Some Thoughts on Access by Twin Cities Writers

by Marion Gomez

John Lee Clark, Raymond Luczak, Tara Arlene Innmon, and Lynne Nerenberg took some time to relate their insights on access, inclusion, and the local literary scene. They will be featured at The Same Difference: Writers with Disabilities Reading happening at the Loft on June 3.

When asked what access means to him, poet and editor of the anthology Deaf American Poetry, John Lee Clark, responded, “Access has to do with opening doors that could be closed. If there isn’t even a door there, you don’t say that the wall is a barrier. It is just a wall, to anyone. But when there is a door, the dynamic is different. It could be open or closed to you. Gaining access may require payment, or that you are an employee and have a key. That’s fine. But when the reason you are not gaining access is your disability, that’s a problem. You may have the ticket or the key, yet the door is a barrier. That’s not fine.”

by Linda White

Publicity has been called “glorified telemarketing”—this from a member of a panel I once attended at BookExpo America. I’m a publicist, so it was a little disheartening to hear my area of expertise described so. I worked mainly in broadcast publicity for many years, and I pitched to a lot of producers across the country. My main mission has always been to place authors I work with on as many shows as possible, while still helping the shows maintain the integrity of the content they want to produce.

by John Schaidler

Adapted from a discussion with parents at Salk Middle School (a Manhattan public school) by Dr. Mary Ehrenworth, Columbia Teachers College.

According to Dr. Mary Ehrenworth, one of the foremost experts on teen literacy, there is a direct, quantifiable relationship between a child’s ability to read and his or her overall academic success. The correlation is so strong, in fact, that even the most basic reading test can usually predict a student’s SAT scores—both verbal and math—with surprising accuracy. Not that it’s surprising to Dr. Ehrenworth. As students get older, she points out, they’re expected to read and comprehend longer, more complex works, everything from the proverbial 400-page “classic novel” to daunting 15-pound science textbooks. If they can read well, great, but if they can’t, they won’t keep up.

by Roger S. Jones

Roger S. Jones died on April 2, 2011. A note from Louise, his wife, received on April 10 read

My husband Roger S. Jones died a week ago after a whirlwind bout with cancer (three weeks from diagnosis to death). He was so pleased that you were publishing his article. The irony is that he never had the chance to complete the project he wrote about: to collect his writings and e-publish them.

I keep thinking about dying. Not right now, mind you. Just in a general kind of way. And I’m not being morbid either; I’m in no rush. It’s just that at my age, it’s hard not to think about end-of-life matters. It’s certainly not about any funeral or memorial plans. Even less am I concerned with the disposal of my body. In fact, cremation is my choice, and what they do with the remains matters little to me.

Rather, it has something to do with a kind of obligation I feel as I approach the end. Nobody has told me that I must do anything in particular—nobody, that is, except me. But for some reason, I worry about tidying things up and finishing them off. And for the most part that means my writing. My possessions and any money will be disposed of or distributed in a meaningful way according to my will, so I’m not really concerned about that. But what I don’t want is for someone to act as a kind of literary executor for me and make decisions about what to do—if anything—with my growing written output. In truth, I don’t trust anyone to do that job, so I feel I’d better get it done myself. Am I being vain? Perhaps.

by Jodell Thorsett

One of my first activities upon moving to Minneapolis was finding volunteer opportunities, to put down roots in my new hometown and form instant connections to people with similar interests. As an aspiring theater critic, I was especially drawn to the rich and multilayered arts scene, with everything from regional stars like the Guthrie, Walker, and Institute of Arts, to daring experimenters at the Fringe Festival. Minneapolis-Saint Paul consistently rates first in volunteerism among large US cities. This year’s National Volunteer Week was April 10–16, but any time is the perfect time to explore the treasure trove of local volunteer offerings, and do inestimable good for others and yourself.