Toeless Jack (a reading)
by Paul-Newell Reaves
A Preface: For my Masters degree in English,
my focuses were in Poems of Modernism and
Disability Studies.
The goal of Disability Studies is first and foremost to rid the stigma
surrounding bodily differences– to deconstruct concepts of The Normal,
The Ideal and whatever the opposite of Normal and Ideal might be.
So when my cousin Jack lost one of his toes in the wilderness, I made him this reading with that Disability Studies goal in mind.
But how many toes does Jack need to not have in order to be considered toeless?
‘Cause I am fascinated by
partial disability
and the interstices between disability and normativity.
Because how hard of hearing should a person be to be considered Deaf?
And if a person who considers theirself obese rides an electric wheelchair, is that person to be considered In A Wheelchair?
These questions can only be answered in comparison to other people, and the only answers are more so or less so. For there is no binary yes or no where bodily difference is concerned.
It is always a multi-axis scale, shaded in gray.
TOELESS JACK
[ This reading is rated G:
contains whiney children and dog poo.]
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