ds_0049_graybill_cap_01.mp4

ds_0049_graybill_cap_01.mp4

Creating original ASL poetry

Graybill, Patrick

American Sign Language literature

Deaf Poetry

Poetry Authorship

American poetry 20th century

Deaf, Writings of the, American

ASL poetry

Graybill discusses creating original ASL poetry in this lecture. Before he begins the lecture, he presents an outline of topics he will cover: a history of what he saw as Deaf poetry when growing up, what Deaf poets are doing with original ASL poetry, six features of ASL, performing examples of his poetry and what will happen to ASL poetry in the future. When he grew up in the Kansas School for the Deaf, he saw hearing and Deaf teachers and students reading English poetry which was then translated to ASL. Most of the people writing poetry were born hearing, and then became Deaf, like Robert Panara. Panara wrote English poetry, such as "On My Deafness" which was then translated it to ASL. Other Deaf poets like Panara are Rex Lowman and Loy Golladay.

National Technical Institute for the Deaf

Rochester Institute of Technology - RIT Libraries - RIT Archive Collections

1991

2018

moving image

mp4

VHS

49 minutes

American Sign Language

English

RITDSA.0049

Sculptures in the Air: An Accessible Online Video Repository of the American Sign Language (ASL) Poetry and Literature Collections

ASL Lecture Series DVDs

2018-2019 CLIR Grant-ASL Poetry and Literature

https://albert.rit.…

https://archivesspa…

New York - Rochester

Henrietta Campus

RIT Libraries makes materials from its collections available for educational and research purposes pursuant to U.S. Copyright Law. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. It is your responsibility to obtain permission from the copyright holder to publish or reproduce images in print or electronic form.

CC BY-NC-ND: Attribution NonCommercial NoDerivatives 4.0 International

PRESENTER TODAY
IS PATRICK GRAYBILL.

MIC IS NOT--
ONLY IN THE EARPHONES.

THE MICROPHONE IS PRESENT--
IS IN THE SPEAKERS.

THE MIC IS NOT SUPPOSED
TO BE ON THE SPEAKERS,

ONLY ON THE [INDISTINCT],
YOU GUYS.

- OK. IT'S--
- [INDISTINCT]

WILL SOMEBODY GO BACK UP HERE
AND KNOCK ON THE DOOR?

PATRICK GRADUATED
FROM GALLAUDET UNIVERSITY

AND GOT HIS BACHELOR'S
IN ENGLISH.

HE GOT HIS MASTER'S DEGREE
IN DEAF EDUCATION,

ALSO FROM GALLAUDET UNIVERSITY.

HE TAUGHT GRADUATE SCHOOL
AT THE KENDALL SCHOOL...

AND THEN JOINED NTD,

THE NATIONAL THEATER
OF THE DEAF.

HE WAS ONE OF
THE FOUNDING MEMBERS

IN THAT THEATER COMPANY.

HE'S BEEN A PROFESSIONAL ACTOR
FOR MANY YEARS

AND HAS TRAVELED THROUGHOUT
THE UNITED STATES

AND ALL OVER
THE WORLD, ACTUALLY.

MOST RECENTLY, HE'S BEEN WRITING
AND WORKING ON ASL POETRY.

HIS TOPIC TODAY...

IS CREATING POETRY IN ASL.

PLEASE GIVE A WARM WELCOME
TO PATRICK GRAYBILL,

ORIGINAL POETRY IN ASL.

THANK YOU.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

ARE THE LIGHTS ALL RIGHT?

IS EVERYONE ABLE TO SEE ME?

MY--
[LAUGHTER]

TOP OF MY HEAD TOO SHINY
OR ARE WE ALL RIGHT HERE?

ALL RIGHT.

SUSAN FISCHER, WHO JUST
INTRODUCED ME,

I NEED TO EXPLAIN
THAT MY TOPIC IS

ORIGINAL POETRY IN ASL,
BUT I'M TELLING YOU,

I CAN'T WRITE POETRY IN ASL.

SHE USED THE SIGN "WRITE,"
AND THAT IS NOT WHAT I DO.

I SIGN POETRY
IN AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE.

I WANTED TO START OUR
PRESENTATION AT 1:05

AND IT'S 1:12 ALREADY.

I'M AFRAID WE'RE GOING
TO HAVE TO TAKE AWAY

SOME OF THE--SOME OF
MY TOPIC TODAY,

BECAUSE WE NEED TO LEAVE AT 2.

WELL, I'LL FIGURE OUT
HOW TO HANDLE THAT

AS WE GO ALONG.

FIRST, I WOULD LIKE TO EXPLAIN

WHAT I'M DOING TODAY.

I HAVE AN INTRODUCTION
TO MY PRESENTATION

AND THEN I WILL
GO INTO THE HISTORY,

AS I WAS GROWING UP,

WHAT I SAW IN DEAF POETRY,

AND WHAT DEAF POETS WERE DOING.

WHAT THEY WERE DOING
WITH THEIR OWN ORIGINAL POETRY.

I'LL JUST HAVE A BRIEF SUMMARY
OF THE HISTORY OF THAT

AS I'VE SEEN IT
IN MY UPBRINGING.

ALSO, I'LL DISCUSS
THE FEATURES OF ASL.

WE'LL DISCUSS--I WON'T
GO INTO DEPTH ON THOSE,

BUT I WILL DISCUSS
THOSE BRIEFLY.

THERE ARE 6 DIFFERENT FEATURES.

AFTER THAT, I WILL PRESENT
ONE OF MY OWN ORIGINAL PIECES,

AND WE CAN ANALYZE THAT
TOGETHER, THAT POEM.

AND LAST, I WILL BE DISCUSSING
WHAT I PREDICT FOR THE FUTURE

IN ASL POETRY.

I HOPE WE'LL HAVE
5 MINUTES LEFT

SO WE CAN HAVE
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS.

THAT'S MY EXPECTATION.

BEFORE WORLD WAR II,
I WAS BORN,

AND I DON'T NEED TO TELL YOU
MY AGE HERE, BUT

IT WAS BEFORE WORLD WAR II.

I GREW UP IN KANSAS,

AND THE KANSAS SCHOOL
FOR THE DEAF

IS WHERE I WAS EDUCATED,

AND I SAW MANY
TEACHERS AND STUDENTS

READING POETRY IN ENGLISH,
IN WRITTEN ENGLISH,

AND THEN TRY TO TRANSLATE IT
TO AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE

OR TO SIGN IT.

SOME WERE HEARING
AND SOME DEAF.

THEY HAVE--POETRY IN ENGLISH
HAS WRITTEN RULES...

AND MOST OF THE PEOPLE
WHO WERE WRITING POETRY

IN AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE
WERE BORN HEARING

AND THEN BECAME DEAF.

DO YOU KNOW ROBERT PANARA?

HE'S AN EXAMPLE OF
SOMEONE WHO WAS WRITING

POETRY IN ENGLISH AND THEN
TRANSLATING IT TO ASL.

ANOTHER MAN IS REX LOHMAN.

ALSO LOY GOLLADAY.

