Good day to be a Columbus Poet

A few weeks ago I was interviewed for the newsletter Front Row Center, a publication of the Greater Columbus Arts Council about Columbus poetry. I spoke to the writer for a good half an hour, gave some honest thoughts about the scene and suggested she speak to a few other people (which she was already going to do) on the scene to get a broad view.

The finished article went online yesterday and I really think Tracy Zollinger Turner has come the closest to putting in writing what the entire Columbus poetry scene is all about. Read for yourself.

Early last month I was not feeling very confident in my writing and my wife sent me a link to a local submission. So I sent them a poem.

Never heard back, which I have to admit bothered me. I'd rather take the rejection, a thanks but no thanks than not hear anything back.

Went to eat in the Short North yesterday afternoon and saw a stack of the new issue of the publication in the doorway. I did pick one up and turned to the section where the poetry goes.

And I got in. Was never told I was in, but there it is, my poem From the Streets of the Under Served in 614 Columbus September issue. It's all over the Short North and other locations in Columbus. This is probably the biggest exposure to any of my work and I could not be happier!

A book about the Shakespeare and Autism program my son was in will be published in December. The cover art was released today, it's the worst cover ever because my son is not on it. See for yourself, then preorder the book if you'd like.

A video about the program which has the actors discussing how it affected them was released today. You can see that, right here

Bugs, beetles, bats!

For the past two years, my son has been involved in the Shakespeare and Autism Project, a collaborative effort between the Royal Shakespeare Company, The Nisonger Center, and the Ohio State University Theater Program.

Yesterday we attended The Tempest, the play that is adapted for the program. There is a lot of wordplay involved while the whole play is not covered word for word. Neil was not interested in even go into the performance space at COSI at first, but once we got inside he was able to settle down in his seat.

He would not go down in the circle with the actors and other children. There were about three dozen people in the audience, and the children represented all segments of the autism spectrum. Neil sat, hummed and sang Twinkle Twinkle Little Star while the play was going on but when Ariel started singing he stopped to pay attention.

There was one part of the performance in which the word game is “Bugs, beetles, bats” words that are shouted by all the players. I prompted him, and he already knew and shouted out bats at the right time. I was quite astonished that he was so on it.

Kelly Hunter, the director of the program, noticed and rushed over and asked Neil if he wanted to get in the circle. He got up, Kevin, one of the actors, took him on and they played the game together. It was quite remarkable. After that game was over Neil came back to his seat. There were a couple of other times where Neil participated and it was quite moving to watch.

When the play was over, the door opened and Neil took notice of that and essentially sprinted out of the room so we could not stay and thank all of the actors who took part. Neil seemed to know his obligations were met! The other children really seemed to get something out of the play as well, some left in the middle of the performance. One girl pulled out her cell phone, one got up and left the room to a chill out area then came back.

Here’s more information on Kelly Hunter, the creator of the program. She has a book coming out on the project that will be published later this year. If you have an opportunity to experience this program, it’s quite rewarding.

Expectations vs. capabilities

Today I attended my son's last Shakespeare and Autism class. It's a fascinating idea to get autistic kids communicating through the work and exaggerated facial expressions and gestures of Shakespearian plays. This is a video about it that was released last year, my son is in this video.



The play the facilitators chose was The Tempest and the kids and actors were jumping around, calling themselves Caliban and having a good time. I met the person who has been my son's acting partner for the past two years, a very sincere and devoted actor and teacher. This is them on the program's webpage.

Today my son came into the gym with his partner, saw all the people and chairs set up (there were about 15 people watching, which does not happen) and said, "Why did you do this?" He does not like crowds. That he would say something about it speaks volumes.



About five minutes into the session, my son got up and walked away. His partner followed him, kept him in the room and they sat away from the group for the rest of the session.



And they stayed there, I'm sure the crowd did not help, my presence was probably a distraction as well. It's one of those times you want your son to participate, or even watch from the close sidelines instead of stress and reluctance. It's hard to watch, and harder to balance your own expectations with what your child wants to do, and his capabilities.

More on Shakespeare and Autism

Channel 4 in Columbus devoted an hour to autism awareness last night. They included their segment on the Shakespeare and Autism Project, which you can view here. You can get a few glimpses of my son during the story.

It's fantastic that the word on this program is getting out, and important to note that this is the first time this project is being enacted, anywhere.

A new stage for Shakespeare

I mentioned this and linked to a video about it a couple of weeks back. The Dispatch did an article about the Shakespeare and Autism in today's issue. Click on the link.

A new stage for Shakespeare

Another old college try

My son has been involved in a program called Shakespeare and Autism for most of the school year. It was started by some actors from the Royal Shakespeare company in partnership with The Ohio State University. There's an hour class that he takes at school every week. It's hard to say how much he's getting out of it, he's not coming home spouting lines from the Tempest or babbling in iambic pentameter. Ok, it would be cool if he did a little bit of that.

You can read about the program here. It's an interesting take on socialization and developing verbal skills. I hope they're successful with it.

There's also a video, my son's in the background.



The kid with the dark shirt is very sweet. When I see him he always asks if I like trains.

I think my son is the only autistic kid on Earth who is not interested in trains.