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Threads (for Autistics Speaking Day, 2011)

We wear the mask that grins and lies,
It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes,–
This debt we pay to human guile;
With torn and bleeding hearts we smile…
— Paul Laurence Dunbar

One might believe that there is an incongruity
within a doctor who can rescue a young toddler
playing in a sea of vomit inside of a South Indian hut
eviscerated by a village’s cholera outbreak, but yet
finds himself becoming windswept detritus tossed
from coast to coast by a stomach which demands
a constant schedule. One might place
his wide-armed compassion of raising that boy himself
and his Richter scale tremors at finding his office disturbed
as light-and-dark contrast Polaroids, and wonder
if the two men were even the same:
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The Art of Autism Exhibit: November 4 – 6, 2011

The Art of Autism Exhibit will run from November 4 – 6 at the Good Purpose Gallery in Lee, Massachusetts. Please click on the graphic below for more information and a full flyer about the event.

A short film for my poem, “Letter to My Father“, will be shown during the exhibit.

The Art of Autism 2011 Exhibit

Please share/Tweet/post on FB/reblog/etc. :)

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“High School Jungle” in Hyperlexia Journal

Greetings, readers!

“High School Jungle” was published in Hyperlexia Journal on Friday, October 14. It was written about my own experiences with being bullied in high school.

Hyperlexia Journal is a literary journal about the autism spectrum that publishes poetry, fiction, and personal essays. The editors of Hyperlexia seek “genuine and truthful writing about autism”.

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You and Me, We Know About Time

R.E.M., 1984

R.E.M., 1984

For Peter, Bill, Mike, and Michael

You were made out of
cinereal, coriander, and lemon;
sable, cinnamon, and indigo;
bergamot, ginger, and rose. You
spoke like a thesaurus and sounded like
troubadours, da Vinci, broken glass, microchips, and
guitar string nerves, ragged at the edge
and carrying too much current. You
mumbled and sang clarion from rooftops by turns.
All of this has been living in my ears
and in my brain, that attic that
holds everything and lets go of nothing.
Continue reading →

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A Day on the Spectrum: October 9, 2011


A Day on the Spectrum
October 9, 2011
The Curious Cup
Carpinteria, CA

Artists scheduled to appear include poet Sydney Edmond, visual artist Dani Bowman, and Arrest My Sister (with lead singer Scott Spiegel, who is on the spectrum) will be appearing. Click here for a flyer with more information about the exhibit.

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ARS SPECTRA: The Artistic Autistic Exhibit, Manhattan

[reposted from Debra Hosseini]

THE ART OF AUTISM presents

ARS SPECTRA: The Artistic Autistic

October 27th -  October 30th

A Four-Day Festival of Art, Music, Song and Performance
by Autistic Artists

at

The Soho Gallery for Digital Art
138 Sullivan St. New York, NY 10012
212 228-2810
sgdaintra@gmail.com

A four-day extravaganza showcasing the wide-ranging artistic talents of people on the autism spectrum. Free and ticketed events will include an art exhibition, live performances, art workshops and more. 

Special Guests will include Keri Bowers (Normal People Scare Me), Debra Hosseini (Artism: The Art of Autism), artists Justin Canha and Esther Brokaw, professor/musician Stephen Shore and Dr. Rosa C. Martinez (Strokes of Genius)

Click here for a flyer with more information about the show (PDF).

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Meet My Father.

Meet my father.

My Father

SYKE!

Actually, that is me playing my father in the video shoot for my poem, “Letter to My Father” which be submitted for the Art of Autism exhibit this November. The video was shot Sunday and is currently being edited.

And stayed tuned to my YouTube channel…the video will be uploaded there after the November exhibit.

-Nicole

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The Art of Autism: Upcoming Exhibits

Hello RWP readers!

I wanted to help get the word out about several upcoming exhibits from The Art of Autism. The next edition of the book will be coming out next year. In the past, the book has featured visual art — the next edition will feature poetry as well…including one of my poems. Details to follow.

Here are each of the upcoming shows in which The Art of Autism or those featured in it will be participating:

Neurodiversity Exhibit – Artists on the Spectrum. The exhibit runs from September 19 – October 24 at the Curious Cup Bookstore in Carpinteria, CA . A book signing for artist Dani Bowman and Poet Sydney Edmond will be held on October 9 1:00 – 3:00 PM. More info and a flyer about the October 9 event here.

ARS Spectra – This exhibit opens October 27 and runs for three weeks at Soho Digital Art Gallery in Manhattan. Debra Hosseini will be holding a book signing on October 27 ay 6:00 PM and an Art of Autism entertainment show on October 28. Additionally, Esther Brokaw will be giving lecture on Savant Syndrome on October 27. More info and a flyer here.

The Art of Autism – This exhibit will run November 4, 5, and 6 at The Good Purpose Gallery in Lee, Massachusetts.  Debra Hosseini will be holding a book signing November 4 and 5. There will also be an Art of Autism entertainment show — Spectrum Theater November 5. Esther Brokaw will also be giving a lecture on Savant Syndrome on November 6.

There will also be a fundraiser for the Santa Barbara Art Foundation and the Santa Barbara Library. Debra Hosseini will be holding a book signing October 9 at Gallerie 113 La Arcada in Santa Barbra on Thursday, October 6th from 5 – 8 pm and a private reception on Sunday October 9th from 2- 4 pm.

I will be part of the Art of Autism exhibit in November. Stay tuned for more details.

If you live near any of these venues, I encourage you to visit and see. Like Awe in Autism, the Art of Autism is also dedicated to showcasing the artist talents of autistic people.

-Nicole

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Kittens

The cat: sky-gray and fence post slender.
Me: twenty-three and in my first real apartment,
in my first real city, outside of short term college hovels
with short term leases and cheap-ass furniture (not) included.
I found the cat while helping a (former) friend
clean out his house, junk-laden and miscarrying memories
like fruit, love, and children that were never meant to be.
A (misconceived) polyamory experiment gone wrong – and now
the house was being emptied of old photos, clothes, and
a barn cat hiding inside every shadow watching humans
flit to and fro with boxes in their arms. In between boxes,
I carried her away, too.
Continue reading →

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The Chase

Lord Dream

Lord Dream from the Sandman Chronicles

Following you from dreamscape to dreamscape, I
cannot help but notice the taunt of
a quickly turned head,
an averted glance,
or a frozen neck refusing to turn on axis
to bring your eyes in contact with mine. I have chased you
from the steps of every illusion woven and constructed
from the vagaries of an attic stuffed with photographs
by a lizard brain that demands a coherent storyline.
Continue reading →

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Aluna

Stop, and bend your ear low
to the ground. Now listen: the breath is labored,
almost choked in some spots. There are people
who can read these signs like ragged, torn air
leaving the lungs of a tired Mother, and they say
that we are killing Her.
Continue reading →

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Saturn Return

for Amy Winehouse

The forever young are held in a pair of parentheses
made out of 27 years;
the ageless are collected within the arms of Saturn,
exhaling breath at his baleful return.

Each of you has a life cycle,
you all follow the same path from birth to death.
You first enter as a little bright light, a tiny pinpoint of sparkle;
you part the curtain, hiding as white dwarfs behind this
ringed gas giant, fearful of his mythical jaws.
Continue reading →