THESE ARE EXAMPLES
OF PROFESSORS--

PROFESSORS EMERITUS.

THEY'VE RETIRED SINCE.

BUT THERE ARE MANY OTHER
POETS AS WELL,

DEAF POETS WHO WROTE IN ENGLISH
THEIR POETRY.

THERE ARE MANY EXAMPLES
YOU CAN FIND,

AND I WILL NOT...I WON'T
BE PRESENTING THAT

IN AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE,
BUT THEY HAVE WRITTEN,

AND THEY HAVE SOME DERIVATIVES
FROM ASL IN THE POETRY.

THIS IS A POEM
FROM ROBERT PANARA.

THE TITLE IS "ON HIS DEAFNESS."

MAYBE YOU HAVE ALREADY
SEEN THAT POEM

AND LEARNED IT IN ENGLISH,

AND YOU SEE IT FOLLOWS
THE ENGLISH POETRY RULES.

IT HAS RHYTHM, ALLITERATION.

THERE ARE THESE KIND OF RULES
THAT ARE BEING

FOLLOWED IN THIS POEM.

YOU NOTICE THE "S"s
ARE SOMETHING

THAT ARE USED FREQUENTLY
IN THE FIRST TWO STANZAS HERE.

AND IN POETRY, THE PEOPLE
WHO READ THAT POETRY,

THEY THINK, "OH,
THAT'S WONDERFUL,"
AND THEN IT'S PRINTED.

IT WAS PRINTED IN
SILENT NETWORK, SILENT NEWS.

IT WAS PUBLISHED IN SEVERAL
DIFFERENT MAGAZINES.

AND OTHER DEAF PEOPLE
WOULD READ IT,

AND RESPECT--HAVE MUCH RESPECT

FOR ROBERT PANARA
FOR WRITING THAT,

AND GROWING UP, I THOUGHT,

"OH, I WOULD LOVE
TO BE LIKE THEM

AND BE A POET
AND WRITE POETRY,"

THINKING IT WOULD BE
IN ENGLISH.

EVEN THOUGH ENGLISH
WASN'T MY NATIVE LANGUAGE

OR MY FIRST LANGUAGE,

I STILL HAD THE GOAL
OF WRITING IN ENGLISH,

AND I REALIZED WHEN
PEOPLE WOULD CORRECT IT,

THAT I DIDN'T HAVE THE PROPER
ENGLISH IN MY POETRY.

I BECAME VERY FRUSTRATED
AND DECIDED I WOULD

GET MORE INTO ACTING.

I WOULD READ AN ENGLISH POEM

AND THEN TRANSLATE IT
INTO AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE.

WHEN I--ACTUALLY, IT WASN'T
AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE.

IT WAS SIGNED, BUT IT WAS
MORE OF A SIGNED ENGLISH

WITH SOME DERIVATIVES OF ASL
PRESENTED IN THE POETRY.

AND I WOULD INCLUDE THOSE
TO HOPEFULLY MAKE IT

A CLEARER MESSAGE
FROM THE POEM.

THIS IS ANOTHER FAMOUS POEM.

"RICHARD CORY."

AND WHILE I WAS AT
GALLAUDET UNIVERSITY,

I WENT INTO A--I ENTERED
A COMPETITION FOR POETRY,

AND THAT WAS IN 1962 OR 1963,
I THINK.

AND I WAS SIGNING THIS POEM.

THE FIRST PARAGRAPH
OF THIS POEM.

THE TITLE IS "RICHARD CORY."

RIGHT.

RICHARD CORY WENT DOWNTOWN.

WE PEOPLE ON THE PAVEMENT
LOOKED AT HIM.

HE WAS A GENTLEMAN
FROM SOUL TO CROWN.

CLEAN FAVORED,
AND IMPERIALLY SLIM.

SO, I USED SOME SIGNS FROM ASL,

BUT I STILL WAS FOLLOWING
WORD FOR WORD QUITE ACCURATELY.

I DIDN'T CARE TOO MUCH
ABOUT THE MEANING.

I WANTED PEOPLE
TO LOOK AND ENJOY IT.

THEY ACCEPTED IT.
THEY DIDN'T SEE THE DIFFERENCE.

TRANSLATING POETRY...

WHEN YOU TRANSLATE IT
FOR THE STAGE,

POETRY FOR THE STAGE...

THERE'S A--THERE'S A POET
THAT WAS A STUDENT AT GALLAUDET,

AND HE MADE REFERENCE TO HOW
YOU TRANSLATE POETRY ONSTAGE.

YOU NEED TO SET THINGS UP

SO THAT IT'S SORT OF LIKE
ALLITERATION IN ENGLISH,

AND HE MADE THAT COMPARISON.

WE GREW UP TOGETHER AND HE WAS
DISCUSSING THIS WITH ME.

THEN, IN 1965, WILLIAM STOKOE,

WHO WAS THE CHAIRPERSON
OF THE ENGLISH DEPARTMENT

AT GALLAUDET UNIVERSITY,

AND THERE WERE TWO
OTHER PEOPLE ALSO.

THE THREE OF THEM GOT TOGETHER

AND DID SOME RESEARCH
ON SIGN LANGUAGE ITSELF,

AND THEY ANALYZED THE LANGUAGE,

AND THEN THEY SHARED
THE INFORMATION WITH PEOPLE

ABOUT ASL BEING
A REAL LANGUAGE.

THAT HAPPENED IN 1965,
AND THAT WAS PUBLISHED

IN A BOOK CALLED "THE DICTIONARY
OF AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE."

NOW, MANY OTHER PEOPLE
AT THAT TIME

WERE REALLY AMAZED AT THAT,
BECAUSE THEY THOUGHT,

WELL, ASL ISN'T LANGUAGE?

BUT I WAS AN ENGLISH MAJOR
AT THE TIME

AND THE CHAIRPERSON
OF MY DEPARTMENT

ACTUALLY ANNOUNCED THAT ASL
WAS A LANGUAGE IN ITS OWN RIGHT,

AND I THOUGHT ABOUT THAT,
AND I THOUGHT ABOUT ASL,

AND I THOUGHT BEFORE THAT IT WAS
GOOD FOR DORMITORY LIFE OR...

BUT NOT REALLY APPROPRIATE
TO USE ONSTAGE.

AND IT REALLY TOOK ME
YEARS AND YEARS

TO UNDERSTAND WHAT
HE WAS SAYING,

BUT IN 1965 ONWARD,
WILLIAM STOKOE,

HIS WORK REALLY INFLUENCED
THE DEAF COMMUNITY,

AND MANY PEOPLE AFTER THAT,
AFTER 1965,

BECAME VERY PROUD
OF THEIR OWN LANGUAGE.

HE WAS A PROFESSOR
OF ENGLISH HIMSELF,

BUT HE REALLY ENCOURAGED
ALL THE STUDENTS

AT GALLAUDET UNIVERSITY
TO BECOME MORE CREATIVE

IN USING ASL WITH THEIR POETRY.

SO, AROUND 1970...

