On Saturday, April 2, ASAN-OSU/Central Ohio held a literary reading and art showing, titled Autistry, in observance of Autism Acceptance Day. Columbus-area autistic people shared their poetry, prose, and dramatic writing, and performed a dramatic reading of Jim Sinclair's Don't Mourn for Us.
The event took place at Travonna Coffee House during Columbus's Gallery Hop, a monthly art gallery event that attracts thousands of visitors. During the reading, dozens of spectators came in and out to listen to posautive perspectives on autism.
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| Noranne Kramer interacts with the audience |
On a more personal note, our chapter found this to be an extremely rewarding and empowering event, something we hope to do again in the future. We had planned readers (i.e., those who indicated that they would read in advance), as well as open mic time. The coffee house also let us reserve their meeting room in the back, which we designated as a quiet room for anyone who needed it, allowing us to create an autistic-friendly atmosphere.
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| A view of the coffee house during intermission |
Some of us read personal writing, while others recited favorite poems or read their favorite disability rights essays. During intermissions especially, we found ourselves drawn into long and fruitful conversations with coffee house patrons, many of whom just came in off the street. It was a wonderful way to celebrate autistic culture and to talk with people about the disability rights movement.
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| Justin Rooney reads a poem |
To view more photos of the event, please visit
our Flickr site.
