Community

The Outlook From Here is a statewide community-writing project that features the stories of people who are blind and visually impaired. The project is a partnership with the Wisconsin Council of the Blind and Visually Impaired and was originally funded with a grant from Center for the Humanities Public Humanities Exchange at University of Wisconsin-Madison.

The project began with the goal of giving people who are blind and visually impaired a chance to share their stories. Starting in October 2013, a small group of people from across Wisconsin began meeting over the phone to discuss how to tell stories about disability, blindness, and visual impairment. Many of us had never written about our experiences before but some of us had, and even one person had published a book. Together, we discussed the dire need to share stories of disability, the challenges of communicating about disability, and the hurdles of writing in general. We told lots of stories, formed bonds, and built friendships.

We continue to talk as a group, share feedback over email, and publish our stories on our blog, where you can read our stories and more about the project and who we are. We welcome submissions from people in Wisconsin (or with ties to Wisconsin) who have stories to tell about disability, blindness, or visual impairment. We are also curious to know what you want to know about what it is like to be blind or visually impaired.