Connie/Stephen Kuusisto

Steve Kuusist teaches creative writing and disability studies at The Univrsity of Iowa.

“Planet of the Blind: The Blog”

Welcome from Stephen Kuusisto

Back in 1998 I had the good fortune to publish my first book of nonfiction: a memoir entitled “Planet of the Blind”. That book has had a lucky life insofar as it has managed to remain in print in an age of instantaneous book remaindering or “pulping” as the publishers like to call it. “Planet” has also been translated into a number of foreign languages including German, Spanish, Finnish, Estonian, Chinese, Japanese, Hebrew, and Italian.

For better or worse my blindness memoir quickly took on a life of its own. By writing about my own childhood and adolescent struggles with blindness and the difficulties that my parents faced as they tried to mainstream me, I managed to speak on behalf of many visually impaired folks and their families. I have been lucky to hear from hundreds of people from around the planet over the past few years.

My wife, Connie and I co-write this blog. Our vision is to make a space where those of us who live on the Planet of the Blind, or any other planet, can share our experiences and network together. In so doing we hope that this blog will not be limited to blind people only. It is our hope that the friends and spouses and children of people with or with out disabilities will also find a space here in which to talk about the issues and concerns that continue to affect all of us who daily live and work and love on this Planet of ours.

Stephen Kuusisto

Iowa City, Iowa