KNEE BRACE PRESS

A place for stories about chronic illness, disability, mental health, and neurodivergence.

Poetry

  • A white woman with gray hair smiling with her mouth closed at the camera.

    Insanity Camp

    By

    “I make light with a lantern made of papier-mache/It burns me as it shows the way/To a one-star resort with a welcoming glow/Leave the light on for me/Thinking makes it so.”

  • An Asian man smiling with his mouth closed and looking at the camera. He has short, black hair and is wearing a black shirt and glasses. He is standing against a white wall.

    The Trees

    By

    In his poem, The Trees, Brian Lee muses on questions of nature, the human mind, and neurodiversity.

  • A white woman with shoulder-length light brown hair stands in a garden. She is smiling and wearing a blue dress with short sleeves.

    Try Not to Blink

    By

    This poem by Jean Janicke reflects on hours at the National Eye Institute in a “natural history study” for her type of blindness.

  • A person with shoulder-length black hair. He is hiding behind a small bunch of white flowers.
    ,

    So

    By

    T.C. Long has also recorded an audio version of this piece, both to increase accessibility and to lend additional humanity and dimensionality to disabled folks in media.

  • A white person with long, blonde hair smiling at the camera. She is wearing a red and white plaid shirt.

    (DIS)ABILITY: A PALINDROME

    By

    In her latest poem, Sarah Steinbacher offers us a different perspective on disability and those who would have her doubt herself.

  • A white woman with short, white hair reads a book at a microphone.

    Holding it Together

    By

    “Grandma held us together/Small and wiry/a Granny Clampett/fortunately/without a rifle.”

  • A white person with long, blonde hair smiling at the camera. She is wearing a red and white plaid shirt.

    Let Down

    By

    Sarah Steinbacher is a disabled nonbinary author, poet, disability advocate, instructor at The Writing Barn, and member of both SCBWI and Storyteller Academy.

  • The photo is in black and white and depicts a white person with long, dark hair smiling to the right of the shot.

    Box-bed in a Doorway

    By

    Mandy Beattie’s poetry’s been published in Poets Republic, Drawn to The Light, Lothlorien, Ink, and now, Knee Brace Press!

  • A white woman with dark hair is smiling and looking off-camera. She wears a white, long sleeved shirt.

    Temporarily non-disabled

    By

    “My body holds a secret. It demands/to tell me, but won’t whisper it to you.” Poet Christa Fairbrother is back with a piece about invisible illnesses and the pressure to hide them.

  • A white person with long, blonde hair smiling at the camera. She is wearing a red and white plaid shirt.

    All In My Head

    By

    In her poem, Sarah Steinbacher writes about medical gaslighting, invisible disabilities, and the link between mental and physical health.