Ethos of ASL Poetry
Rose
Ironically, in the years since Christie’s school experience, hearing students may
have more access to ASL than d/Deaf students. A growing number of hearing American
high school and college students study ASL as a second language, 2 and the growth of Deaf
Studies and/or ASL programs may educate hearing faculty in related disciplines about Deaf
culture. Thus, the conditions surrounding deafness and ASL may have changed in terms of
legal rights to accommodation with interpreters and increased contact between d/Deaf and
hearing children and teachers, but a key paradox remains. That is, more hearing Americans
than ever are aware of ASL and Deaf culture, yet equal opportunity for d/Deaf American
children and adults in language/communication, education, and employment continues to
lag behind. 3
Despite a decreasing number of schools for d/Deaf children, with declining
enrollments, ASL creativity persists, as it always has, but in different places and in different
ways. On YouTube, examples of original ASL poems and stories posted by students and
professional Deaf artists abound. Of particular note, many videos show children and adults
performing the poetry of well-known Deaf artists as well as new works, suggesting the
“canon” of ASL literature reaches a wide viewership and that the Deaf community
flourishes in digital space. This resilience of Deaf culture and the poetic impulse in ASL
reminds me of Clayton Valli’s famous poem, “Dandelion,” 4 in which a (presumably
hearing, English-speaking) man mows down a field of (presumably Deaf, signing)
dandelions, and yet the dandelions grow again. Even though the poem ends with a mowed
field empty of dandelions and a smug, satisfied expression on the man’s face, the viewer
knows the dandelions will inevitably return.
With aspects of Deaf culture thriving online, mainstreamed d/Deaf children
growing up may discover and turn to ASL poetry online to feel less isolated. Hearing
students learning ASL may turn to ASL poetry online to increase their understanding of
the language and culture. Though not addressed in her commentary, Christie’s professional
endeavors have embraced the need for, and value of, more digital spaces for ASL poetry
and other art works. One of the most noteworthy is the project she developed with Patti
Durr, the website, The HeArt of Deaf Culture: Literary and Artistic Expressions of
Deafhood, an ever-evolving repository chronicling the work of Deaf artists inspired by
ASL. 5
The addendum to Christie’s commentary draws critical attention to the complex
layers of power and privilege evident in intersectional realities that have impacted the
visibility of particular Deaf poets. Reviewing the Deaf artists and scholars who defined
ASL poetry and led the movement in the 1980s and 1990s, they were primarily white,
2
Based on data last updated in September 2018, 196 universities accept ASL as fulfilling foreign language
requirements, suggesting thousands of hearing college students are learning ASL as a second language.
(https://www.unm.edu/~wilcox/UNM/univlist.html)
3
As a group, persons who are d/Deaf or hard-of-hearing tend to be less educated than their hearing peers;
more than fifty percent of d/Deaf or hard-of-hearing persons have attained only a high school or less than
high school education compared to only forty percent for hearing persons. Twenty-four percent of those who
are d/Deaf or hard-of-hearing are college graduates compared with thirty-nine percent for the hearing
population. (https://www.ntid.rit.edu/collaboratory/demographics)
4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZ1LTInEQbk
5
https://www.ntid.rit.edu/ntidweb/heart/content/ASLLiterature/index.php
SASLJ, Vol. 2, No. 2 – Fall/Winter 2018
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