ELLA MAE LENTZ,
WHO WAS ANOTHER STUDENT,

BECAME VERY INSPIRED
AND BEGAN TO BECOME

VERY CREATIVE WITH ASL,

AND THEN IN 1980, AROUND 1980,

THERE WERE MORE AND MORE
CONFERENCES HELD

ALL OVER
THE UNITED STATES WHERE

DEAF PEOPLE WERE INVITED
TO COME AND PRESENT

THEIR POETRY IN ASL.

FOR EXAMPLE, BERNAR--

IN BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA,
THEY HAD AN ANNUAL EVENT

CALLED "A CELEBRATION,"
"A CELEBRATION,"

WHERE THEY INVITED
ELLA MAE LENTZ,

AND SHE WENT AND PRESENTED,
AND I FLEW THERE AT THE TIME,

AND I ALSO PRESENTED MY POEMS,

MY BEGINNING POEMS IN ASL.

AND THAT HAPPENED ON FEBRUARY 1

IN 1984.

IT WAS A VERY BIG DAY FOR ME

BECAUSE OTHER PEOPLE
WERE INVOLVED, TOO, BUT

NTID, WHICH WAS OVER
AT ONE SIDE OF THE COAST,

AND CALIFORNIA--WELL,
NTID AT THE TIME WAS HERE.

THERE WAS A FAMOUS AMERICAN POET
CALLED ALLEN GINSBERG,

WHO WAS A HEARING MAN,

AND ALSO BOB PANARA.

THE TWO OF THEM GOT TOGETHER

AND THEY HAD INVITED
A LARGE GROUP OF PEOPLE,

A LARGE GROUP OF PEOPLE CAME TO
SEE THEIR PRESENTATION,

AND THEY TALKED ABOUT POETRY
AND ITS MEANING,

AND I WAS IN THE AUDIENCE
AT THE TIME

WATCHING THEIR PRESENTATION,

AND ALLEN SHOWED ONE POEM
FROM A BOOK WHICH WAS CALLED

"THE OWL."

"THE OWL."
AND HE HAD

WRITTEN IT OUT
ON THE BLACKBOARD, TWO WORDS.

"JUKE BOX."

ONE OF THE WORDS
WAS "JUKE BOX,"

AND I LOOKED AT THE TWO WORDS
AT THE TIME,

AND I REALLY WASN'T TOO SURE
WHY HE WROTE THAT.

AND HE ASKED PEOPLE
IN THE AUDIENCE

TO TRANSLATE THE TWO WORDS,

AND I AT THE TIME VOLUNTEERED.

WELL, AT THE TIME, OTHER PEOPLE
WERE SAYING, "GO AHEAD, PAT.

GO ON UP THERE
AND TRY TO DO IT,"

AND I THOUGHT,
"ALL RIGHT, I'LL TRY,"

AND I MADE A LOT
OF EXCUSES WHY,

AND I SAID, "I'LL TRY."

YOU KNOW, THERE ARE
MANY, MANY SIGNS

THAT CAN SHOW THE MEANING
OF BOTH THESE WORDS.

BUT THE TWO SIGNS
THAT I THINK ARE--

TO COME UP WITH TWO SIGNS
EQUIVALENT TO THOSE,

IT'S REALLY IMPOSSIBLE,
AND ALLEN AT THE TIME

SAID, "GO AHEAD,
JUST TRY ANYWAY,"

SO, THIS IS WHAT I SIGNED.

YOU PUT THE MONEY IN,
YOU PRESS THE BUTTON,

THE RECORD COMES OUT
AND COMES DOWN,

THEN THE ARM OF THE RECORD
COMES DOWN

AND THE MUSIC STARTS TO PLAY.

AND IT GETS LOUDER
AND LOUDER AND LOUDER

UNTIL THE RECORD
ACTUALLY FLIES OFF

IN THE JUKE BOX AND BREAKS.

AND ALLEN SAID,
"THAT'S WONDERFUL.

"IT'S VERY
EQUIVALENT TRANSLATION.

YOU CAUGHT THE MEANING."

AND AT THE TIME, I THOUGHT,
"WOW, THAT'S--THAT'S GREAT."

WELL, AFTER THE CLASS,
I GOT TOGETHER

WITH A HEARING PERSON
NAMED JIM COHN,

WHO WORKED HERE BEFORE.

HE WAS ALSO A POET HIMSELF.

AND WE WERE ENCOURAGED
TO SET UP A CLASS CALLED

"A BIRD BRAIN'S SOCIETY,"

AND WHAT WE WOULD DO
IS WE WOULD SIGN OUR POEMS,

AND...IN THE CELLAR
OF THE RITZ,

WHICH WAS A BAR AT THE TIME,

OR IN THE DORMS, IT WAS A BAR
IN THE DORMITORIES,

AND THERE WAS ALSO A COFFEE
HOUSE, A RESTAURANT CALLED

THE JAZZ--JAZZBERRY'S,

WHICH IS LOCATED IN
DOWNTOWN ROCHESTER,

WHERE WE HELD THIS ALSO,
AND THAT WENT ON

FROM '85 AND IT'S STILL
CONTINUING TODAY,

AND THAT'S--IT'S BECOME
HISTORY NOW.

IT'S STILL GOING ON.

IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS OF IT
THAT POP UP,

ABOUT THE HISTORY OF IT,
THE BIRD BRAIN'S SOCIETY

AND JAZZBERRY'S AND SO FORTH,

YOU CAN ASK ME
LATER ABOUT THAT.

NOW I'D LIKE TO MOVE ON
TO MY NEXT TOPIC--

ASL AND THE ANALYZATION OF IT

IN THE CLASSIFIERS.

I KNOW SOME OF YOU ARE ALREADY
FAMILIAR WITH IT,

BUT I THINK WE SHOULD HAVE
A REVIEW FIRST OF ALL.

DR. STOKOE HIMSELF,
IN THE PROCESS OF ANALYZING ASL

AND ANALYZING EACH SIGN,

NOTICED THAT SIGNS THEMSELVES

CAN BE BROKEN UP INTO--
THEY HAVE

3 DISTINCT CATEGORIES
WITHIN A SIGN.

THE FIRST IS THE HANDSHAPE.

THE SECOND CATEGORY
IS CALLED THE LOCATION,

WHERE THE--WHERE THE SIGN IS
MADE IN LOCATION TO THE BODY.

THE THIRD IS MOVEMENT.

THEN, LATER ON, IN 1975...

ADDISON ADDED
A FOURTH CATEGORY,

WHICH WAS PALM ORIENTATION.

WELL, I'LL GIVE YOU ONE SIGN
AS AN EXAMPLE.

THE SIGN FOR "HELLO."

FIRST OF ALL,
THIS IS THE HANDSHAPE.

IT HAS A "B" HANDSHAPE.

NOW, THE LOCATION WHERE
THE SIGN IS MADE,

IT STARTS FROM THE HEAD
AND MOVES OUTWARD.

THE MOVEMENT ITSELF,

THIS IS THE MOVEMENT
THAT'S USED,

AND THEN THE PALM ORIENTATION.

YOU NOTICE WHERE
MY PALM IS POINTING.

