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Pen 2 Paper: The Ones that Got Away

Every year, Pen 2 Paper receives so many entries that we love, but that never make it to the finalist round. In 2018, we wanted to recognize some of those from 2017, which we presented in a monthly web feature: The Ones that Got Away. From January through November, P2P co-coordinators Susie and Laura posted 16 favorite non-finalists from the 2017 contest, all listed below. Enjoy!

All entries posted with permission, authors retain all rights.

November

• Grieving on the Dance Floor by Robert Kingett. An important part of disability writing is to model how you want to be thought of and/or treated as a person with a disability... Full post

August

• Blood Samples and Wooden Virgins by Eden Summerlee. Summerlee’s short story of a trip to the hospital for blood work starts off as solid observational comedy... Full post
• I Can Handle It by Rick Blum. Losing the ability to do daily tasks is a natural part to getting older, but can be quite frustrating for everyone... Full post

July

• The Ward by Konstantin Nicholas Rega. Getting older is a natural part of living, but the things that happen to our mind and/ or bodies can often be confusing and frustrating... Full post
• Psych ER by Edie Baker. Drawing on sometimes nightmare-ish life experiences, she doesn’t hold back about how difficult or scary life with a mental illness can be... Full post

June

• Disturbances by Hannah Wells. Wells’ delicate Disturbances unfolds in two sections: first, from the point of view of "Him," whose mental faculties are intact, and then from "Her," whose memory is deteriorating... Full post
• Getting to, "No, You" by Bill Cushing. Raising children with disabilities is hard. There are millions of books about parenting, but only a small percentage talk about children with disabilities... Full post

May

• Nellie and June by Wendy Sheehan. Sheehan used a unique twist to demonstrate how hard it is for a person with a hidden disability to be understood and accepted... Full post
• Upon Considering Boob Privilege by Kimberly Jackson. The first time I read Jackson’s slam poem about the social fallout from a breast reduction, it smacked me right in the face... Full post

April

• excerpt from MENTAL HOSPITAL by Ross Robbins. Sometimes I have trouble with pieces in the prose-poetic mode, but I found this excerpt from Ross' book-length "MENTAL HOSPITAL" to be very accessible... Full post
• Extra Time on Tests by Stanley Toledo. Although this short play was submitted to the fiction category, acquiring accommodations is a real problem for many students with disabilities... Full post

March

• Running Away from Home by Julie Whitehead. Whitehead tackles the topics of anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, and suicidal thoughts in her non-fiction story... Full post

February

• Trauma's Shadow by Kimberley Vargas Agnese. Trauma's Shadow really got to me. There's so much feeling packed into these seemingly sparse lines... Full post
• The Imperfect World by Dr. Arcana Kadam. Dr. Kadam’s poem registered with me immediately. It conveys just how difficult life can be for children who are growing up with disabilities and their parents... Full post

January

• Karma's Rendezvous by Jeffrey G. Roberts. I enjoy reading romantic and feel good stories, and this short story was definitely one of my favorite P2P entries of 2017... Full post
• Dear God, Who Gets on my Nerves by Nicole Cortichiato. Like much of her work, this short story alternates being crass and funny and blunt about uncomfortable subjects... Full post