty miles to Farmington. Residents along the route were frequently seen waiting for the procession to go by their houses. Along with the destruction of the LEAP offices, eleven trailers at a nearby mobile home park were destroyed, leaving thirty people homeless. News reports also document a car being literally thrown across an intersection as a result of the blast. The Farmington Fair, an agricultural fair that runs for a week, closed early on the day of the fire, but it reopened the next day. Route 2, a major thoroughfare used for shipping in western Maine, was diverted for two days as a result of the explosion. In the weeks since the explosion, a leaking pipe was found to have been the cause. Fortunately, because it was early in the morning when Lord smelled gas fumes, it was before any clients were being seen, which is a blessing because the deathtoll could have been significantly higher. Governor Janet Mills, who calls Farmington her hometown, ordered flags lowered to half mast for two days. Farmington has a rich history of being a center of education. Being in Western Maine, Farmington was seen as a hub for many social services for the disabled because it was closer than the larger cities of Lewiston or Portland. On September 16, over forty different fire departments responded to the explosion. The explosion and damage associated with it make it the worst fire in Maine in the past hundred years. In researching dozens of articles for this piece, it is beyond apparent that the firefighters of Maine are not only a “brotherhood” in a union or shared career, but many families have generations of relatives who labor as firefighters. In Maine, Captain Michael Bell was the second firefighter to lose his life this year in the line of duty. Prior to 2019, It had been 38 years since a firefighter died in the line of duty in Maine. A GoFundMe page has been setup for Larry Lord, who is currently in the burn unit of Massachusetts General Hospital, where he is expected to be for four months while recuperating from burns on over half of his body. Find the Gofundme page here!

On October 21, Kenny Fries, an award winning writer of numerous books, essays, and poetry, spoke as part of Bowdoin College’s “Disability and Accessibility” series. Fries was born with a congenital physical disability that impacts his legs and ability to walk. Fries is openly gay, and has traveled the world as a result of numerous grants that have allowed him to spend time writing in Japan and most recently Germany, where he currently lives with his husband. Fries is a prolific writer and has been a favorite of mine since I read “Staring Back”, an anthology he edited in 1997. Staring Back was the first anthology of writers with disabilities to be published by a major publishing house in America. Fries continued to explain that even though it has been out of print for years, the book is referenced in textbooks and classrooms to this day, and he still receives royalty checks yearly. In October of 1997, in my final year of college, I found and bought a copy of Staring Back at a local bookstore. I spent as much of that night reading as I could, and the following day I approached my editor to do a review on the book. The review was revolutionary in the fact that one of the authors included in the essay, Jean Stewart, had attended the University of Maine AND was in a writers group with Stephen and Tabitha King. I even got a quote from Fries that day, and my editor actually gave me some rare and incredibly high praise. Hearing how influential the book had become only reinforced how my initial review was quite correct. Hearing an author speak in person is truly magical. Fries gave a number of readings, recalling his times in Japan and many other hilariously interesting anecdotes. To me, the highlight was a piece about his hike up the Beehive trail on Mount Desert Island with his partner. Fries made the story come alive with focus on details, the interplay of his body and its limitations, as well as the details of his partner’s climbing difficulties. He captured the essence of the place and took you there, with his own fears and laughter guiding you through the hike. It was spellbinding to hear Fries read the riveting passage in person. Fries stop in Maine was one of only four stops on a short tour. Fries teaches at the MFA in Creative Writing Program at Goddard College in Vermont. He has won numerous grants and has several books of both nonfiction and poetry available. His website at www.kennyfries.com will list his extensive writing credentials. Thanks to Bowdoin College for bringing such a captivating writer to Maine. #MikeReynolds #KennyFries #BowdoinCollege #StaringBack #JeanStewart #StephenKing #TabithaKing

Issue 4 of Volume 16 is now available to read here! This issue features: -"Broom and Dustpan" by Fay Loomis -"The Space Between Us" by Ariana Hoelscher -"Masquerading Stranger" by Karen Craig -"Drown" and "Create" by Elizabeth Devine -"The Endless Drudgery of Being Alive" by B. Lawrence -"At Age 18 Weighing 83 lbs" by Casey Cromwell -"What William Had To Do" by Keith Nunes -"Grandmother Firebird" by Dawn Vogel -"A Dog’s Breath" by Ann Chiappetta -"The Ghosts Who Carry Us" by Elizabeth Devine -"Forecast: A Downpour of Your Pushback" by Roy A. Barnes -"The Ghost Who Loved Me" by Susan M. Silver -"You Ask Me Why I Wear Bright Colors" by Jennifer Bradpiece #BreathShadow #AbilityMaine #NewontheBookshelf #FayLoomis #ArianaHoelscher #KarenCraig #ElizabethDevine #BLawrence #CaseyCromwell #KeithNunes #DawnVogel #AnnChiappetta #RoyABarnes #SusanMSilver #JenniferBradpiece

Issue 3 of Volume 16 is now available to read here! This issue features: -"Bullet-Holes" by Geraldine Fernandez -"Twenty-Six Is Just Around the Corner" by SJ Bernstein -"Worldly Possessions" by Alison Gerhard -"Paging Dr. Crusher" by Meriah Crawford -"Cityscape Dreams" by Ariana Hoelscher -"The Boy Who Wanted to Be Hitler" by Douglas Kolacki -"A Phoenix Has Risen" by Jimmie R. Pennington -"Snowplow Epiphany" by Rick Blum -"WWBD--(What Would Buffy Do)?" by Kara Dorris -"Grand Mal" and "Mandala" by Maluma -"Circle of Silence" by Glynis Scrivens -"To Hekate" by Lorraine Schein -Several entries New on the Bookshelf! #BreathShadow #AbilityMaine #NewontheBookshelf #GeraldineFernandez #SJBernstein #AlisonGerhard #MeriahCrawford #ArianaHoelscher #DouglasKolacki #JimPennington #RickBlum #KaraDorris #Maluma #GlynisScrivens #LorraineSchein

