C’mon Papa

Ryan Knighton's humorous and perceptive tales of fatherhood take us inside an unusual new family, one bound by its father's particular darkness and light.C'mon Papa is Ryan Knighton's heartbreaking and hilarious voyage through the first year of fatherhood. Becoming a father is a stressful, daunting rite of passage to be sure, but for a blind father, the fears are unimaginably heightened. Ryan will have to find novel ways to adapt to nearly every aspect of parenting: the most basic skills are nearly impossible to contemplate, let alone master. And how will Ryan get to know this pre-verbal bundle of coos and burps when he can't see her smile, or look into her eyes for hints of the person to come? But this is no pity party, and Ryan has no time for sentimentality. Tackling these hurdles with grace and humour, Ryan is determined to do his part - and this is where the fun starts. From holding his daughter as she wails into the night to their first nerve-wracking walk to the cafe, no activity between father and daughter is without its pitfalls. In his struggle to "see" Tess, Ryan reimagines the relationship between father and child during that first chaotic year.

Nesting: A Prologue Act One: FOR STARTERSThe End Ape, Chicken, Dad Let's Play Math Needling Our Unmentionables Feel Anything? Act Two: UNRESTSootherface Attica, and Others Mr. Owb Goes to Town The Sound Effects The Extraordinary Times of Dick and Jane, and Spot Act Three: GIVEN TO WORDSLost in Space My Dad Went to Kansas City and All I Got Was this Stupid Button The Zoology of a Daycare And Found Acknowledgements