Professor Stephen Kuusisto, who has been blind since birth, is the author of Eavesdropping: A Memoir of Blindness and Listening and the acclaimed memoir Planet of the Blind, a New York Times “Notable Book of the Year”. He has also published Only Bread, Only Light, a collection of poems from Copper Canyon Press.
Recognized by the New York Times as “a powerful writer with a musical ear for language and a gift for emotional candor,” Steve has made numerous appearances on programs including The OprahWinfrey Show, Dateline NBC, National PublicRadio and the BBC.
A graduate of the “Writer’s Workshop” at the University of Iowa, and a Fulbright Scholar, Steve holds a dual faculty appointment at the University of Iowa where he teaches courses in creative nonfiction in the English Department and serves as a public humanities scholar in the U of Iowa’s Carver Institute for Macular Degeneration. He speaks widely on diversity, disability, education, and public policy. His essays and poems have appeared in numerous anthologies and literary magazines including Harper’s’ The New York Times Magazine; Poetry; and Partisan Review. He is currently working on a collection of prose poems for Copper Canyon Press entitled "Mornings With Borges" as well as a collection of political poems about disability.
Kuusisto's essays and poems have appeared in numerous anthologies and literary magazines including:
Harper's
The New York Times Magazine
Poetry
The Bark
Partisan Review
The Washington Post Magazine
He has appeared on:
The Oprah Winfrey Show
Dateline NBC
The Leeza Gibbons Show
The BBC
The Voice of America
“Talk of the Nation” on National Public Radio
Animal Planet
The Arts & Entertainment Network
Through Kaleidoscope Connections LLC, a company co-founded by he and his wife Connie, Steve speaks widely on diversity, disability, education, and public policy.
"My guest this week is Stephen Kuusisto. We discuss his new memoir, EAVESDROPPING, published by Norton. Mr. Kuusisto wrote PLANET OF THE BLIND in 1998. He has also written a collection of poetry, ONLY BREAD, ONLY LIGHT, published by Copper Canyon Press. I would like to thank VoiceCorp, the Central Ohio radio station for the visually impaired, for allowing me to offer this interview on my website. I was a guest host for their Morning Exchange Program, and this is the interview that is being aired on their station. You do not want to miss EAVESDROPPING, it is a unique and important work of art by one our country's finest writers. Peace, Kacey"
