International Day of Disabled People Celebrated With Poetry Reading
Posted By: Liz Goodrich
Date Posted: 12/1/2003
Bend Poet, Tascha Dresser reads from her collection of poetry on December 14th at 2:00 p.m. in the Brooks Room of the Bend Public Library
Dresser knows first hand the misconceptions about people with learning disabilities. “As a young person with a learning disability, I was labeled and neglected by teachers and other students,” says Dresser. However, she has turned her struggles and frustrations into a powerful and provocative collection of poetry recently published by PublishAmerica and titled “Coming Out Of The Closet And Breaking The Chains.”
In 1992, the United Nations proclaimed December 3rd as the International Day of Disabled Persons to promote and celebrate the lives of the disabled. As Dresser sees it, a day to honor the disabled is an important step, critical to helping people build positive self esteem and overcoming negative self perceptions. “Too often we depend on the outside world to determine who and what we are,” says Dresser. “People with disabilities often hear nothing but negative things about ourselves.” As a child, Dresser attended special education classes in Los Angeles, California. “School districts are required by law to provide for people with disabilities. I had to fight with the school system for a decent education,” says Dresser of her experience in the special education classroom. She wrote her first poem at 12 and has been writing ever since. In addition to her recently published book of poetry, articles and poems by Dresser have been featured in newsletters newspapers around the country.
This program is free and open to the public. For more information about this or other library programs, please call 312-1032 or visit www.dpls.lib.or.
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