{"id":2270,"date":"2021-09-05T13:32:00","date_gmt":"2021-09-05T20:32:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/katechamberlin.com\/?p=2270"},"modified":"2021-09-05T13:32:00","modified_gmt":"2021-09-05T20:32:00","slug":"there-plant-eyes-by-m-leona-godin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/katechamberlin.com\/index.php\/2021\/09\/05\/there-plant-eyes-by-m-leona-godin\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8220;There Plant Eyes&#8221; by M. Leona Godin"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">From Joan Myles, <a href=\"mailto:jmyles63@gmail.com\">jmyles63@gmail.com<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">From Homer to Helen Keller, from Dune to Stevie Wonder, from the<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">invention of braille to the science of echolocation, M. Leona Godin<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">explores the fascinating history of blindness, interweaving it with<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">her own story of gradually losing her sight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There Plant Eyes probes the ways in which blindness has shaped our<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">ocularcentric culture, challenging deeply ingrained ideas about what<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">it means to be \u201cblind.\u201d For millennia, blindness has been used to<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">signify such things as thoughtlessness (\u201cblind faith\u201d), irrationality<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">(\u201cblind rage\u201d), and unconsciousness (\u201cblind evolution\u201d). But at the<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">same time, blind people have been othered as the recipients of special<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">powers as compensation for lost sight (from the poetic gifts of John<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Milton to the heightened senses of the comic book hero Daredevil).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Godin\u2014who began losing her vision at age ten\u2014illuminates the<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">often-surprising history of both the condition of blindness and the<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">myths and ideas that have grown up around it over the course of<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">generations. She combines an analysis of blindness in art and culture<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">(from King Lear to Star Wars) with a study of the science of blindness<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">and key developments in accessibility (the white cane, embossed<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">printing, digital technology) to paint a vivid personal and cultural<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A genre-defying work, There Plant Eyes reveals just how essential<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">blindness and vision are to humanity\u2019s understanding of itself and the<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">About the Author<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">M. Leona Godin is a writer, performer, and educator who is blind. Her<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">writing has appeared in The New York Times; Playboy; O, The Oprah<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Magazine; and Catapult, where she writes the column, \u201cA Blind Writer\u2019s<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Notebook.\u201d She was a 2019 Logan Nonfiction Fellow and has written and<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">produced two theatrical productions: The Star of Happiness, based on<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Helen Keller\u2019s time performing on vaudeville, and The Spectator &amp; the<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Blind Man, about the invention of Braille.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She founded the online magazine Aromatica Poetica as a venue for<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">exploring the arts and sciences of smell and taste; not specifically<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">for, but welcoming to, blind readers and writers. She holds a PhD in<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">English Literature from NYU and has lectured on art, accessibility,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">disability, and technology at NYU\u2019s Tandon School of Engineering, Rice<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">University, and the American Printing House for the Blind, among other<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">venues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Praise for There Plant Eyes<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201c\u2026elegant, fiercely argued.\u201d \u2014Wall Street Journal<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201c\u2018The dual aspects of blindness\u2014that it is a tragic horror on the one<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">hand and a powerful gift from the gods on the other\u2014remain stubbornly<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">fixed in our cultural imaginations,\u2019 Godin, a blind writer and<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">performer, asserts in this thought-provoking mixture of criticism,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">memoir, and advocacy.\u201d \u2014The New Yorker<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThere Plant Eyes is so graceful, so wise, so effortlessly erudite, I<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">learned something new and took pleasure in every page. All hail its<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">originality, its humanity, and its \u2018philosophical obsession with<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">diversity in all its complicated and messy glory.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2014Maggie Nelson, author of The Argonauts<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cGodin guides readers through the surprising twists and turns in<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Western blind history, from ancient seers to contemporary scientists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The lively writing style and memorable<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">personal anecdotes are delightful. This book is a gift to both blind<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">and sighted readers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2014Haben Girma, human rights lawyer and author of the bestseller Haben:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Deafblind Woman Who Conquered Harvard Law<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThis sighted disabled person learned so much from There Plant Eyes!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The book took me on a cultural journey that showed how blindness is<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">beautiful, complex, and brilliant.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2014Alice Wong, Editor, Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">the Twenty-First Century<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIn the fascinating There Plant Eyes, Leona Godin moves effortlessly<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">from erudite explorations of the construction of \u2018blindness\u2019 in the<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">times of Homer and Milton; to incisive and often funny examinations of<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">technology that helps\u2014or does not\u2014the blind individual; to personal<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">stories of her own life as a writer and performer. I was only a few<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">pages in before I realized that what I thought about being blind was<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">either wrong or woefully insufficient. The reader will be lost in<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">admiration for the breadth and sweep of Godin&#8217;s gifts as a writer and<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">cultural critic.