A review of "Staring Back" October 1997

A review of “Staring Back”

By Mike Reynolds

Maine Campus Staff

A culture is defined by the literature it produces. As a minority group, people with disabilities have, historically, been defined by what non-disabled people have written or spoken about them. Recently, the literature of people with disabilities has been in the spotlight of popular culture with the Oscar winning film “Breathing Lessons” by Mark O’Brien, and with “Moving Violations”, a memoir by John Hockenberry.

The writings of O’Brien and Hockenberry, and over 30 other writers are featured in a new anthology, edited by Kenny Fries titled “Staring Back: The Disability Experience from the Inside Out” The book is published by Plume books.

Fries thought of the idea of an anthology after attending an forum on disability and performance art in 1994. “I put out a call for submissions,” Fries stated in a phone call from his home in Northampton, MA Thursday afternoon. “A great deal of time was spent reading, I wanted to make a book that was strong literature, and to worry about any message later.”

“Staring Back” is the latest work from Fries, whose disability is due to missing bones in his feet. Fries wrote very honest and openly about the struggles he felt as a person who was not only disabled but gay in his 1996 book “Body, Remember” which tells a powerful tale of abuse, recovery , and life.

Fries is promoting the book heavily, with a book tour that begins soon and will hit Boston on November 20th. “I hope the book can be used as a text book for a disability studies class,” Fries added, “ hopefully people will be compelled to read an anthology completely written and edited by writers with disabilities.”

“Staring Back” covers a broad range of writing, including nonfiction, poetry, fiction and drama. The writers involved have a diversity of physical disabilities and present a wide spectrum of perspectives.

One of the contributors, Jean Stewart, who currently resides in Northern California, used to work at the University of Maine in the Department of Botany.

In 1970, Stewart formed a writers group at UMAINE “which lasted for several years”. Stewart continued from her home in California. “It was a small group of students and faculty. Steve King was it before he got his first story published. Burton Hatlen was very active as well as Jim Bishop.” She also stated that Stephen King’s future wife, Tabitha Spruce, was a member as well.

“I just received my copy yesterday, but it looks wonderful, the book covers a lot of territory.” Stewart said when asked about the book. Stewart submitted a work of fiction for the anthology. The story, “The Interview” deals with the process of interviewing a prospective personal care attendant.

The book has many authors Stewart knew and respected. “I really enjoy Adrienne Rich, she speaks her beliefs clearly.” Stewart commented. Rich, who was awarded an honor from President Clinton, publicly refused the award. Rich has an excerpt from her work “Contradictions: Tracking Poems”.

Other writers are equally honored to appear in the anthology. Mike Ervin, a writer and journalist from Chicago thought “It was amazing” to be between writers such as Stanley Elkin and Ann Finger, both of whom are noted writers in literature as it relates to people with disabilities. Ervin is a regular contributor to several disability magazines.

“Staring Back” does cover a great deal of territory. Many of the writers are some of the most eloquent voices for the rights of people with disabilities. Jean Stewart is a pioneer in the area of rights of prisoners with disabilities. Fries is a strong and eloquent voice telling the world about the experience of being disabled and gay.

“I hope this helps people with disabilities realize that they are not isolated,” Fries added, “I never had this type of writing when I was growing up.”

“Staring Back” is a wonderful volume of art which is worthy of many hours of solitary, uninterrupted reading. “I hope this anthology will viewed as disabled literature having credible literary value, not as therapy” Fries said. There is no doubt that “Staring Back” will be a anthology that will stand up to any contemporary literature being published today.

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This was in the Maine Campus, sometime in october of 1997...
Mike R.

Monday night, in a major departure from history, The English Patient, an independent film made by Miramax, captured nine Oscar Awards. This year, the only one picture nominated for best picture was produced by a major film company. This lent many criticics inside and outside of Hollywood to call this year “The year of the independents”

If this is indeed the year of the independents, the words of Jessica Yu, an independent filmaker with Inscrutiable Films and winner of Best Documentary - Short Form accurately summed up what many independent productions have to deal with.

“I don’t know which cost more, the dress to wear to the awards or the film”, Yu laughed to a estimated television audience of one billion. Yu’s winning film Breathing Lessons: The life and times of Mark O’Brien.

The film received much of it’s budget from grants Yu wrote. Additional money was provided by Pacific News. “A great deal of the money was pocket money” Yu stated. The film took almost a year to complete and was premiered in December 1995.

One of those watching Monday night was O’Brien himself. “It was terrific that Jessica won,” stated Mark, in an interview on Tuesday afternoon.

And Monday night, while many winners and losers from the awards were going to sheik Hollywood parties, O’Brien was hosting a small party with eight to ten people in his apartment. O’Brien stated that one of the high points was when Jessica called after she won.

“I went to sleep quite late” O’Brien laughed.

Asked if there was any truth to the comments Yu stated about the production cost, O’Brien laughed, “It was just a joke, Jessica made her money back from Cinemax.”

Breathing Lessons is a half hour documentary of the life of Mark O’Brien, a journalist for Pacific News Service and poet who now lives in Berkeley, CA. O’Brien writings are works that are worthy of attention by themselves. But the source of O’Brien’s work take on a story of it’s own.

The film does cover many subjects with an offbeat view. O’Brien’s own writing is described as brutally honest, funny and from a refreshing point of view. Some of his stories, such as one that he wrote about seeing a sexual surrogate, which he candidly descibes in one of his stories. “I guess it’s an occupational hazard.” O’Brien joked when asked about his frank style of writing.

