Tag Archives: visual impairment

Poetry Reading to Raise Money for Guide Dogs

On Wednesday 16 November, at 6:30 pm, I will be giving a poetry reading to raise money for the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association, https://www.guidedogs.org.uk/.

My reading will take place at the Railway Bell, 16 Cawnpore Street, Norwood, London, SE19 1PF, https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100057124433235.

All are welcome.

If you would like to hear me reading my poetry prior to the 16^th of November, you can find me on Tiktok here, https://www.tiktok.com/@kevinmorrispoet

If you have any queries about my reading on the 16^th, please email me at kmorrispoet (at) gmail dot com, (the address is rendered thus in order to defeat spammers)!

A Podcast of Poet Kevin Morris Being Interviewed By Patty Fletcher of Tell it to the World Marketing

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On 17 September, I was privileged to be interviewed by Patty Fletcher for her podcast, which can be found here, https://www.buzzsprout.com/1285364/11442469-talk-to-tell-it-to-the-world-marketing-and-guest-kevin-morris-poet.

During the show, I talk about my life, what inspires me to write poetry and read several of my poems. In addition, I speak about my guide dogs past and present.

My thanks to Patty for interviewing me.

Please Speak to Me (Not my Non-Disabled Companion)

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As those of you who follow/read this blog will know, the primary purpose of my site is to share my poetry. I do, however sometimes blog about more personal matters and today is one of those rare occasions on which I shall do so.

Yesterday (Saturday 24 September) I went for my 4^th Covid jab (booster). Being blind, and the vaccination centre being some distance away, a friend kindly took me in her car.

The centre was offering both the Covid booster and a flue jab for those entitled to receive one.

When it came to my turn to be vaccinated, the person giving the vaccinations asked my sighted friend why I was entitled to receive the flu jab. I answered that I am diabetic (people with diabetes are entitled to free flu jabs in the UK), and the vaccination against Covid and Flu was given.

The above incident reminded me of another case where a member of station staff asked a sighted work colleague with whom I was traveling “does he need any help?”.

In both cases the people putting the question to my companions where assuming that I was unable to speak for myself. This is a highly patronising and erroneous assumption as I and the vast majority of other disabled people are perfectly able to answer for ourselves.

Both incidents are ironic as had I been unaccompanied the individuals putting the questions would have had no alternative other than to address me directly, which is, of course as it should be.

Having visited both China and Sri Lanka, I am aware that those nations (and many other countries) do not have the facilities for people with disabilities which are available in the United Kingdom. However, this fact in no way excuses the patronising attitudes adopted by a minority of individuals. This is particularly the case in the NHS where all staff should be provided with disability awareness training.

The vast majority of those employed in the NHS do an excellent job (often under extremely difficult circumstances). However, the minority who adopt patronising attitudes needs to be addressed.

Disabled people are human beings and deserve to be treated with the same respect as are non-disabled fellow citizens.

What’s in a Rhyme – a Podcast of Poet Kevin Morris’s Interview on Accessing Art with Amy Amantea

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I was recently interviewed by Amy Amantea of Accessing Art. During that interview I read and discussed 2 of my poems, “Time” and “Raining”. I also talked about what inspired both poems and poetry more generally.

A podcast of my interview on Accessing Art is now available and can be found here, https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/accessing-art-with/whats-in-a-rhyme-NgWPC2vfUeM/

My grateful thanks to Amy for interviewing me on her Accessing Art show.

Kevin

My interview on access radio

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A couple of weeks ago i was interviewed on Access Radio. During my interview, i talked about my life as a visually impaired person in the UK. In addition, i read a number of my poems.

I am pleased to be able to announce that my interview is now available on sound cloud. It is split up into two parts and they can be found here.

PART 1: https://soundcloud.com/kevin-stephen-morris/kevins-interview-on-access-radio-1

PART 2: https://soundcloud.com/kevin-stephen-morris/kevins-interview-on-access-radio-part-2

My Forthcoming Interview on Access Radio

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On Wednesday 18 May, I am scheduled to appear on Access Radio, which is hosted by Amy Amantea.

Access Radio is broadcast on Vancouver Co-op Radio, and my interview (which is around an hour in length) is scheduled to be aired at 13:00 (Vancouver time), which equates to 9 pm (UK time).

During my pre-recorded interview, I talk about my life as a blind/visually impaired person in the UK. In addition I read a number of my poems and discuss what inspired me to compose them.

You can find out about Access Radio here https://coopradio.org/shows/access-radio/. If you are unable to listen on Wednesday 18th, a podcast of the show will be available at a later date and will be posted here.

Today is World Braille Day

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Today (4 January) is World Braille Day, https://www.un.org/en/observances/braille-day.

I have been a braille user since approximately 5 years of age.

Braille is made by punching dots into paper or other materials. For example, when you next go shopping you may well come across braille on bottles of bleach or other cleaning products. In addition, many medications now have braille labels enabling people such as myself to identify them.

