Foreword

Why Neurodivergent Poetry? For the experience...

Detail from “Portrait of the Old Autist in an Affable Mask,” by Johnny Profane. Digital tools included AI.

I'm autistic. Born 1953.

I was not a product of a vaccine.

I was not a product of disease. Mental or physical.

I was not a mistake. Genetic or epigenetic.

I was not born to be fixed by CBT, pill or chip.

I was not born to be pitied.

I was born to raise Hell. Autistic style.

My Autistic Life: Maybe a Little Zelig. A Bit Forest Gump. But All Me.

Sharing our Neurodivergent stories is powerful.

I was born before autism was invented… More or less. 1953.

Been a meditation teacher,
cult member,
magazine publisher,
ad agency owner,non-profit activist,
3-time grad student,
3-time husband,
homeless,
mental health counselor,
substance abuse counselor,
cult counselor,
homeless,
fast-food clerk,
Pretend Rock Star,
homeless…

I’ve bantered with Bill Gates.
Felt stupid in front of Bill Joy.
Touched the Maharishi.
Stumbled on Keith Haring
Jumping turnstiles in the subway…

But…

I met anonymous geniuses
in cubicles,
bull pens,
trailer parks,
on the street…

This is not my idle boast. This is my earnest promise. Ask the neurodivergent in front of you…

Have they got stories to tell you. Genius touches every life. Of every 'type. If you can perceive it.

So.

I have no credentials to offer. At least none that matters to me... anymore.

So I offer my life. My autistic life.

Hoping better for our kids.

Now… About That Autistic Hell We Was Talking about Raising…

We ask awkward questions. And find new answers.

We see different. Make electrifying connections.

We feel patterns. To larger truths.

We are passionate

We adapt.
Survive.
Disrupt.
Transform…
Raising a fat middle finger
To normal.

Now, that’s the kinda hell…
I’m talking about.

How’s about neurodivergent you?

“Portrait of the Old Autist in an Affable Mask,” by Johnny Profane. Digital tools included AI.

To return to the poetry collection, “every clock is a handgun pointed at my head — Songs of Autistic Innocence …and Experience.”

An earlier version of this foreword was published with the article, “Autism, Neurodiversity, 3 Poems… 2 Rando Manifestos” with information, discussion, further reading, and more illustrations.

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