Art for Art’s Sake?

Here is my latest story.

I met Irena about a year and a half ago. She is a member of the choir that is part of the play called The Book of Judith. Now if there was ever another story, it’s about The Book of Judith which is a whole story in and of itself. There is a blog about this play which you can find at bookofjudithplay.blogspot.com.

We were in rehearsals for a tour that begins in St. Catharines in October. At this time Irena handed me a book of her poetry. My first quick glance revealed a melancholy tone. I will type in a short poem at the end of this posting.

I recognized of course that I ought to interview Irena for this series of stories and she jumped at the chance. I quickly realized that she and I will need to drink a few cups of coffee (or tea or beer) over the next while in order for me to capture the whole story, if that is even possible, but here is the beginning. My point is that like many people Irena has never really had the chance to talk about how being labelled disabled and being an ODSP recipient influences her personal path, and the opportunity was more than welcome to her.

Irena came to this country with her family from the former Soviet country of Morava. At the time she was a high school student. She was already writing poetry and stories but did not feel that it was her place to hope for a career of her own design. Instead she followed the path that her parents, in particular her mother, laid out for her.

At the age of 18 it was recommended to her that she become a recipient of ODSP. She obediently signed the paperwork. In her heart she questioned whether she really wanted to label herself as disabled but it was many years in the future until she would begin to formulate these questions in her mind.

A dozen years later, Irena wants to establish her career as a writer and she has self published a book of poems. She frequently produces other writing, but she has never seriously researched how writing might become a career. She confessed to me that being on ODSP has made her somewhat lazy. It’s true that it pays the rent and it provides sufficiently for her and her boyfriend to have been able to establish an independent household. However, it also prevents her from seriously looking for employment for exactly the same reasons a previous “Joan” pointed out. Dealing with the impact of a big cheque in one month will take several months of work with one’s Client Representative to reaffirm or re-establish one’s eligibility for the benefit. It becomes easier – at least in the moment – to earn a little bit here and there but never to truly step out into the employment world.

Irena questioned in a very quiet and indirect way whether the purpose of ODSP is truly just to firmly establish that one is disabled. It is a question that is difficult to articulate and easier to ignore. But truly is this young woman disabled? It is a fact that she walks with crutches and moves and talks slowly. It is apparent that she easily defers to more assertive people. But it is also true that she thinks and writes beautifully. If one is an artist, is recognized as an artist, and is capable of establishing an artistic career, where is the disability?

But then again, when has our culture ever recognized the making of art as a genuine economic contribution to our society? Clearly, it creates a more stable life for Irena to rely on a regular ODSP cheque as opposed to struggling for meagre grants and skimpy opportunities to sell her work as is required of artists who do not have the advantage of being born with Cerebral Palsy.

Here is an example of Irena’s writing:

The World Is…

The world is dark…
So dark it hurts
No such thing as true happiness,
We are primal;
Running like hamsters on a wheel of greed
Going nowhere…

We shock ourselves back into life,
Accept conformity,
Condone uniformity,
Alone.