Constraint Poetry on Disability and Disability as Constraint
Standing
Undergraduate
Type of Proposal
Oral Research Presentation
Challenges Theme
Open Challenge
Faculty Sponsor
N/A
Proposal
This project elevates constraint poetry – a genre with restrictions like metre, unlike free verse – as a vessel for sharing disabled experiences. Through my research and my poetry, I illustrate the parallels between constraint poetry and the constraints of disability. This area of research is especially important for advancing representations of the disabled, a stereotyped and poorly-represented demographic. Sharing a constraint poem that I wrote about having multiple sclerosis (MS), the relevance of constraint poetry for disability studies manifests in mirroring the occasionally invisible, yet constrained, nature of MS. This poem catalyzed my research into the application of constraint poetry to disability studies, forming the basis of the dissertation that I plan to write in my upcoming graduate program in Creative Writing. Current research in this field includes applying constrained writing to prisoners and the enslaved but lacks inclusion of those with disabilities. My future plans include drawing upon perspectives of medical professionals and disabled people to depict the spectrum of constraint produced by disability, as well as creating new writing constraints that can better express specific symptoms.
Grand Challenges
Viable, Healthy and Safe Communities
Constraint Poetry on Disability and Disability as Constraint
This project elevates constraint poetry – a genre with restrictions like metre, unlike free verse – as a vessel for sharing disabled experiences. Through my research and my poetry, I illustrate the parallels between constraint poetry and the constraints of disability. This area of research is especially important for advancing representations of the disabled, a stereotyped and poorly-represented demographic. Sharing a constraint poem that I wrote about having multiple sclerosis (MS), the relevance of constraint poetry for disability studies manifests in mirroring the occasionally invisible, yet constrained, nature of MS. This poem catalyzed my research into the application of constraint poetry to disability studies, forming the basis of the dissertation that I plan to write in my upcoming graduate program in Creative Writing. Current research in this field includes applying constrained writing to prisoners and the enslaved but lacks inclusion of those with disabilities. My future plans include drawing upon perspectives of medical professionals and disabled people to depict the spectrum of constraint produced by disability, as well as creating new writing constraints that can better express specific symptoms.