FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — Feb 2023

A POETIC JOURNEY INTO DISABILITY AND IDENTITY

HONEST EXPLORATION OF WHOLENESS, OTHERNESS, AND PASSING

bd-studios.com is proud to announce the debut poetry collection by Sandy Hiortdahl. Hang Five explores Hiortdahl’s childhood as a person with a disability and the ties between wholeness and identity, otherness and passing, not only in our bodies but in our spirits. The book will be published 7 June 2023 and available from bd-studios.com or your favorite bookstore.

Hang Five is a nod to the surfing term hang ten, meaning hang all ten toes from the end of the surfboard while letting the waves hold down the back of it. The title represents “going on out there with whatever life gives you,” says Hiortdahl.

The collection delves into Hiortdahl’s experiences as a disabled individual and the journey to accepting and embracing her identity. “For most of my life, I felt I needed to pass as fully-abled, whether that meant wearing pants all summer or learning to mask intense physical pain,” says the poet. “But everyone has their crux to bear, right? We all suffer with our secret selves.”

Writing Hang Five was challenging and therapeutic. Hiortdahl hopes to connect with readers and empower them to embrace their identities. She wants people to see themselves through her struggles. “And I hope we can greet one another with a hang loose hand signal that also says, I see you, and I share your troubles,” she says.

Hang Five is a powerful and thought-provoking collection that delves into the complexities of identity and acceptance. It encourages readers to embrace their struggles and “hang five” with whatever life gives them.

Hang Five will be available from bd-studios.com or your favorite bookstore on 7 June.

Sandy Hiortdahl is an academic, poet, and fiction writer. She is the recipient of the Sophie Kerr Prize, The Ghost Mountain Award, and several distinctions from Pen2Paper. She has a Ph.D. from The Catholic University of America and an MFA from George Mason University. She teaches at Northeast State Community College in East Tennessee. Her publications include a scholarly book, Grendel Recast in John Gardner’s Novel and Beowulf, and fiction and poetry in several journals. Hang Five is her first collection of poetry.

bd-studios.com is the art and publishing studio by luke kurtis. Hang Five is the newest publication in an ongoing line of poetry books. Earlier titles are The Girl Who Wasn’t and Is by Anastasia Walker, Train to Providence by William Doreski and Rodger Kingston, and Vigil by Dudgrick Bevins, among others. Our line of artists’ books includes The Animal Book by Michael Harren, The Male Nude by Michael Tice, and Just One More by Jonathan David Smyth.

Hang Five by Sandy Hiortdahl
ISBN 978-1-950231-90-4
Paperback, 136 pages, 5.5 x 8.5 inches
eBook also available

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