Episode 14 - Chantal Huinink and Mike Walker

The Mad and Crip Theology Podcast

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On this episode Amy and Miriam speak with two of our poets from the Fall 2021 issue of The Canadian Journal of Theology, Mental Health and Disability.
Chantal Huinink reflects on her poem: As a Canadian woman with disabilities, I am deeply encouraged by the prophet Isaiah’s theology of access and promotion of universal design. This poem is meant to alert readers to similarities and differences between hardships that people with and without disabilities experienced before, during and likely beyond the pandemic. The opportunities I have to bear witness to the ways in which God has redeemed, is redeeming and will redeem tragedy, invigorates my Christian faith. When the pain and suffering caused by the pandemic is not so raw, may we be mindful of ways to continue advancing on the Road to a barrier free society, propelled by the wisdom that we carry forward into the new “normal.”
Mike Walker reflects on his poem: I’ve often found that people stare at me on the street. That was particularly true in Toronto when I lived there between 2006 and 2018. They probably glanced – or outright stared – at me because they found my gait unconventional. Maybe it made them uncomfortable. In any case, I’ve often wondered why people stared, and whether I could ask them to stop… Thus, this free-verse poem shows me, on the street, and on the chin-up bar, communicating part of my reaction to people’s prejudice. The weight room and the chin-up bar don’t judge me, but I have often found that people do, even if they don’t mean to. I want their judgment to become acceptance, and sometimes – as this poem indicates – that acceptance is hard-won. That acceptance comes from me – from within – not from without.
To read the poems, visit: https://jps.library.utoronto.ca/index.php/cjtmhd/issue/view/2302

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