IT'S NOT POINTING AWAY FROM ME.
[INDISTINCT] IT'S AWKWARD.

IT'S NOT POINTING DOWN.

IT'S POINTING DIAGONALLY.

AND THAT WAS HIS--HOW
HE ANALYZED EACH SIGN.

NOW, A POET--WELL, FIRST LET ME
PUT THAT ON HOLD.

I HAVE TO DISCUSS
SOMETHING ABOUT

SIGNING AND POETRY--THE SIGN
FOR "POEM" ITSELF.

THIS IS THE SIGN FOR "POETRY."

HOW THAT SIGN WAS DEVELOPED,
IT WAS DEVELOPED OVER MANY YEARS

AND IT WAS DEVELOPED
FROM THE ENGLISH.

ASL POETRY REALLY WANTED TO

HAVE A DISTINCTION
FROM HEARING POETRY,

SO, THEY TRIED TO COME UP
WITH THIS SIGN,

OR THEY THOUGHT MAYBE THEY COULD
SHOW THIS, MEANING POETRY.

AND THERE WERE A VARIETY
OF DIFFERENT SUGGESTIONS

ON HOW TO SIGN THAT,
AND FINALLY, IT WAS AGREED UPON

TO PICK ONE SIGN
AS THE SIGN FOR ASL POETRY.

WE HAVEN'T REALLY
DONE THAT YET, BUT

WE'RE--WE'RE STILL TENDING
TO USE THE SIGN,

EVEN THOUGH IT'S BEEN
DERIVED FROM ENGLISH.

SO, THIS SIGN FOR "POETRY"
IS USED TO DESCRIBE

BOTH ASL AND ENGLISH POETRY.

OK, SO, I WAS TALKING ABOUT
THE SIGN FOR "HELLO."

OH--OK, NOW I REMEMBER
WHAT I WAS LEADING INTO.

NOW, DEAF POETS TENDED TO USE

THE 4 CLASS--THE 4 CATEGORIES,

BUT THEY WOULD PLAY ON THOSE,

AND THE DEAF COMMUNITY
REALLY TENDED

TO PLAY ON THESE 4--
4 CATEGORIES,

SUCH AS, FOR EXAMPLE, THE ABC
STORIES THAT YOU'VE SEEN, LIKE

"A" FOR KNOCKING AT THE DOOR,

THE LETTER "B" FOR
OPENING THE DOOR,

"C," ENJOY LISTENING,
AND THEY WOULD USE

EACH LETTER OF THE ALPHABET
IN A SIGN

AND PLAY ON THAT
DURING THE ABC STORIES.

NOW, DEAF POETS LOOKED AT THAT

ELEMENT OF THE DEAF COMMUNITY

AND HOW THEY PLAYED
WITH THE SIGNS

AND THE LETTERS AND THE SHAPES,

AND THEY THOUGHT,
WELL, THAT HAS

RULES THAT HAVE TO BE FOLLOWED.

NOW, WHO DECIDES ON THE RULES?

WE HAVEN'T REALLY
DISCOVERED THAT YET.

REALLY, EACH POET HIMSELF
WILL TEND TO

DEVELOP AND USE HIS OWN RULES,

HIS OR HER OWN RULES.

NOW, MAYBE SOMEDAY WE'LL
HOLD A CONFERENCE

AND WE WILL BE ABLE TO SET UP

A DEFINITE LIST OF RULES
FOR ALL POETS TO BE ABLE TO USE,

BUT AT THIS TIME,
THAT ISN'T BEING DONE.

EACH POET TENDS TO USE
THEIR OWN RULES.

BUT REALLY, WHAT POETS
SHOULD DO IS THEY--

THEY PLAY WITH THE HANDSHAPES.

I HAVE ANOTHER EXAMPLE I'D LIKE
TO SHOW YOU AT THIS TIME.

FOR EXAMPLE,
THE "5" HANDSHAPE.

I WILL CREATE SOMETHING
RIGHT NOW TO SHOW YOU

WHAT I MEAN BY THIS.

FOR EXAMPLE, THIS IS
A "5" HANDSHAPE

USING THE BASE FOR A TREE,

AND THEN CONTINUING
WITH THAT HANDSHAPE

INTO A RIVER,

AND THEN THE SUN COMING UP,

AND THE RAYS FROM THE SUN,

AND THE WIND, AND THE TREE
BLOWING IN THE WIND.

THAT'S A POEM, ALL MADE
WITH THE SAME HANDSHAPE,

THE "5" HANDSHAPE.

AND DEAF POETS TEND
TO PLAY A LOT

WITH HANDSHAPE WHEN THEY'RE
CREATING ORIGINAL POETRY.

BOY, TIME IS GOING SO FAST.

I WANTED TO DISCUSS
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN

THE DOMINANT HAND
OR NON-DOMINANT,

THE STRONG OR WEAK HANDS.

THE SIGN--THE HAND
THAT YOU WRITE WITH,

YOUR RIGHT HAND
IF YOU'RE RIGHT-HANDED,

IS YOUR STRONG HAND,
AND THEN YOUR LEFT

WOULD BE YOUR WEAK HAND
IF YOU WERE RIGHT-HANDED.

IN OTHER WORDS, DOMINANT.

YOUR DOMINANT HAND.

AND THEN YOUR SUPPORTIVE HAND
OR YOUR NON-DOMINANT HAND.

PEOPLE WHO ARE LEFT-HANDED,

THE LEFT HAND WOULD BE
THEIR DOMINANT OR STRONG HAND,

AND THEIR RIGHT WOULD BE
THEIR WEAK HAND.

IS THAT CLEAR?

FOR EXAMPLE,
THE SIGN FOR "HELP."

THE WEAK HAND
IS JUST SUPPORTING

THE RIGHT HAND--THE STRONG HAND
WITH THIS SIGN.

THERE ARE RULES PERTAINING TO
STRONG AND WEAK HANDS.

IF THE RIGHT HAND IS MOVING
AND THE STRONG HAND IS MOVING,

THE WEAK HAND WILL FOLLOW.

FOR EXAMPLE, THE WIND.

YOU NOTICE THE TWO HANDS ARE
FOLLOWING THE SAME MOVEMENT.

THE SIGN FOR "SUCCESS."
THAT'S ONE SIGN.

THE SAME HANDSHAPE,
AND THE MOVEMENT

IS FOLLOWING THE DOMINANT HAND.

THEY'RE BOTH MOVING
IN THE SAME DIRECTION.

POINTING TO THIS,

THE WEAK HAND
IS JUST SUPPORTING THE MOTION.

THE RIGHT HAND IS
DOING THE MOTION.

CAN YOU THINK OF
ANY OTHER EXAMPLES?

"EXAMPLE" IS A SIGN THAT--

THE WEAK HAND
IS JUST SUPPORTING

THE MOVEMENT OF THE RIGHT HAND.

AND DEAF POETS...

BROKE THAT RULE.

SIGN LANGUAGE HAS
A SPECIFIC RULE,

BUT IN POETRY,
YOU CAN USE RIGHT OR LEFT.

IT DOESN'T MATTER.
IT DOESN'T MATTER IF

IT'S A DOMINANT OR A WEAK HAND.

