"Fries opens himself up to the page sharing his secrets and his quest to understand Japan, disability, and more importantly his place in the world."
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Elizabeth Foulke asks Kenny: "What continues to be overlooked in Western culture due to our lack of language for, or a lack of narratives that incorporate the experience of people with disabilities?
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Well-known disability rights activist and Ford Foundation Fellow Judy Heumann talks with Kenny about In the Province of the Gods, his article in The New York Times, and the importance of mentorship.
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A Plus Book Club Chooses In the Province of the Gods!
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"I am disabled, gay, and Jewish. A former boyfriend has called me The Nazi Trifecta."
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"Was Hearn’s attraction to strange things because he had one eye? Did he feel comfortable in Japan because being a foreigner overshadowed his physical difference?"
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Trenton Straube at POZ calls In the Province of the Gods a "mesmerizing memoir."
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" . . . my writing works against the literary morés, standards, culture, and legacies. As a disabled writer, who is also gay and Jewish, I often write at the intersection of these identities."
Read More"A finely honed philosophical and autobiographical reflection on transcendence and self-acceptance."
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"In Tanizaki’s story we are shown how disability can, in certain contexts, be advantageous, as well as how the nondisabled use disability for their own purposes."
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"As a disabled writer, I’m wary of using a medical marker to define an era, because HIV/AIDS is a sociopolitical issue as well as a medical one."
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"If ever I needed the presence of the gods, now is the time. . . . Ever since finding out the test results in Dr. Shay’s office, I have felt, for what seems like the first time, that my life has been split—now there is a before and an after."
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Echoes of the extermination of the 'unfit' carried out by the Third Reich can still be heard today.
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"I was told most people with disabilities were hidden away, a combination of lack of access and family shame. However, as I began to discover, disability has been an important, one might even say crucial, part of Japanese culture for a very long time."
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"I realize why the guidebook photo is a close-up of a tiny corner edge of the garden: it is impossible to see all at once; the experience of Ryōan-ji is cumulative."
Read More"In the unsettled and often angry world of disability politics, Kenny Fries' memoir enters centre stage, projecting an oasis of calm and insightful enquiry."
Read More". . . to read it is to experience what true literary achievement really means," says Julia Bouwsma in her Connotation Press review.
Read More"As In the Province of the Gods shows, Japan was the right place at the right time. It changed my life."
Read MoreArt and Understanding Magazine's review says In the Province of the Gods is written "from a unique perspective, with singular personal insight, and an ironic sense of humor."
Read MorePublishers Weekly includes In the Province of the Gods in its "Be Here Now" round-up of ten travel titles to read this fall.
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