English

In Deaf life, the personal narrative holds sway because most Deaf individuals recall their formative years as solitary struggles to understand and to be understood. Few deaf people in the past related their stories in written form, relying instead on a different kind of “oral” tradition, that of American Sign Language. During the last several decades, however, a burgeoning bilingual deaf experience has ignited an explosion of Deaf writing that has pushed the potential of ASL-influenced English to extraordinary creative heights. Deaf American Prose: 1980–2010 presents a diverse cross-section of stories, essays, memoirs, and novel excerpts by a remarkable cadre of Deaf writers that mines this rich, bilingual environment.

The works in Deaf American Prose frame the Deaf narrative in myriad forms: Tom Willard sends up hearing patronization in his wicked satire “How to Write Like a Hearing Reporter” Terry Galloway injects humor in “Words,” her take on the identity issues of being hard of hearing rather than deaf or hearing. Other contributors relate familiar stories about familiar trials, such as Tonya Stremlau’s account of raising twins, and Joseph Santini’s short story of the impact on Deaf and hearing in-laws of the death of a son. The conflicts are well-known and heartfelt, but with wrinkles directly derived from the Deaf perspective.

Several of the contributors expand the Deaf affect through ASL glosses and visual/spatial elements. Sara Stallard emulates ASL on paper through its syntax and glosses, and by eliminating English elements, a technique used in dialogue by Kristen Ringman and others. Deaf American Prose features the work of other well-known contemporary Deaf writers, including co-editor Kristen Harmon, Christopher Jon Heuer, Raymond Luczak, and Willy Conley. The rising Deaf writers presented here further distinguish the first volume in this new series by thinking in terms of what they can bring to English, not what English can bring to them.

There’s a surprising amount of fiction writing by d/Deaf and hard of hearing writers (past and present) that incorporates conventions of noir literature (heavily visual and atmospheric, gritty realism, focus on outsider status and implicit violence, heavily sense-oriented in the description, focused upon the “sensational” or taboo emotions in the context of the characterization and the plot, etc.).  (Note, though, that I’ve made a distinction here between “pulp” fiction and noir literature, with the understanding that the latter tends to be more literary and character-oriented.)

I’m putting together a collection of deaf-centered, noir fiction writing for submission to a non-academic press.  If you are yourself d/Deaf or hard of hearing or have significant personal experience with deafness (e.g. CODAs or parents of deaf children or partners of Deaf adults) and you have a short story or novella that could be considered “noir,” please submit for consideration to Kristen Harmon at Kristen.Harmon@gallaudet.edu.

I begin with a question: What does it mean to transliterate American Sign Language (ASL) and the visual realities of a Deaf life into creative texts written in English? This question is larger than the necessities of transliteration and conventions of print. If fiction writers or poets happen ...

Ethnographers need to examine what occurs when they study cultures they do not fully belong to but are not fully separated from to recognize and avoid possible instances of distortion of those cultures. A speaking deaf ethnographer who is fully assimilated into society has difficulty studying the culture of a group of deaf persons who use sign language. The ethnographer's work is affected by her presence on the periphery of both the hearing and deaf communities.

Creative publications in Tripping the Tale Fantastic, The Right Way to Be Crippled and Naked, Deaf Lit Extravaganza, The Tactile Mind Press Quarterly, Disability Studies Quarterly, Eyes of Desire 2, Deaf American Prose (1980-2010), and other short story/personal essay publications available on request (email: Kristen.Harmon@gallaudet.edu).

A primary tenet underlying American Sign Language/ English bilingual education for deaf students is that early access to a visual language, developed in conjunction with language planning principles, provides a foundation for lit- eracy in English. The goal of this study is to obtain an emic perspective on bilingual deaf readers transitioning from “learning to read” to “reading to learn.” Analysis of 12 inter- active, semi-structured interviews identified informal and formal teaching and learning practices in ASL/English bilin- gual homes and classrooms. These practices value, reinforce, and support the bidirectional acquisition of both languages and support the bidirectional acquisition of both languages.

The Ninth Volume in the Gallaudet Classics in Deaf Studies Series

Deaf poet and novelist Howard L. Terry wrote this novel between 1917 and 1922, which he donated to the Gallaudet University Archives in 1951. There it rested until a resurgence of interest in Deaf literature led to its recent rediscovery. Mickey’s Harvest: A Novel of a Deaf Boy’s Checkered Life recounts the rollicking tale of a young deaf man and how he learned to survive and thrive at the advent of the 20th century. Introduction and editing by Kristen C. Harmon.

The 10th Volume in the Gallaudet Classics in Deaf Studies Series

In Adventures of a Deaf-Mute, Deaf New Englander William B. Swett recounts his adventures in the White Mountains of New Hampshire in the late 1860s. Given to us in short, energetic episodes, Swett tells daring stories of narrow escapes from death and other perilous experiences during his time as a handyman and guide at the Profile House, a hotel named for the nearby Old Man of the Mountain rock formation. A popular destination, the hotel attracted myriad guests, and Swett’s tales of rugged endurance are accompanied by keen observations of the people he meets.

      Confident in his identity as a Deaf “mute,” he notes with wry humor the varied perceptions of deafness that he encounters. As a signing Deaf person from a prominent multigenerational Deaf family, he counters negative stereotypes with generosity and a smart wit. He takes pride in his physical abilities, which he showcases through various stunts and arduous treks in the wilderness. However, Swett’s writing also reveals a deep awareness of the fragility and precariousness of life. This is a portrait of a man testing his physical and emotional limits, written from the vantage point of someone who is no longer a young man but is still very much in the prime of his life.

      This collection also includes “Mr. Swett and His Diorama,” an article from 1859 in which Swett describes his miniature recreation of the Battle of Lexington, as well as Manual Alphabets, a pamphlet published in 1875 on the history of manual alphabets that includes short biographies of Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet and Laurent Clerc, two pioneers of Deaf education in the United States. The work is accompanied by a new introduction that offers a reflection on Swett’s life and the time in which he lived.

William B. Swett was born in 1824 in Henniker, New Hampshire. He was a carpenter and joiner and an active member of the Boston Deaf-Mutes’ Library Association, the Boston Deaf-Mutes’ Mission, and the New England Gallaudet Association of Deaf Mutes.