YOU FLIP BACK AND FORTH
FOR POETIC REASONS,

AND I WILL EXPLAIN THOSE
MORE IN DETAIL IN A MOMENT.

CLASSIFIERS IS ANOTHER FEATURE
OF ASL.

AND MAYBE MOST OF YOU
ARE AWARE THAT

IT'S SIMILAR TO AN ADJECTIVE
IN ENGLISH.

IT SERVES A SIMILAR FUNCTION.

SOMETIMES, AN ADVERB
OR A PRONOUN

ARE DIFFERENT ENGLISH--
GRAMMATICAL FEATURES

THAT CLASSIFIERS TAKE UP
IN AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE.

FOR EXAMPLE, THIS HANDSHAPE
IS A PERSON WALKING.

IT DOESN'T SAY IF THERE'S
A WOMAN OR A MAN,

SO, YOU WOULD HAVE
TO SAY, "WOMAN,"

AND THEN MOVE THIS HAND
INTO A CLASSIFYING MOVEMENT.

ASL POETS LOVE TO USE
CLASSIFIERS SO MUCH.

ASL DEPENDS ON
FACIAL EXPRESSION

TO SHOW FEELINGS.

HOWEVER...

WITHIN THE RULES OF ASL,
THERE ARE CERTAIN RULES.

FOR EXAMPLE,
RAISING YOUR EYEBROWS

IS SHOWING THAT
THERE'S A QUESTION.

THERE'S A RHETORICAL QUESTION.

HAS THE SPECIFIC RULES
OF AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE.

IN ASL POETRY, HOWEVER,
FACIAL EXPRESSION

IS REALLY USED
MINIMALLY, MINIMALLY,

AND THEY'RE MUCH MORE PLAYFUL
WITH THE ACTUAL

MOVEMENT OF THE SIGNS,

AND FACIAL EXPRESSION DOES NOT
PLAY AS AN IMPORTANT PART

AS IT DOES IN
AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE.

ON A SIMILAR NOTE, IF YOU
LISTEN TO ENGLISH POETRY,

SOMETIME, THE MEANING,
THE VOICE IS NOT

FOLLOWING THE MEANING.

YOU'RE NOT USING
A CONVERSATIONAL

AS SPOKEN IN ENGLISH,

AND THAT MAY BE A COMPARISON

WITH HOW AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE
IS USED IN POETRY.

YOU--DEAF POETS ARE USING
AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE, BUT

MIGHT NOT BE USING
FACIAL EXPRESSION,

AND THE MEANING
WOULD BE MORE OBSCURE.

SPACE IS VERY IMPORTANT
FOR DEAF POETS ESPECIALLY.

THEY USE THE FEATURE OF SPACE

VERY MUCH IN THEIR USE
OF ASL POETRY.

DEAF POETS LOVE TO PLAY
WITH FINGERSPELLING.

JUST LOVE IT.

I'LL GIVE YOU ONE EXAMPLE.

I HAVE A POET--POEM
THAT I'D LIKE TO PRESENT.

I'LL LET YOU LOOK AT THIS
FOR JUST A FEW MINUTES

AND THEN I WILL PRESENT IT.

REFLECTION.

5, 4, 3, 2, 1.

THE LIFTOFF
OF THE "CHALLENGER"

INSPIRED ME.

ONE MINUTE AND 45 SECONDS LATER,
EXPLOSION.

MY HEART HALTED.
THE MAIN SHUTTLE DESCENDED

AND DEPRESSED ME.

IT DAWNED UPON ME IN 1963.

PRESIDENT KENNEDY WAS SHOT.

HIS BODY BENT, A TEARDROP.

THANK YOU.

DID YOU SEE THE ASL FEATURES
USED IN THAT POEM?

I INCLUDED FINGERSPELLING,
ACTUALLY, NUMBERS,

AND USED THAT WITH MY WEAK HAND,
MY LEFT HAND.

MY DOMINANT HAND
IS MY RIGHT HAND,

BUT I DID NOT USE THAT
FOR THE FINGERSPELLING

OF THE NUMBERS, THE COUNTDOWN.

AND THE REASON FOR THAT IS
BECAUSE I WANTED TO ESTABLISH

THIS AREA AS
THE SPACE SHUTTLE AREA

FOR THE ACTION IN THAT.

THE NEXT TIME YOU SEE
NUMBERS IN THE POEM

IS AS--IS REPRESENTING
THE MINUTES GOING BY

AS THE SHUTTLE WAS GOING UP.

I'M STILL NOT USING
MY RIGHT HAND.

MY NUMBERS ARE PLACED
IN A HIGHER LOCATION

BECAUSE THAT'S WHERE
THE SHUTTLE IS AT THE TIME.

ONE MINUTE, 49 SECONDS.

I WANTED TO INCLUDE THE MOTION

AND THE PLACEMENT
OF THE SHUTTLE

IN THE POEM.

THE THIRD NUMBER
IS THE DATE 1963.

THAT'S PLACED OVER HERE
AND TO THE BACK,

BECAUSE IT'S BEING--
IT'S MENTIONING SOMETHING

THAT'S HAPPENED IN THE PAST.

IN EVERYDAY CONVERSATION,
WE WOULDN'T DO THAT.

WE WOULDN'T PUT
A DATE BEHIND US

BECAUSE IT HAPPENED
IN THE PAST.

YOU WOULD JUST SAY,
"A LONG TIME AGO, IN 1963,"

AND PUT IT IN THE PAST TENSE.

SO, AS YOU CAN SEE,

WE ARE PLAYING WITH THE RULES

OF AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE.

I PLANNED TO USE THE LEFT HAND,

AND IN EVERYDAY CONVERSATION,

DEAF PEOPLE WOULD NOT
PLAN TO USE

A LEFT HAND OR A RIGHT HAND.

AND THIS IS HOW--

THAT IS JUST THE TENDENCY.

WE TEND TO PLAN--TO SIGN
WITH OUR STRONG HANDS.

AS WE'RE CREATING POETRY,

WE DO CHANGE THE RULES
TO CREATE CERTAIN EFFECTS.

SETTING THE DATE IN THE PAST,

SETTING THE SHUTTLE ACTION
IN THE ONE AREA.

AS YOU NOTICE,
I'M USING TWO HANDS.

THE ROCKET IS GOING UP
AND I'M BEING INSPIRED.

THE TWO DIFFERENT SIGNS,
TWO DIFFERENT HANDSHAPES

AT THE SAME TIME,
AND IT'S STILL SUCCESSFUL.

YOU NOTICE WITH
THE SIGN "WIND,"

THEY'RE BOTH THE SAME
HANDSHAPE MOVING.

HERE, THEY'RE TWO
DIFFERENT MOVEMENTS,

TWO DIFFERENT HANDSHAPES
MOVING AT THE SAME TIME.

ALSO, AS THE EXPLOSION
OF THE SHUTTLE GOES OFF,

I'M SHOCKED, AND THAT--
THOSE TWO SIGNS

ARE HAPPENING AT THE SAME TIME.

