Writing the Rupture: Representations of Invisible Disabilities in Contemporary U.S. American Poetry
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Date
2024-08-07
Authors
Hendrix, Raye
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Publisher
University of Oregon
Abstract
This dissertation examines the intersections of contemporary US American poetry and invisible, or imperceptible, disabilities, seeking to make necessary interventions in current poetic and disability studies. It focuses on a few disabilities that, in addition to being physically invisible, are also “socially” invisible (or misunderstood): deafness; obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD); and asthma and allergies. For each of these disabilities there are outward perceptions of “normalcy” until that perception is shattered by way of interruption, or what I term the moment of “rupture.”
In recent years, disability scholars have pointed to the poem as an ideal medium in which to represent disability, citing its capacity for “embodiment,” and as contemporary US American poetry is thus far characterized by its attention to identity, it serves as a fruitful space for this kind of humanistic project. While the poetic canon at large has grown more diverse, disability is still underrepresented, and even in literary disability circles, invisible disabilities are sorely overlooked. This dissertation investigates how these disabilities and identities appear in the space and performance of US American poetry, focusing on the moments at which they cease to be invisible and “rupture” poetic convention. In addition, this project also serves to itself be a rupture in existing disability and US American poetry scholarship.
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Keywords
allergies, asthma, deaf, disability, neurodivergent, poetry