Recently, society was shocked by a scandal involving its richest and most elite. It was exposed that the tools meant to aid victims of systemic oppression were being abused to benefit children of affluent families in their admittance to prestigious colleges. People went as far as photoshopping photos and faking athletic ability to get onto university teams to bolster their applications. Sadly, much of the media’s fixation on the scandal surrounds the involvement of famous individuals such as actresses and designers. Little of the media’s discourse attempts to explain the issues of legally-mandated accommodations for disabled students. While these lackluster laws were created in hope in an effort to provide an equal playing field for all students, they often just create the illusion of equality. This frequently makes things worse by suppressing the opinions of those experiencing inequalities and by undermining potentially successful solutions for the roots of the issues. The reality is that the tests needed for admissions to most schools in the US are administered by The College Board. The College Board, based in New Jersey, is a corporation with a complete monopoly on everything related to college admissions. The College Board administers a variety of tests for a broad range of subjects, and a student may end up taking over a dozen tests before an admission application is even looked at. A multi-million dollar test preparation industry has flourished as college admissions have become increasingly competitive. Since the introduction of the “common application” by the College Board, students are applying to significantly more schools than ever before, some to the point of dozens. Studies have revealed that some preparation programs can massively increase total testing points, making the “equal playing field” aspect of testing questionable at best. High scores on the AP exam yield many benefits, including but not limited to college credit and preferential treatment. The College Board also covers testing for Graduate and Law and other professional schools after the Undergraduate years. In the State of Maine, The SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test) is given to all students in Junior Year of High School as an assessment test. Colleges often use SAT scores as a determining factor in offering scholarships or other opportunities, such as admissions to Honors Programs, where students are offered classes and independent study opportunities reserved “for the smartest people in your class.” As a student with a Disability, I have an unique perspective: I took the SAT twice, once untimed, once timed. I’m not exactly sure how the College Board currently administers the accommodations for the SAT, but when I took it, the untimed option was only offered twice a year, which did not leave me any real choice but to take it untimed the second time I was administered the test. Bizarrely enough, I scored higher on the timed administration, by such a significant amount that I wonder if I wasted my efforts in getting the documentation and the forms for taking the test untimed. I count myself lucky- I got a good enough education to get into the college that I wanted, and I received an excellent education where I went. The fact that the rich bought their way in via bribes multiple times the tuition costs just demonstrates the class inequality of college admissions. This doesn’t even begin to consider other factors such as legacy admissions and the unique problems faced by those at the intersections of race, gender, sexuality, and so on. Consider this on top of the mounting difficulties of transitioning to a post-secondary education world, and we can begin to see a fraction of the ways in which the not-rich are disadvantaged time and time again throughout their education. I propose a radical change that may benefit everyone: Simply make the tests for undergraduate admissions all untimed. Students with Disabilities are usually limited to the dates that accommodations are given, but this would do away with that obstacle as well as close up one possible way an unscrupulous person could “game the system." It would not eliminate the inequality in society, but given that a significant percentage of mental health issues and learning disabilities are not identified until adulthood, it seems only logical. Unfortunately, The College Board is not concerned with logic. With a monopoly on the tests that determine college admissions, why would they admit anything was or is wrong? Whether or not you agree with it, the SAT is far too important for the College Board (and the colleges who use their tests) to easily shift its use. In 2006, The College Board added a written section, but has removed it from its current tests since it became clear that the scores could be manipulated via specific word usage and certain grammatical techniques. The College Board and the tests they administer may not be directly implicated by anyone in the scandal based in California, and maybe that’s a decent thing. While it is frustrating beyond words to read about a professional test taker knowing the test well enough to be able to “score on demand”, at least there is some hope that he was taking the same test as any other college-aspiring student. The privilege and power that come with being in the top one percent still don’t guarantee success on the College Board Tests. Maybe the disability accommodations serve as a plot device, or a sad plot twist. Either way, it is difficult to see how anyone actually wins currently, and it’s clear that the biggest losers are the disabled and poor. #MikeReynolds #collegeadmissionsscandal #TheCollegeBoard

Issue 2 of Volume 16 is now available to read here! This issue features: -"Snowing in Spring" by Changming Yuan -"Through A Glass Darkly" by Glynis Scrivens -"Dear God" by Shawna Borman -"The Hidden Circus" by A.K.F.N. Myers -"Chronicle" by Judith Skillman -"In the Sunrise of the Purple City" by Laura Campbell -"Bin Bag Human" by M. Loraine Nunnally -"Smoked" by Marcus Vance -"It Is" by Emily Harriett -"My Wildest Dreams" by Laura Becker Unfortunately, we have nothing New on the Bookshelf! #BreathShadow #AbilityMaine #ChangmingYuan #GlynisScrivens #ShawnaBorman #AKFNMyers #JudithSkillman #LauraCampbell #MLoraineNunnally #MarcusVance #EmilyHarriett #LauraBecker #NewontheBookshelf