AND THAT'S FOR EFFECT.

THE TWO DIFFERENT HANDSHAPES
AND TWO DIFFERENT MOTIONS

IN BOTH THOSE SIGNS,

AND BREAKING
THAT RULE OF MOTION

IN TWO--THE DOMINANT
AND NON-DOMINANT HANDS.

AS THE SHUTTLE COME--AS
THE BODY BENDS OF THE PRESIDENT,

MY TEARDROP FALLS
AT THE SAME TIME.

I HAVE SEVERAL POEMS, BUT

I DON'T THINK TIME IS
NOT GOING TO ALLOW US

TO GO THROUGH ALL OF THEM.

IF YOU WANT TO SEE
SOME OF THE DIFFERENT

POETRY THAT I HAVE,

I HAVE A VIDEOTAPE
THAT'S FOR SALE.

IT'S CALLED "POETRY IN MOTION."

I HAVE 3, 3 POEMS THERE.

ONE IS CALLED--OH, THERE ARE
3 POETS INCLUDED IN THIS--

DEBBIE REDDY,
CLAYTON VALLI, AND MYSELF.

AND HOPEFULLY,
AS THIS TIME GOES ON,

WE CAN COLLECT MORE POEMS
AND MAKE FURTHER VIDEOTAPES.

NOW, WHAT I'VE BEEN
DISCUSSING SO FAR

HAS FOCUSED ON ASL,
FEATURES OF ASL,

AND COMPARING DEAF POETRY
WITH THE ANALYSIS

OF ASL AS A LANGUAGE.

IF WE HAD TIME, REALLY,
IF WE HAD MORE THAN AN HOUR,

WE COULD ALSO TALK ABOUT MAYBE

PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF IT,

AND ONE OF MY POEMS
IS A GOOD EXAMPLE.

IT'S CALLED "PARADOX."

AND IT'S TALKING ABOUT MYSELF

WATCHING A BLACK SINGER
SING MUSIC.

NOW, I MYSELF REALLY DIDN'T KNOW
WHAT THE SONG WAS ABOUT, BUT

THE TITLE OF HIS SONG WAS
"WHERE IS THE MAN?"

SO, I WATCHED HIM,
AND THEN LATER ON,

I--I TALKED ABOUT MYSELF
AND MY MOTHER,

WHO WAS A--MY MOTHER
WAS A HEARING PERSON.

SHE--SHE CAN SIGN SOMEWHAT.

SHE'S NOT FLUENT
BUT SHE CAN SIGN.

AND MY FATHER, WHO'S HEARING,
CANNOT SIGN.

AND I COMPARED THEM.
IT WAS A PSYCHOLOGICAL POEM

COMPARING THE TWO OF THEM.

AND THE SONG THAT
THIS MAN WAS SINGING

WAS ALL DONE--IT WAS
IN BLACK AND WHITE,

AND I MYSELF, WHEN I PRESENTED
MY OWN POEM,

WAS DRESSED IN BLACK AND WHITE

AND USED THE COLORS TO ALSO TALK
ABOUT PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECTS.

NOW, WHAT I SEE HAPPENING
IN ASL POETRY IN THE FUTURE,

MY OWN FEELINGS ON IT,
IS FIRST OF ALL, I THINK

DEAF POETS WILL INFLUENCE

DEAF PEOPLE
IN THE DEAF COMMUNITY

MORE AND MORE AS TIME GOES ON.

I THINK THE DEAF COMMUNITY
WILL SEE

THE DEAF POETS
PLAYING WITH THE RULES

AND BEING MORE CREATIVE
WITH POETRY

AND ADDING--AND I THINK
AT THAT TIME,

PROBABLY MORE RULES

AS FAR AS THE ASL LANGUAGE

WILL BE DEVELOPED
OR WILL BE DISCOVERED.

I ALSO FEEL--SO, I FEEL
THAT WILL BE ONE EVENT

THAT WILL HAPPEN IN THE FUTURE.

NOW, AUTHORSHIP.

AT THIS TIME, ASL IS NOT--

DOES NOT HAVE A WRITTEN SYSTEM.

DEAF PEOPLE WILL PRESENT IT
IN A VISUAL WAY, BUT

OFTENTIMES, WHEN WE'RE--
IT'S BEING USED

WITH A VOICE INTERPRETER,

WE WONDER, WELL,
WHAT--WHAT WORDS

ARE THE INTERPRETERS USING?

AND THERE'S A REAL
STRUGGLE GOING ON

AND A REAL CONFLICT SOMETIMES
BETWEEN THE TWO LANGUAGES.

SO, IT SEEMS
THAT HEARING PEOPLE

HAVE A HARD TIME WATCHING
DEAF POETRY IN ASL

AND THEN FINDING APPROPRIATE
ENGLISH WORDS TO USE.

WHAT GOES ON IN THEIR MINDS
TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT?

BECAUSE POETS THEMSELVES
OFTEN MIGHT NOT BE CLEAR.

SO, THERE'S A REAL STRUGGLE
WITH INTERPRETING

AND WHAT TO DO.

SO, REALLY,
WHAT WE NEED TO HAVE

IS A WRITTEN SYSTEM FOR ASL,

OR A WRITTEN SYSTEM THAT
CAN BE USED WITH ENGLISH,

SO, THEN, IF HEARING PEOPLE,

SUCH AS LINGUISTS
OR INTERPRETERS,

WATCH A DEAF POET PRESENT,

THEY ARE ABLE TO DO AN ANALYSIS,
WRITE THAT DOWN,

SHOW THAT TO THE DEAF POET,

AND THEN THE DEAF POET
CAN GIVE THEIR APPROVAL

FOR THEIR TRANSLATION.

OR THEY CAN TRY AND MAKE
A TRANSLATION THEMSELVES

IN A SECOND LANGUAGE,
WHICH WOULD BE ASL FOR THEM.

SO, REALLY, I THINK THIS
REQUIRES DEAF AND HEARING PEOPLE

BOTH WORKING TOGETHER TO COME UP
WITH A WRITTEN SYSTEM.

THIRDLY...

THIRDLY, VIDEOTAPING NEEDS
TO BECOME MORE WIDESPREAD.

I THINK AS MORE
AND MORE VIDEOTAPES

ARE IN USE AND BECOME SPREAD--
AND WIDESPREAD,

IT WILL REALLY HELP--
HELP THE PROLIFERATION

OF ASL POETRY AS WE HAVE
A FILE OR A LIBRARY

OF ASL POEMS AND ASL STORIES.

I THINK VIDEOTAPING
IS REALLY A BLESSING

FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF ASL,

AS I THINK AS VIDEOTAPES
ARE DEVELOPED MORE AND MORE,

ASL POETRY WILL BE ABLE
TO BE KEPT IN FILES.

IN '85, I THINK IT WAS IN 1985,

OR IN--ACTUALLY, 1885--
OR IN 1985,

THERE WAS--THE FIRST ASL POETRY
CONFERENCE WAS HELD HERE.

IT WAS AN ASL LIT CONFERENCE

THAT RECENTLY HAPPENED
THIS PAST OCTOBER.

