of his run for president in 1992, Brisben had been primarily involved in the disability rights movement, with American Disabled for Attendant Programs Today (ADAPT), even serving three days in an Orlando jail for taking part in an ADAPT demonstration. He was arrested 22 times as a political activist. Socialist Party USA Brisben had been a member of the Socialist party since 1959. He attempted to run for mayor of Chicago in 1975 via a write-in campaign after failing gain enough signatures to be placed on the ballot. 1976 Vice Presidential campaign Brisben was Frank P. Zeidler's vice presidential running mate in 1976 for the Socialist Party USA. The Miami Herald reported that Brisben traveled via Amtrak across the country speaking to small groups of socialists. On the trail, he was described as speaking with "an unpretentious charm which combines a down-home practicality and a simple humor." Only on a handful of state ballots because of the difficulty and expense of the process, Zeidler/Brisben received 6,038 votes. That election was the first time the Socialist Party had run a presidential candidate since the 1956. 1992 Presidential campaign Brisben and his running mate Bill Edwards were nominated at the 1991 Socialist Party USA convention. However, Edwards died during the campaign and writer Barbara Garson was selected to replace him on the ballot. In March 1992, Brisben participated in a presidential debate with other minor party and independent presidential candidates, which was aired on C-SPAN. The Brisben−Garson ticket appeared on the ballots of Tennessee, Utah, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia; ultimately, they received 3,071 votes. Works Brisben published three poetry collections, and a novel, V for Victory Blues. He also contributed interviews to four books written by Studs Terkel, and to the 2003 anthology Queer Crips he contributed a story entitled "A Wedding Celebration" about the gay couple Erik von Schmetterling and Jimmy Schrode who were his fellow activists with ADAPT. He also wrote many articles for the Monthly Review and other journals. Interviews The writer Studs Terkel, a friend, interviewed Brisben in four of his books: The Great Divide: Second Thoughts on the American Dream (1988) Race: What Blacks and Whites Think and Feel About the American Obsession (1992). Will the Circle Be Unbroken: Reflections on Death, Rebirth and Hunger for a Faith (2001) Hope Dies Last: Keeping the Faith in Difficult Times (2003) Poetry collections Novels and stories Journal