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Poetry Book Society Recommendation
This groundbreaking anthology brings together one hundred deaf, disabled and neurodivergent poets from across the international arena, from emerging voices to world-renowned authors, and offers an urgent redress, unpicking many misapprehensions and misrepresentations.
The word versus means one thing pitched against another. To be versus versus, therefore, is a paradox, but paradox can be helpful – it can open a space for deeper thought. This anthology aims to be such a space. Here, the reader will encounter poems of love and pain, self-care and companionship; poems which challenge cultural, medical and political agendas and policies. There are war poems, poems as acts of witness and solidarity, poems which address the impacts of the climate emergency. There are humorous poems, nature poems, and much more. The selection also draws together poetry in a wide variety of styles and forms, and from different traditions, such as haiku, renga, sonnet, villanelle, prose poem, performance poem, and sign language. Building on the work of decades of disability justice advocacy, Versus Versus offers a poetry of assertiveness and immense vitality.
The anthology draws upon a wide range of voices from across the globe, including many indigenous poets and poets of color. Writer based in the US include: Agha Shahid Ali, Threa Almontaser, Kay Ulanday Barrett, John Lee Clarke, Meg Day, Kwame Dawes, Anita Endrezze, Megan Fernandes, torrin a. greathouse, Ona Gritz, Stephanie Heit, Linda Hogan, Cynthia Huntington, Rachael Johnson, Cyrée Jarelle Johnson, I.S. Jones, Fady Joudah, Ilya Kaminsky, Tsipi Keller, Jane Kenyon, Petra Kuppers, Stephen Kuusisto, Adrienne Leddy, Ada Limón, Ibtihal Rida Mahmood, Airea D. Matthews, Lateef McLeod, Erica Mena, Leroy F. Moore Jr., Naomi Ortiz, Saleem Hue Penny, Lucia Perillo, Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha and heidi andrea restrepo rhodes.
This anthology was prepared with the help of an Advocacy and Advisory Panel: grateful thanks to Karthika Naïr, Chisom Okafor and Daniel Sluman. Many thanks to the Royal Society of Literature and to the judges of the 2023 Literature Matters Awards for selecting this anthology as one of the winning entries.
Cover image description: The book's cover features a square-shaped artwork by Polish artist, Julian Stanczak, entitled 'Concurrent Colors'. The painting creates an optical illusion of vertical moving curved lines in red and blue, giving the impression of moving waves or sand dunes. At the edges of the painting the lines thin out so that they resemble a comb effect. The painting has a darker blue framing band around it, filling the extent of the cover. The title of the anthology 'VERSUS VERSUS' is in a large red font at the top of the cover, and the subtitle, '100 POEMS BY DEAF, DISABLED & NEURODIVERGENT POETS', is in a large blue font underneath the square painting. The editor's name, Rachael Boast, is in a smaller red font beneath the subtitle.
'My pick is Versus Versus: 100 Poems by Deaf, Disabled & Neurodivergent Poets, edited by Rachael Boast. It contains astonishing poems by Hoshino Tomihiro, Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha, Les Murray, Ona Gritz and many more.’ – Ali Lewis, Poetry News (2025 Holiday Reading Recommendations)
'Versus Versus is a powerful anthology that brings together one hundred deaf, disabled and neurodivergent poets in a testament to resilience, community, and the power of lived experience. From the opening pages, the book pulses with urgency and solidarity. [...] Versus Versus is an essential read. It is loving and deeply moving. If you enjoy poetic forms then be prepared to swoon at the mix of sonnets, haikus, rengas, sign language, prose poems and much more. Reflecting diverse voices and experiences, this anthology is a gift – one that demands your time.' – Yomi Ṣode, Poetry Book Society Selector, PBS Bulletin, Summer 2025
'This anthology is a dizzying, continent-crossing explosion of verse, its topics and styles as individual as the poets; revelling in the diversity of a community that is often boxed in by ableism and prejudice. A potent theme of resisting limits courses through the book. [...] In a period in the UK when disabled people’s rights and living conditions are under threat, this collection feels timely.' – Rebecca Tamás, The Guardian (Poetry Books of the Month), on Versus Versus
‘Poems are about experience, emotions, ideas. Versus Versus lets me in on tales of perseverance, determination, love, rebellions against the negative […] I think this is one of the main remits here – a dialogue between the speaker and the listener, the reader and the writer, the disabled and the non-disabled.’ – Richard Downes, Disability Arts Online
'This wonderfully diverse anthology - a Poetry Book Society Recommendation - brings together the work of 100 deaf, disabled and nerudivergent poets whose creations include poetry to challenge political, cultural and medical agendas, war and love poems, and poems that encompass pain and humour. [...] But there is one thing they all have in common – resilience and sense of community.' – The Sunday Post (Scotland), on Versus Versus
'Versus Versus is an incredibly rich and diverse international anthology. Modern poets converse with those long dead, and many cultures and nationalities are represented. There are poems about war here too, and the devastating effects it can have on both body and mind. […] I hope that many non-disabled, deaf or neurodivergent readers will buy or read this vital collection. Certainly, any creative writing teacher of any merit should read/use/reference this important book.' – Julia Webb, Under the Radar
'Altogether, Boast’s undertaking is an ambitious and generative piece of work in response to the joys and challenges of the world we live in. As a writer, editor, and disability advocate, navigating ichthyosis and related conditions, Boast has opened up an inclusive space for both emerging and established poets within the neurodivergent community.' – Jennifer Wong, Wasafiri Magazine
‘I have just finished reading Versus Versus: 100 Poems by Deaf, Disabled & Neurodivergent Poets edited by Rachael Boast and I am overwhelmed with its strength, variety and compelling poetry. […] This anthology gives us the world, the condition of being human and living through whatever we have to live through to get by. Or not. It gives us duende and magic. […] For D/deaf, disabled and neurodivergent poets, I hope you see yourself in some of these works and feel acknowledged, and find resonance in the joys, triumphs and difficulties represented here. I hope that all readers see individual stories, celebrations and heartache rather than generalizations about disability.' – Amanda Earl, Amanda Thru the Looking Glass
'I hope I’ve given you a taste of the wonderful poems in this important book. […] if you decide to buy it or get it from your library, read and re-read it. You’ll be consoled, informed, thrilled.' – Anne Kaier, Wordgathering: A Journal of Disability Poetry and Literature
Rachael Boast is a British writer, editor and disability advocate, navigating Ichthyosis and related conditions. She has published four collections of poetry with Picador, Sidereal (2011), Pilgrim's Flower (2013), Void Studies (2016) and Hotel Raphael (2021). Her poems have been anthologised in Stairs and Whispers: D/deaf and Disabled Poets Write Back (Nine Arches, 2017), Staying Human (Bloodaxe Books, 2020) and 100 Poems to Save the Earth (Seren, 2021). She co-edited The Echoing Gallery: Bristol Poets and Art in the City (Redcliffe Press, 2013) and The Caught Habits of Language: An Entertainment for W.S. Graham for Him Having Reached One Hundred (Donut Press, 2018). She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.