SO, I THINK AS
MORE AND MORE CONFERENCES

RELATED TO ASL POETRY HAPPENS,

INFORMATION AND IDEAS
WILL BE ABLE TO BE SHARED,

AND I THINK THAT
WILL REALLY SPREAD

AND INFLUENCE PEOPLE,
AND ALSO, I THINK

IT WILL INFLUENCE MORE
COURSEWORK TO BE ESTABLISHED

FOR PEOPLE TO STUDY POETRY
AND STUDY ASL.

I THINK IT WILL HELP
IN INTERPRETER TRAINING

FOR THOSE STUDENTS TO BE
ABLE TO LEARN THE LANGUAGE

AND I THINK IT WILL HELP
LINGUISTS THEMSELVES

TO BETTER ANALYZE
ASL AS A LANGUAGE.

ALSO, TEACHERS OF ASL
WILL BE ABLE TO USE ASL POETRY

TO SHOW ASL, ITS MEANING,
ITS PURPOSE, AND SO FORTH.

WELL, I THINK THAT'S THE END
OF MY FORMAL PRESENTATION.

IF ANYONE WOULD LIKE TO ASK ME
SOME QUESTIONS AT THIS POINT,

I WILL TRY MY BEST
TO ANSWER THEM.

ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS
THAT YOU HAVE FOR ME?

WELL, I REALLY--I HAVE
ABOUT 5 OR 6--

5 OR 6 MINUTES LEFT.

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN
STUDYING POETRY

BEFORE YOU ACTUALLY BEGAN
TRANSLATION INTO ASL?

SO, YOU'RE ASKING ME HOW LONG

IS IT THAT I STUDIED POETRY,
ENGLISH POETRY

BEFORE I WAS--OR HOW LONG
IT TAKES ME

TO STUDY AN ENGLISH POEM
BEFORE I CAN TRANSLATE IT?

WELL, I STARTED AS
A SMALL BOY, ACTUALLY.

NOW, I CAME FROM A FAMILY
OF 7 CHILDREN.

5 OF THEM WERE HEARING.
WAIT, WAIT A MINUTE.

5 OF THEM WERE DEAF
AND TWO WERE HEARING.

THE TWO MIDDLE CHILDREN
WERE HEARING.

MY PARENTS ARE BOTH HEARING.

AND WHEN I WAS BORN,
MY TWO OLDER SISTERS

WERE TEENAGERS AT THE TIME,

SO, THEY REALLY TAUGHT ME A LOT

AS FAR AS TRANSLATING THINGS.

SO, I FEEL THAT I'VE--
I'VE REALLY DEVELOPED

MY SKILL IN TRANSLATION
OVER THE YEARS,

STARTING FROM A SMALL BOY.

THERE WAS A QUESTION
WAY IN THE BACK?

OK, HE ASKED ME
A QUESTION ABOUT

HOW I FEEL ABOUT HAVING
VOICE INTERPRETERS SPEAKING

WHILE I'M PRESENTING MY POETRY.

HOW I FEEL ABOUT THAT.

TO BE HONEST...I FEEL
A LITTLE...AWKWARD WITH IT.

I FEEL A LITTLE UNCOMFORTABLE.

I HAVEN'T HAD ANY,
REALLY, PROBLEMS

THAT HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE
TO BE SOLVED, NO, BUT...

IT'S A REALLY NEW FIELD.

IT'S BEEN GOING ON ABOUT
10 YEARS OR SO, I THINK,

SO, I REALLY THINK WE NEED
TO HAVE MORE CONFERENCES

JUST TO DISCUSS THAT ISSUE OF

INCORPORATING
THE VOICE INTERPRETING
WITH THE DEAF POETS,

AND I REALLY THINK THAT
WILL SOLVE THE PROBLEMS.

I THINK PROBABLY THAT
THE INTERPRETERS THEMSELVES

FEEL A LITTLE BIT AWKWARD IN
FITTING IN WHAT THEY'RE DOING

WITH WHAT THE DEAF POETS
ARE PRESENTING.

SO, I THINK, AGAIN,
THE MORE CONFERENCES WE HAVE,

THE MORE EXCHANGE OF IDEAS,
THAT PROBLEM WILL BE SOLVED.

QUESTION HERE.

IF--IF A PERSON IS--IS AWARE
OF ASL, OF ITS RULES,

DO YOU THINK THAT PERSON,
JUST BECAUSE

THEY'RE FAMILIAR WITH
THE LANGUAGE AND THE RULES,

CAN TEACH DEAF POETRY
AND ASL POETRY?

THE QUESTION WAS, IF A PERSON

KNOWS ASL, HAS LEARNED IT,
SO, IS AWARE OF THE RULES,

BUT DOESN'T HAVE ANY EXPERIENCE
IN THE DEAF WORLD,

SHOULD THEY BE TEACHING
ASL POETRY? HMM.

THAT'S NOT AN EASY QUESTION
TO ANSWER.

FIRST OF ALL...

THE TOPIC ITSELF...

ABOUT TEACHING ASL AS A COURSE,

FIRST OF ALL,
I THINK THE PERSON

NEEDS TO KNOW ASL
OR NEEDS TO KNOW

THE CONTENT VERY WELL,

AND THEY ALSO,
TO BE A GOOD TEACHER,

THEY ALSO HAVE
TO EXPERIENCE IT.

I THINK THE EXPERIENCE--
I THINK A DEAF PERSON

REALLY IS BEST TO TEACH IT,

BECAUSE THEY KNOW THE LANGUAGE
AND THEY HAVE

THE EXPERIENCE OF BEING DEAF.

THEY HAVE THAT--THE GUT FEELING

OF KNOWING WHAT IT--
WHAT IT'S LIKE TO BE DEAF,

SO, I THINK THOSE ARE
THE BEST PEOPLE

TO TEACH COURSES IN ASL.

NOW, THERE ARE A NUMBER OF--

THERE AREN'T THAT MANY
DEAF POETS.

SO, AS A SECOND CHOICE,

I THINK MAYBE TEAM TEACHING

BETWEEN A DEAF
AND A HEARING PERSON

WOULD BE BEST AS
A SECOND CHOICE.

MAYBE ONE PERSON MIGHT BE
VERY KNOWLEDGEABLE AND SKILLED

IN TRANSLATING POEMS SUCH AS

FRENCH TO ENGLISH OR SO FORTH
TO HEARING PERSON.

IF THE HEARING PERSON
WERE TO TEACH

DEAF PEOPLE THEMSELVES
ON HOW TO...

TO ACTUALLY READ AND TRANSLATE,

AND I DON'T THINK
A DEAF PERSON--

A HEARING PERSON CAN
DO THAT 100% HIMSELF.

HE WOULD NEED TO HAVE
SOMEONE DEAF

TO BE ABLE TO TEAM-TEACH IT

TO BE THE MOST EFFECTIVE WAY.

WERE THERE ANY MORE QUESTIONS?

I HAVE EXPERIENCE
WITH THEATER MYSELF

AND I'VE SEEN SOMETIMES
[INDISTINCT].

