Deaf Lit Extravaganza

by John Lee Clark (Editor)

This celebration of short stories, poems, and essays gives us a glimpse into the Deaf signing community, something that literature by hearing authors featuring deaf characters has rarely done. Between these covers, a Deaf couple fights over their son’s language use, an Australian woman joins the community as an adult, a Deaf woman’s body is fished out a dumpster, and a British Deaf poet wants to keep “zombies”—hearing people—out. The range of perspectives is astonishing, including opposing views. In one story, a hearing journalist tells us about the infamous Milan congress of educators who banned sign language in 1880, while in another story, a Deaf woman tells us what it’s like to have a hearing journalist interview her and her husband for a “human interest” story. Even in pieces that are about just one Deaf person, readers get a powerful sense of life in one of the most vibrant and least understood communities.

Its 32 writers include Andria Alefhi, Allison L. Aubrecht, Veronica Bickle, Teresa Blankmeyer Burke, Amber Ceffalio, Karen Christie, Willy Conley, T. K. Dalton, Mark Drolsbaugh, Donald Grushkin, Frank Gallimore, K. C. Harmon, Christopher Jon Heuer, Paul Hostovsky, Karen Lloyd, Raymond Luczak, Dominic McGreal, Lauren Ridloff, Kristen Ringman, Curtis Robbins, Sarah Segal, Dean Sheridan, Robert Siebert, Eddie Swayze, Pia Taavila-Borsheim, Stephen Tendrich, Michael Uniacke, Clayton Valli, Michele Westfall, Donna Williams, Morgan Grayce Willow, and Pamela Wright.

The book will be available as an ebook at Apple iBookstore and on the Kindle.

Genres: Poetry, Fiction, Essays, Short Stories, Language, Anthologies

244 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2013

Reviews

[Anja · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay, so I went into this book knowing some things about Deaf culture, but geez did I get my knowledge portal blown wide open on all kinds of information and events and feelings I was unaware of.
This should be required reading for all teachers, government workers, parents, community leaders, elected officials, basically everyone!
And it was so good to hear from so many Deaf authors and community members! Truly a book that I can't recommend more highly.
There are fiction, poetry, and non-fiction sections of the book and some of the poetry and fiction was really good and I intend to search out these authors for more books to read! Then the non-fiction was very informative and well put-together to show schools of thoughts on different topics too.

Thank you to John Lee Clark for putting this together!

[Leigh Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Deaf reader reviewing books with deaf characters. This book is listed on my ranked list of books with deaf characters.

This anthology includes 8 short stories, as well as sections for poetry and essays/nonfiction. My review focuses only on the fiction. The stories are:

“Sifting Dirt” by Willy Conley - A subversion of the more typical hearing parents with a deaf child trying to decide whether to raise them oral or signing. This flips it so it’s deaf parents with a hearing child navigating that same decision.

“Explode-a-Moment” by T. K. Dalton - This explores the dynamics between two brothers—one born disabled (autistic), the other with an acquired disability (deafness)—and how they change and are treated differently.

“Small Machinery” by Kristen Harmon - A complex interweaving of ideologies, politics, relationships, memories, and potentiality based around a new “cure” for deafness.

“Trauma” by Christopher Jon Heuer - A glimpse of a teen living a rough life.

“XPT556” by Raymond Luczak - A VRS interpreter’s journey from hearing savior to community member / ASL user.

“Chocolate Chip” by Robert Siebert - Three young men getting baked, on the cusps of their futures.

“This Incontestable Superiority” by Michael Uniacke - A journalist reports on the 1880 Milan Conference and ends up overcoming his ignorance.

“Holding Up” by Pamela Wright - An independent mother reflects on choice, shame, and community.

[Evlambia Angelou · Rating 5 out of 5]

Το “Deaf Lit Extravaganza” είναι μια πολύ ενδιαφέρουσα συλλογή, διαβάζοντας την οποία ο καθενας μπορεί να νιώσει και να κατανοήσει τα συναισθήματα των συγγραφέων. Αν και είμαι διερμηνέας Ελληνικής Νοηματικής Γλώσσας και (ανα)γνωρίζω την Κοινότητα των Κωφών, παρά την αλληλεπίδραση που έχω με Κωφά άτομα, το βιβλίο αυτό μου έδειξε άλλες όψεις του ψυχισμού των Κωφών. Γεγονότα τα οποία γνωρίζω ως ιστορικά (βλ. Μιλάνο 1880), κοινωνικά (ρατσισμός) μέσα από τη γραφή των προαναφερθέντων συγγραφέων απέκτησαν πρόσωπο και συναίσθημα.

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