As a child who was unable to read print, braille was one of the main ways in which I accessed the printed word. I can still remember the first fully contracted (grade 2 braille) book I read. It was entitled The Story of Pets, and being able to access it independently of sighted assistance gave me a profound sense of achievement.

Despite the massive advances in technology (for instance the availability of text to speech on almost all titles in the Amazon Kindle store which enables those unable to read print to access them), braille still remains extremely important.

As mentioned above, braille enables visually impaired people to identify household cleaning products such as bleach. In addition, I continue to read braille books. Whilst I gain enjoyment from listening to audio downloads (for example of poetry books), the advantage to braille (as with print) is that it enables readers to put their own interpretation upon a work, rather than being influenced by the person narrating the audio book. I come across some readings and think to myself “that is not how I imagine the poem/other work in question should be read/interpreted”).

A number of my own books are available in braille from the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB), https://kmorrispoet.com/2020/06/23/braille-editions-of-my-books/. In addition, all of my works in the Kindle store have text to speech enabled, enabling those who are unable to read print to access them.

In conclusion, braille remains a vital means for braille readers to access information and to enjoy the written word in the form of literature. Braille displays can be linked to a computer allowing braille users to read the contents of the screen, https://www.rnib.org.uk/sight-loss-advice/technology-and-useful-products/technology-resource-hub-latest-facts-tips-and-guides/braille-displays-and-notetakers. Consequently braille will, I believe remain relevant for many years to come.

Training with My New Guide Dog Apollo

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On 4 November, I wrote about the impending arrival of my new guide dog Apollo, https://kmorrispoet.com/2021/11/04/my-new-guide-dog/.

Apollo and me posing for a family photo

Apollo arrived on Monday 8 November, and I have been bonding and training with him since then. Thus far we have walked to my local Sainsburys supermarket, which is located some 10-15 minutes from my home. Initially the walk took place with Apollo on the lead with me using a white cane whilst accompanied by the trainer from the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association. Later walks occurred with Apollo in his distinctive guide dog harness with me accompanied by the trainer. Under UK law (the Equalities Act) guide dogs are allowed entrance into supermarkets and other venues where pet dogs are prohibited. This means that visually impaired guide dog owners can enter such places in the course of their daily lives.

I love Apollo’s soft ears

To reinforce the work of Apollo and other guide dogs, food is used as a reward for stopping at kerbs, finding pelican crossings Etc. The daily intake of food is adjusted to take account of food given as a reward thereby preventing the working guide dog from becoming overweight.

Apollo in his bed after a hard day training me.

My thanks to my friend Brian for taking the photographs above.

Confusion over Text to Speech on Kindle Titles

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As many readers of this blog will know, most Amazon Kindle titles have a facility known as Text to Speech enabled. Text to Speech enables the contents of Kindle titles to be read aloud to readers, and is particularly useful to people with certain disabilities, for example those who are registered blind and who are not able to read print. You can find details of how to enable Text to Speech here, https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=201829850.

I am myself registered blind and unable to read print. Consequently I rely on the Text to Speech facility on my Kindle or Voiceover (Apple’s screen reader which works with the Kindle app on Apple devices) to read Kindle content.

A week or so ago I noticed that product pages in the Amazon Kindle store had messages saying “Text to Speech not enabled”. This concerned me and I visited my own pages on Amazon only to discover that they also indicated the unavailability of Text to Speech.

As someone who is themselves visually impaired, I wish to ensure that my poetry collections and other works are accessible to all readers. I therefore contacted Amazon.

Yesterday I received a message from Amazon’s Tech Support advising me that most Kindle content has Text to Speech enabled and advising as to how this could be turned on. They did not respond to my point that titles (previously shown as having Text to Speech enabled, now do not do so).

I have checked several of my titles, which continue to read aloud using Voiceover in combination with the Kindle app on my iphone. In addition I downloaded another title (not my own) which is shown as not having Text to Speech enabled. Again this works fine on my iphone.

In conclusion, the problem appears to be not that Text to Speech has been disabled. Rather the issue centres on the fact that accessible Kindle titles are being shown as inaccessible. This could cause those who rely on Text to Speech, not to purchase books in the belief that the content is inaccessible (when, in fact it can be read aloud).

Kevin

A Short History of the Paperback

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An interesting history of the paperback book, including information regarding “collectable” paperbacks, https://www.ioba.org/standard/2001/12/a-short-history-of-paperbacks/.

As a child growing up in the city of Liverpool, I well remember a glass bookcase full of paperbacks, in my grandfather’s house in Speke (a suburb of Liverpool).

Most Saturdays my Grandfather and I would go into W. H. Smiths and buy a paperback, often by Enid Blyton, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enid_Blyton.

I lost the majority of my vision at 18-months-old due to a blood clot on the brain. Consequently my grandfather would spend hours reading to me, as I was unable to read print books.

I think of my grandfather whenever I pass by a branch of Smiths. The scent of books and magazines eminating from the store brings the memories flooding back.

Sadly I no longer have the books my grandfather bought for me, Some of which where, no doubt collectable. However, where they still in my possession, I would not part with them as some things possess value which can not be measured in monetary terms.