Member Profile

Dear fellow poets, my name is Deanna. At the age of 12 I took a creative writing class and have been writing ever since. I was born with Beal's Syndrome which is a very rare birth disorder. Basically in laymen's terms -- my joints are tight or contracted. I don't have full mobility of pretty much any part of my body due to the contractures. I am also legally blind in my left eye and have mild heart and hearing concerns as well. Though I am pretty high functioning (passed all Ohio 9th grade proficiency tests on 1st or 2nd try and passed both parts of English proficiency for 12th grade), I do have some developmental delays. Early 2000s, I began writing a poetry book for and about people with various disabilities. Most poems are fictional, but some are about myself or friends/co-workers that are disabled. In Mar '08, I started to work on a tribute poetry book about idols who represent American life. I went from Jim Henson to Rosa Parks. I am writing my auto-biography.