What I Did Today

Stairs and Whispers – D/deaf and Disabled Poets Write Back (Nine Arches, £14.99) is a groundbreaking new anthology. Edited by Sandra Alland, Khairani Barokka and Daniel Sluman, the collection brings together a number of disabled poets, not only to write about their experiences, but to explore whether their work might constitute an entirely new form of poetics distinct from “ableist” poets. The Scottish Poetry Library will host the launch of Stairs

and Whispers on 21 September at 6.30pm (£4 / £3). Taken from the collection, Debjani Chatterjee’s poem explores the feelings aroused from a visit to hospital.

Today I blew up the Northern General – again; bulldozed the waiting room in Hell where I had sat all morning in a silly gown; I strangled the arrogant GP who knew so little but pretended to know it all; my itching hands throttled the oncologists: the indifferent one who swanned off on holiday, forgetful of referring me for a Hickman Line under anaesthesia at a half-decent hospital, and the one who lost my consent form and thrust me into a nightmare place of endless screams; I fought the boffin butcher who drilled holes in me; and finally I exterminated every homicidal sidekick masquerading as an angel of mercy… All these things and more I did today.

You can find a copy of Stairs and Whispers – D/deaf and Disabled Poets Write Back at the Scottish Poetry Library, 5 Crichton’s Close, Edinburgh EH8 8DT. For inquiries, e-mail reception@spl.org.uk or visit www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk