Gathering Blue

Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

1. What does it mean to have a disability? Think in terms of both mental and physical disabilities. What are some of the main obstacles that people with disabilities face? How might the attitudes of the people around them—their friends, families, and communities—make a difference?

Teaching Suggestion: Kira, the protagonist of Gathering Blue, is born with a physical impairment that causes her to be an outcast in her community. However, her mother teaches her to see her disability as a source of strength, and Kira does not let it limit her experience of life. Some students may struggle to understand how Kira’s experiences relate to their lives, not understanding that many people live with disabilities and there are many causes of disability. This prompt and the resources that follow are intended to deepen students’ understanding of the lived experiences of people with disabilities and curb any potential tendency to view Kira as an “other.”

• This article from Forbes, by Andrew Pulrang, explains five key ideas that nondisabled people should understand about disability.
• This fact sheet from the UK’s University and College Union shares information on ableism and its impact.
• This article from BBC News shares research into happiness and disability.

2. What kinds of art have you personally created? Is there a difference between creating art and being an “artist”? What kind of a relationship with art do you imagine an “artist” has? How is this different from the way non-artists view art?

Teaching Suggestion: Many students will have experience with creating art, but few will be “artists” in the sense that Kira is an artist. This prompt intends to activate their personal knowledge of creating art and then sharpen their appreciation for the deep connection between artists and their art. The resources listed below can serve as springboards for discussion about what artists see in art and feel about art that non-artists might have a hard time connecting with.

• In this 4-minute video, abstract artist Mark Bradford analyzes the work of one of his favorite artists, Clyfford Still.
• This article from Berkeley’s Greater Good Magazine, by Jeremy Adam Smith and Jason Marsh, features interviews with artists in different mediums explaining why they make art.

Personal Connection Prompt

This prompt can be used for in-class discussion, exploratory free-writing, or reflection homework before reading the novel.

What is your favorite academic subject? Is your enjoyment of this subject stronger or weaker when someone else—like a teacher—tells you how to think about it and how to engage with it? Under what circumstances do you think most creatively about this subject and understand it most deeply?

Teaching Suggestion: In Gathering Blue, Kira’s love of her art is endangered by the strictures that the Council puts on her practice. This prompt is intended to give students insight into a situation in their own lives that might be similar to Kira’s situation. You may have students who refuse to name a favorite subject, claiming that there is nothing academic that they are interested in. In this case, you might probe a little about hobbies, sports, and other activities that they feel deeply connected to but that can be ruined by others’ expectations and rules.