‘See it Feelingly’ in autism memoir

Author+and+film+producer+Ralph+Savarese+came+to+UNI+on+Tuesday%2C+Oct.+30+to+discuss+his+new+memoir+See+it+Feelingly%2C+inspired+by+his+life+experiences+and+research+in+the+area+of+autism.+Savarese+is+a+Grinnell%2C+IA+native.

COURTESY PHOTO

Author and film producer Ralph Savarese came to UNI on Tuesday, Oct. 30 to discuss his new memoir “See it Feelingly,” inspired by his life experiences and research in the area of autism. Savarese is a Grinnell, IA native.

TONI FORTMANN

On Tuesday, Oct. 30, author Ralph Savarese visited Bartlett Hall to speak about his latest book, “See it Feelingly: Classic Novels, Autistic Readers, and the Schooling of a No-Good English Professor.”

“My book’s title, ‘See it Feelingly,’ comes from Shakespeare’s ‘King Lear’ act four, scene six,” said Savarese, who is from Grinnell, Ia.  “I use this line to suggest the nature of literature’s hold on us, when we read a novel, the Scientist Cognition Literary Scholars demonstrated that we see it feelingly. We produce that essential mental imagery in our heads — visual imagery, auditory imagery, tactical imagery and motor imagery — and this imagery is bathed in emotion.”

Some researchers have questioned the capabilities of those on the autism spectrum when it comes to understanding language, imaginative play and complex theory of mind pertaining to literature. Throughout his book, Savarese shows readers how people with autism challenge this viewpoint. One of these challengers is Savarese’s adopted son, DJ, who is now 25 years old and one of the first non-verbal autistics to graduate from college.

“Unlike the stereotype of autism, DJ is quite responsive with the emotions of others,” Savarese said. “In a reply to his ninth-grade English teacher’s question, ‘What are your strengths as a reader?’ he said, ‘I feel characters’ feelings.’”

While constructing his book, Savarese had multiple collaborators across the autism spectrum, including Dora Raymaker, Temple Grandin, Eugenie Belkin, Jamie Burke, DJ Savarese and Tito Mukhopadhyay. He worked with them and gained knowledge from their ability to understand texts.

Mukhopadhyay is unique in the fact that he was entirely homeschooled after schools in India rejected him for having “severe” or “low-functioning” autism. Mukhopadhyay, now 21 years old, has authored five books, including “How Can I Talk If My Lips Don’t Move?”

In an interview with Savarese during Wednesday’s event, Mukhopadhyay explained what drew him to literature.

“I think I began to write because I was introduced to literature very early in life,” Mukhopadhyay said. “By the time I was six years old, mother had read aloud to me ‘Treasure Island’ and ‘Hunchback of Notre Dame’ along with parallel literature in Bengali and Hindi. As I grew older, mother would ask me if it was ‘me’ who was the author of the fiction she just read and, if so, how I would have ended that story.

“There was a discipline around my ‘home school,” Mukhopadhyay continued. “Even after [learning] a science lesson on atoms or blood cells, I had to discuss the lesson with passages like ‘if I were a proton…’ or ‘if I were a blood platelet…’ and not mere questions. Perhaps I adopted writing from that discipline. Or perhaps from something more than that. Who knows? It just makes me wonder. Today, I write to get published.”

“See it Feelingly” intertwines as a memoir and research on autism and cognitive literary studies. Savarese has a big impact not only with people on the autism spectrum, but off it as well.

“If you walk out of this room with only one thing, walk out here understanding that there’s as much diversity in autism as there is in the so-called neurotypical population,” Savarese said.

For a clearer look on living with autism, students were encouraged to check out “Deej,” a Peabody-award winning documentary about autism and inclusion. The film, which was screened last Monday evening on Oct. 29, in Sabin Hall, is produced by Robert Rooy and DJ “Deej” Savarese.