Monstering: The Magnum Opus

by Brianna Albers (Editor), E. Kristin Anderson, Effie Asche

Monstering is a magazine, written by and for disabled women and nonbinary people. We believe in this: monster stories. Which is to say we believe in monsters, which is to say we believe in their socio-cultural manifestation: women and nonbinary people with disabilities. In some stories, it is trauma that becomes the catalyst for monstering; in others, it is something natural, instinctive, welling from inside and raging forth. In all forms of the narrative, the monster becomes a symbol for that which is unknowable: the hungry, the grotesque, the terrifying and unlovely and strange. And so the myth perpetuates, giving form and voice to all things terrible and uncertain. The heritage of the monster is one of oppression; the legacy of the monster is one of pain, of violence and cruelty and exile. We believe in this: the power of the abnormal. The term "monster," derived from the Greek "τέρας" and the Latin "monstrum"—a sign, portent, or omen. In any case, monsters as a warning, heralding the arrival of the supernatural: revelation of the apocalypse; unveiling of the horrific, poetics and all. Blurring the boundaries between what is phantasmal and mundane, saying this: the divine is at hand. We believe in this: the ritual of naming. Transgressing the depths of the labyrinth—the thick, oozing dark—and emerging a new creature: a confusion of angles and edges, sharp and bristling; a blistered, fearful body. The sacrilege of acceptance leads to a newfound, trembling grace. We believe in this: choosing to be more than human; choosing to be something else. We believe in this: reclamation. Singing the monster's body, in all its profane glory, through persecution and into righteousness. Respecting the awfulness of the foolish creature; honoring the softness of the animal's survival. Here, now, loving this: the heart of the monster, which is the heart of the legend, which is the heart of the god. We believe in this: surviving, striving, and thriving, claws and teeth and all. The telos of monstering is transcendence. The telos of monstering is the holy army of monsters. This book is our magnum opus, a compendium of our first 3 issues published as one beautiful volume for you to enjoy.

318 pages, Paperback

First published October 20, 2020

About the author

Brianna Albers (she/her) is a crip, cyborg storyteller living in Minneapolis-St. Paul. In 2016, she founded Monstering, a magazine for disabled women and nonbinary people. She consults as a patient ambassador for SMA My Way and writes the column “The Wolf Finally Frees Itself” for SMA News Today. She is currently writing AN ANGEL IN THE GARDEN, an adult space fantasy with #OwnVoices disability representation. Find her on social media @briehalbers.

Reviews

[Emily Gillespie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This anthology is a diverse collection of poems, and non-fiction by women and non-binary disabled writers. I enjoyed reading the print collection. This work has an underlying spirt of activism and challenging how disabled women are viewed in society, ranging from discussing disability and sex, to our relationship with capitalism. I enjoyed the use of the image of the monster throughout the text.