Breathing Lessons will be making it’s debut in Maine next Thursday. As part of Disability Awareness Days, the film will be shown at 7 pm at 100 Neville Hall.

One unique aspect of this showing is that there will be a phone connection established to talk with Mark, as he is unable to travel due to his dependence on an iron lung. This will be the first time any audience will be able to interact with Mr. O’Brien directly after a showing of a the documentary. “I feel like it’s an honor” O’Brien stated.

This article originally ran in the Maine Campus on 3/28/97.

Mark O'Brien Interview

Breathing Lessons offers insights into Independence
by Mike Reynolds
This article was originally published in The Maine Campus on 2/26/97

When the Academy Award nominations were announced at 4 am Pacific Time on Februrary 11th, the biggest story was that neither Madonna nor Courtney Love were nominated for Best Actress. The other story that seemed to be covered endlessly was the amount of awards “The English Patient” had been nominated for, yet it only began showing relatively recently in Bangor, probably as a result of the numerous nominations. There were many stories that seemed unworthy of mention because their category was not “popular”

The Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences has over 20 separate catagories to recognize everything from Cinematography to Makeup. Many of the movies nominated are films popular culture hasn’t even heard of.

The Academy Awards are the biggest event in Hollywood. People worry about “who will show up in what dress by what designer and did it cost several thousand dollars?” The members of the academy all are respected in the motion picture field, their peers are the people nominated.
The Academy Awards are also, to a lesser extent, a showcase for independent filmakers, foreign films and other non-mainstream films. While film festivals such as Sundance may showcase the cutting edge ideas of young filmakers, The Oscar Awards give these independent filmakers a world wide audience to hear if their low budget works are worthy of the recognition that an Oscar may bring.

One category that illustrates this is Best Documentary - Short Subject. This year, five films are nominated, one of them Breathing Lessons: The life and times of Mark O’Brien, was directed by Jessica Yu.

“It is one of the best recognitions to be nominated,” said Yu, in a phone interview, when asked about her nomination.

Breathing Lessons is a half hour documentary of the life of Mark O’Brien, a journalist for Pacific News Service and poet who now lives in Berkeley, CA. O’Brien writings are works that are worthy of attention by themselves. But the source of O’Brien’s work take on a story of it’s own.

Mark O’Brien is a 47 year old writer who, since the age of six, has had to use an iron lung to breathe, as a result of childhood polio. He is one of an estimated 120 people in the world who is dependent on such a device. O’Brien’s life, experiences and poetry are at the heart of Breathing Lessons.

Answering the phone, O’Brien’s own voice sounds like a answering machine, one can hear the breathing over his voice which is over a speakerphone. When asked his reaction about the Oscar nomination, O’Brien stated, “I did not think we were even eligible, I was very suprised.”

The idea of a film came to light when Yu, had just covered a film festival for Pacific News. “The editor told me I had to meet this reporter, I was hesitant because it seemed like a heavy, serious story.” Jessica continues, “Yet when I first talked to Mark, I knew I could do this.” Yu’s described her previous films as “funny and kind of off beat.”

The film does live up to those adjectives. O’Brien’s own writing is described as brutally honest, funny and from a refreshing point of view. Some of his stories, such as one that he wrote about seeing a sexual surrogate, which he candidly descibes in one of his stories. “I guess it’s an occupational hazard.” O’Brien joked when asked about his frank style of writing.

The film received much of it’s budget from grants Yu wrote. Additional money was provided by Pacific News. “A great deal of the money was pocket money” Yu stated. The film took almost a year to complete and was premiered in December 1995.

When asked what was the most anticipated moment was, Yu immediately responded “The two days after I sent it to Mark to see it. I was walking on eggshells hoping he liked it.”

The film is a honest potrayal of O’Briens life. The film opens with his poem “Breathing”.

Grasping for straws is easier You can see the straws This most excellent canopy, the air, look you Presses down upon me At fifteen pounds per square inch. The film continues , with memories of his childhood before the onset of his polio, and how his parents decided to bring him home rather than place him in a nursing home, where the average life expectancy was only 18 months.

The loss of a younger sister to pneumonia gives way to another one of his poems, with the line I was the one who was supposed to die , making it one of the most memorable lines of the film.
O’Brien did spend two years in a nursing home, years he frequently refers to as horrific and terrifying. He was tutored at home as a child, excluded from the public school system. As it would turn out, his way out of the life he deplored was by attending college in Berkeley, CA.

The film is a funny and emotionally moving tale. This is not a story about a hopeless person with a disability, it rather serves as a document of how one person’s life he has choosen to lead, despite various factors that have made it like it is.

The film has received numerous awards already, with awards and selections from such acclaimed film festivals and associations such as the International Documentary Association, the South by Southwest film festival and The Sundance Film Festival.

Because of problems associated with his disabilitiy, O’Brien is only able to get in his wheelchair twice a month, Yu went to the numerous screenings all over the continent and brought a book which viewers could write messages to him. She gave the completed book to O’Brien last Christmas.

O’Brien will be watching the Awards show at home, he probably will have a party with his friends. Yu will be at the awards having a good time at the ceremonies.

O’Brien’s is currently working on an autobiography to be published in the fall. The film is also slated to be shown on the cable network, Cinemax, tentatively scheduled for May 22nd, as part of their “Reel Life” series.

“I don’t care if it is sandwiched between Police Academy 1 and 2, as long as it is on,” Yu commented.