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2014Riva Lehrer, author of Golem Girl: A Memoir<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI\u2019ve been waiting most of my life for a book like There Plant Eyes to<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">demystify what it means and doesn\u2019t mean to be blind. With eloquence<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">and wit, M. Leona Godin articulates what our culture has gotten wrong<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">for centuries. Blindness, she makes clear, is a feature, not merely a<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">difference. I\u2019ll be recommending this book every chance I get.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2014 James Tate Hill, author of Blind Man\u2019s Bluff<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe are inevitably blind to realities outside our own experience, and<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">it takes a sensitive writer like Godin\u2014with her poet&#8217;s ear\u2014to give<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">insight into sightlessness.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2014David Eagleman, neuroscientist at Stanford, author of Livewired<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201c\u2026erudite, capacious\u2026As Godin wonderfully shows, we\u2019ve come a long way<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">in our quest to understand what blindness means.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2013\u2013Kirkus Reviews<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cBy turns heartfelt and thought-provoking, this is a striking achievement.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2014Publisher\u2019s Weekly (starred review)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">From Bookshare:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Synopsis<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">From Homer to Helen Keller, from Dune to Stevie Wonder, from the invention of braille to the science of echolocation, M. Leona Godin explores the fascinating history of blindness, interweaving it with her own story of gradually losing her sight. There Plant Eyes probes the ways in which blindness has shaped our ocularcentric culture, challenging deeply ingrained ideas about what it means to be &amp;\u201cblind.&amp;\u201d For millennia, blind\u00adness has been used to signify such things as thoughtlessness (&amp;\u201cblind faith&amp;\u201d), irrationality (&amp;\u201cblind rage&amp;\u201d), and unconsciousness (&amp;\u201cblind evolution&amp;\u201d). But at the same time, blind people have been othered as the recipients of special powers as compensation for lost sight (from the poetic gifts of John Milton to the heightened senses of the comic book hero Daredevil). Godin\u2014who began losing her vision at age ten\u2014illuminates the often-surprising history of both the condition of blindness and the myths and ideas that have grown up around it over the course of generations. She combines an analysis of blindness in art and culture (from King Lear to Star Wars) with a study of the science of blindness and key developments in accessibility (the white cane, embossed printing, digital technology) to paint a vivid personal and cultural history. A genre-defying work, There Plant Eyes reveals just how essential blindness and vision are to humanity&amp;\u2019s understanding of itself and the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Copyright: 2021<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Book Details <\/strong>Book Quality:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Publisher Quality Book Size: 352 Pages<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">ISBN-13: 9781524748722<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Related ISBNs: 9781524748715<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Date of Addition: 07\/29\/21<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Copyrighted By: M. Leona Godin<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Adult content: No<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Language: English<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Has Image Descriptions: No<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Categories: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bookshare.org\/browse\/category?key=Nonfiction\">Nonfiction<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bookshare.org\/browse\/category?key=Disability-Related\">Disability-Related<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bookshare.org\/browse\/category?key=Biographies%20and%20Memoirs\">Biographies and Memoirs<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bookshare.org\/browse\/category?key=Literature%20and%20Fiction\">Literature and Fiction<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bookshare.org\/browse\/category?key=Social%20Studies\">Social Studies<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bookshare.org\/browse\/category?key=Language%20Arts\">Language Arts<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Submitted By: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bookshare.org\/browse\/submitter\/AP5xvS-KM82sjGjJVl1s1yn9tNg_1R1CsZdex-vffzYuFcPqkd83YFmel7KZu37_6J8qXWCTASkL\/?returnPath%3DL3NlYXJjaD9tb2R1bGVOYW1lPXB1YmxpYyZsaWJyYXJ5VG9TZWFyY2g9Ym9va3NoYXJlJmF1dGhvcj1MZW9uYSBHb2RpbiZib29rc1RvU2VhcmNoPUFMTCZxdWFsaXRpZXM9UFVCTElTSEVSJnF1YWxpdGllcz1FWENFTExFTlQmX2NvbnRhaW5zSW1hZ2VzPW9uJl9jb250YWluc0ltYWdlRGVzY3JpcHRpb25zPW9uJnNvcnRPcmRlcj1SRUxFVkFOQ0UmZGlzYWJsZVNvcnRPcmRlcj1USVRMRSZzZWFyY2g9QWR2YW5jZWQgU2VhcmNoJl9jYXRlZ29yaWVzPW9u\">Bookshare Staff<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Usage Restrictions: This is a copyrighted book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>From Joan Myles, jmyles63@gmail.com: From Homer to Helen Keller, from Dune to Stevie Wonder, from the invention of braille to the science of echolocation, M. Leona Godin explores the fascinating history of blindness, interweaving it with her own story of gradually losing her sight. There Plant Eyes probes the ways in which blindness has shaped [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2270","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/katechamberlin.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2270","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/katechamberlin.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/katechamberlin.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/katechamberlin.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/katechamberlin.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2270"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/katechamberlin.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2270\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2271,"href":"https:\/\/katechamberlin.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2270\/revisions\/2271"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/katechamberlin.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2270"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/katechamberlin.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2270"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/katechamberlin.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2270"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}