When we think of “able,” derived from the Latin habere “to hold,” we are reminded that every body holds a narrative. Chloé Cooper Jones’ memoir Easy Beauty details her experiences with sacral agenesis, the crushing weight of other people’s perceptions, and how motherhood led her on a journey—both literal and interior—to emerge from it. In poet Destiny O. Birdsong’s debut novel Nobody’s Magic, the author creates a triptych around the lives of three Black women with albinism, characters “so distinct and real they will undoubtedly be remembered by readers years later” (Chicago Review of Books), navigating complex pathways towards agency. Meghan O’Rourke’s The Invisible Kingdom draws on her experience with chronic illness, while “advocating for a community-centric healthcare model that treats patients as people, not parts” (Esquire). Together, the authors discuss how narratives of disability, illness, and embodiment are crafted, working against a society that seeks to “correct” or control them. This event will be moderated by PEN World Voices Festival Curator, poet, and translator Eloisa Amezcua. ASL interpretation provided by Pro Bono ASL.
