Introduction: Part Three • by Ally Fleming 1

Hamilton Arts & Letters   PLAY AUDIO VERSION: voice of Ally Fleming   I had two goals going into this project: to provide a space for people whose voices may otherwise go unheard, and to publish ideas that challenge what we think we know, that map possibility.             Disabled writers fight. We fight stigma, we fight for space - or access to space - and we fight with ourselves, internally. Too many of us, including myself, have been victims of trauma and abuse, have been weaponized against ourselves. Too many of us have been discouraged in our careers or brushed off for being weird, awkward, too loud or too quiet. We’re told our narratives are too intense, too real. My dream for this issue was for it to be a space for intensity, humanity, rawness, and therefore connection. I want writing that reflects what we all are: real and messy and human and sublime.  [  >>>>>  FORWARD ]   + [Distillate © HA&L + Ally Fleming {from the Greek bios} -- the course of a life.]