Laureen Summers

Contender of Chaos Laureen Summers

Contender of Chaos explores the poetic life and exposition of the inner life of a woman with a visible disability: the experiences, challenges, and the people and places she has known and loved. It is a life not ordinary or compromised, but one of reflection and self-discovery. This chapbook is the author's first published collection. It includes poems written in the late 60's, but most have been written, or revised, in the past 10 years. Many refer to a love of nature and coming to terms with a world that is often inviting and yet, unwelcoming at the same time. The poet has always been fascinated by her observations of how people relate to her and to each other. The poems hint at the struggle to understand her own sexuality as a woman with a disability, that affects speech and coordination. Creating a world full of lively adventures, finding a life-long love and having a family of one's own, engaging in intellectual pursuits, and building a diverse group of friends and colleagues have challenged the assumptions and stereotypes that many have about people with physical disabilities.