The Cambridge Companion to Literature and Disability

2017 | Essays

This Companion analyzes the representation of disability in literatures in English, including American and postcolonial writing, across all major time periods and through a variety of critical approaches. Through the new ideas of embodiment suggested by physiological and psychological impairments, an understanding of disability narrative changes the way we read literature. With contributions from major figures in the field, The Cambridge Companion to Literature and Disability covers a full range of physical impairments, including cognitive difference, neurobehavioral conditions, and mental and chronic illnesses, and challenges the notions of a human 'norm' in the writing of character. This book depicts how disabilities can suggest innovation in formal and aesthetic elements of literature. It redraws the ways in which writing helps us understand humanity.

Clare Barker (Author)

Stuart Murray (Author)