Stump the Librarian: A Writer's Book of Legs - Softcover

Samry, Alan

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1945190337 ISBN 13: 9781945190339

Publisher: Intellect Publishing, LLC, 2018

Synopsis

Stump the Librarian: A Writer's Book of Legs is a diverse collection of creative writing that explores Alan Samry's life as a congenital below-knee amputee and a public librarian. Alan's cross-genre writing in creative nonfiction, poetry, essays, satire, scholarship, and experimental writing weaves fascinating mythical, historical, and literary figures into his own absorbing story of being a "born amputee." In the book, with chapters organized as though the reader were exploring a public library, Alan writes about his experiences in an open, insightful, and humorous way. In his search for other leg amputees, Alan finds a new way of seeing himself, and the world around him.

About this title

About the Author:

Alan Samry is a congenital amputee and a native of Cape Cod. In 2005, he and his wife, Susan, moved to Fairhope, Alabama. Alan earned an AA from Cape Cod Community College, a BA from the University of South Alabama, and a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from Spalding University. In 2017, he earned a Master of Library and Information Studies from the University of Alabama. He has been a dishwasher, a landscaper, a liquor store manager, a wine salesman, and an award-winning reporter. He is a part-time public librarian and an adjunct instructor at Coastal Alabama Community College. When the weather's nice, Alan enjoys riding his bike to work. If he's not working, look for him at his local coffee shop, bookstore, or brewery.

Review:

Alan Samry's kaleidoscopic book, Stump the Librarian is at once a glorious compendium of quick biographies of one-legged individuals, a moving memoir, a fascinating history of amputations and prostheses, and a medical investigation of the congenital anomaly that left the author with a disability at birth.  Samry, a librarian in Fairhope, Alabama, takes joy in the quest for answers and pursues information with the sublime sense of mission that the best librarians possess.  With clarity, candor, and a down-to-earth directness, he takes us with him:  fascinated, outraged, horrified, thrilled, and ever curious about a world populated--and profoundly changed--by those who not only get by on a single leg but stand far more firmly than many people with two. Samry weaves poignant personal recollection through his tapestry of information, making Stump the Librarian a must read. 

--Molly Peacock, author of The Analyst and The Paper Garden

Alan Samry takes readers on his personal journey of curiosity, humor and exploration. In an unlikely narrative readers learn about Alan's life as a congenital below-knee amputee.  In a very delightful and provocative manner, Alan relates his personal memoirs and shares historical and imagined characters who are like-amputees.Alan's writing style is fascinatingly varied, and insightful into his own self-discovery.  He shares intimate details that enable readers to appreciate his story and perspective.This book is a celebration of Alan - his person, determination, and his insatiable desire for truth. --Tamara Dean, Director, Fairhope Public Library

Alan Samry's Stump the Librarian is a deeply felt,extensively researched, and emotionally engaging work. The seemingly ordinarystory of a librarian with a prosthetic leg becomes, in Samry's honest andeloquent telling, a remarkable journey through memoir, history, and literature.Journey along with this learned, soul-searching author.
 
--Roy Hoffman, Author of Alabama Afternoons, an essay collection,and Come Landfall, a novel

About this edition

• Publisher: Intellect Publishing, LLC
• Publication date: 2018
• ISBN 10: 1945190337
• ISBN 13: 9781945190339
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 277