OK. THE COMMENT WAS MADE THAT

THIS PERSON FEELS THAT
A POET REALLY

USES A LOT LESS
FACIAL EXPRESSION,

AND SHE--SHE DISAGREES
WITH THAT.

SHE'S SEEN MANY POETS
THAT SHE THINKS

THEY TEND TO OVERDO
THE FACIAL EXPRESSION

IN THE PRESENTATION
OF THEIR POEMS.

WELL, THAT'S--THAT'S
YOUR OPINION,

AND I HAVE TO RESPECT
YOUR OPINION.

I MYSELF FEEL THAT
THE FACIAL EXPRESSION

IS REALLY REDUCED GREATLY
COMPARED WITH

EVERYDAY CONVERSATIONAL ASL.

THE POETS TEND TO BE MORE FORMAL
IN THEIR PRESENTATIONS.

ARE YOU FAMILIAR WITH
THE TERM "REGISTER"?

THE REGISTERS OF ASL?

NOW, THE ONE REGISTER
"INTIMATE" MEANS

YOU USE IT WITH A VERY CASUAL--
CASUAL FRIEND,

AND...THERE'S A LOT OF--
A LOT OF

FACIAL EXPRESSION
IS NOT NECESSARY.

AND THEN IN THE MORE INFORMAL,
THE CASUAL,

YOU USE A LITTLE MORE, AND THEN
WITH THE CONSULTATIVE REGISTER,

MAYBE YOU MIGHT GO TO SEE
A LAWYER OR A TEACHER

OR A PRINCIPAL,
HAVE A MEETING WITH SOMEONE,

THAT TYPE OF DIALOGUE.

IT'S A LITTLE MORE FORMAL.

IT'S MORE FORMAL THAN CASUAL.

THEN, THE FORMAL REGISTER
IS USED FOR

MAYBE FORMAL PRESENTATIONS
IN CHURCH AND SO FORTH,

AND THEN THE LAST REGISTER
IS CALLED "FROZEN,"

SUCH AS ESTABLISHED PRAYERS
OR, FOR EXAMPLE,

ROBERT'S RULES OF ORDER.

SOMETHING THAT'S VERY SET.

THE PLEDGE TO THE FLAG.
A FROZEN STYLE.

SO, YOU CAN SEE THE DIFFERENCE

FROM--FROM FORMAL

DOWN TO CONSULTATIVE.

AS YOU MOVE--AS YOU MOVE
IN THE REGISTERS

TO THE MORE FORMAL,

THERE IS LESS
FACIAL EXPRESSION,

BUT AS YOU MOVE DOWN
TO THE MORE INTIMATE LEVELS,

THEY--THERE IS--THERE IS
A REAL CHANGE

OF HOW MUCH OR HOW LITTLE
FACIAL EXPRESSION IS USED.

SO, I THINK ITSELF,
THE DEAF POETS

PRESENT IN A MORE FORMAL STYLE,

SO, THEY WOULD USE
LESS FACIAL EXPRESSION.

QUESTION IN THE BACK.

HOW DOES POETIC LICENSE
APPLY TO ASL POETRY?

YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT
PLAYING IT ON SIGNS.

IS THAT THE SAME THING
AS POETIC LICENSE?

SHE WAS TALKING ABOUT
AN ENGLISH TERM,

WHICH IS CALLED POETIC LICENSE.

THAT MEANS THEY MIGHT
BE ABLE TO CHANGE

AND BEND THE RULES
A LITTLE BIT.

THAT'S PERMITTED.

NOW SHE'S ASKING
ABOUT DEAF POETS,

HOW THEY PLAY
WITH THE LANGUAGE.

REALLY, IT'S THE SAME THING.

YOU COULD CALL IT
POETIC LICENSE IN ASL POETRY,

BEING ABLE TO BEND
AND CHANGE THE RULES.

IT'S--IT'S A VERY SIMILAR THING
RELATED TO THE ENGLISH.

I HAVE TIME FOR
ONE MORE QUESTION.

[MAN SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]

WH--WHERE DO YOU MEAN?
THE AMERICAN LIBRARY?

[MAN SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]

OH, YES.

YES. ALL RIGHT.

THERE ARE TWO QUESTIONS HERE
THAT I'VE JUST BEEN ASKED

FROM A MAN THAT DOESN'T KNOW
AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE, BUT...

WE HAVE THE INTERPRETERS
HERE THAT--

I JUST HEARD--SAW THE QUESTION.

HE'D LIKE TO SIT DOWN
AND TALK WITH ME,

AND PLEASE SEE ME
AFTER THIS PRESENTATION

AND I WILL GIVE YOU
MY PHONE NUMBER

AND YOU CAN CALL AND MAKE
AN APPOINTMENT WITH ME,

OR--AND WE CAN GET
AN INTERPRETER FOR THAT TIME

AND THE 3 OF US CAN SIT DOWN
AND TALK TOGETHER.

SECOND, YOU HAD A QUESTION ABOUT
THE AMERICAN POETIC LIBRARY,

AND THERE'S--WONDERFUL LIBRARY

WITH VIDEOTAPES AND RECORDINGS

WITH ENGLISH POETRY.

AND HE WAS ASKING IF THERE ARE

DEAF POETS INVOLVED--
INCLUDED IN THAT LIBRARY,

AND I REALLY DOUBT THAT.

AT THIS TIME, SIGN MEDIA,
INCORPORATED IN WASHINGTON, DC,

IS VIDEOTAPING DEAF POETS
AND HAS BEEN DOING THAT,

AND THEY CAN CERTAINLY SEND
A COPY OF THOSE VIDEOTAPES

TO THE AMERICAN POETIC LIBRARY.

I THINK THAT WOULD
BE A GOOD IDEA.

I THINK I'D LIKE
TO CONTACT MY FRIEND

THAT'S INVOLVED IN THAT COMPANY
AND SUGGEST THAT.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUGGESTION.

IT'S 2:00 NOW.
I'D LIKE TO WRAP UP.

AND THANK YOU FOR COMING.

WE CAN CONTINUE THIS DISCUSSION

IN ANOTHER ROOM,
I BELIEVE, FIRST OF ALL.

THIS IS A WONDERFUL LECTURE.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

I'M INSPIRED.
I JUST ENJOY THIS VERY MUCH.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR COMING.

IF YOU HAVE ANY MORE QUESTIONS

OR WANT TO DISCUSS MORE
WITH PATRICK,

WE CAN HAVE THIS OPPORTUNITY.

NOW, LET ME SEE.
I'VE FORGOTTEN THE ROOM NUMBER.

SUSAN FISCHER, WHERE ARE YOU?

IN THE ALUMNI ROOM IS WHERE
WE'RE GOING TO BE MEETING.

YOU CAN HAVE MORE TIME TO TALK
WITH PATRICK FOR ABOUT AN HOUR.

THERE'S ALSO SOME POP
AND COOKIES THERE

FOR THE RECEPTION, SO,
I'LL SEE YOU THERE.

THANK YOU!

"This project is supported by a Digitizing Hidden Collections grant from the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR). The grant program is made possible by funding from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation."