Rebecca A Withey: BSL poetry and the search for a BSL Poet Laureate (BSL)

I was a secondary school pupil when I first attended a poetry event. It was a mainstream event – organised by my school – and poet Benjamin Zephaniah was speaking at it and reciting his own poems.

There was a group of us from the same deaf resource base watching, all of us clutching our poetry books and trying to figure out which part of the poem we were on.At school we enjoyed poetry and how writing poems gave us the chance to explore imaginative ideas and feelings whilst playing around with rhythm and rhyme. But we were very aware that this poetry experience, and the poems being recited, were not part of what we would call “the deaf experience.”

Where were the deaf poets with stories and lives that resembled ours?

Fast forward to when I attended an arts festival in Cardiff in my early 20s and I witnessed the magic of a BSL poem for the first time. The performer was Paul Scott, who visually depicted a poem about a huge bird such as an Eagle. I recall being absolutely transfixed by his fluid signs as he brought his poem – and the bird – to life. The curved beak, the sharp talons and the majestic wings as it flew were all visually depicted perfectly.

However, the English student in me wanted to read a title. What was the poem called? Where was the translation so it could be performed in other languages?

What I personally came to discover was that most BSL poets I came across either took original poems from someone else and translated them or they devised purely in BSL without an English translation.

This inspired me to lead another search to find out where were all the original deaf BSL poets producing their own work. An internet search led me to the work of Dot Miles and I read about how she wrote poetry in English, British Sign Language and American Sign Language too.

Reading and watching Dot’s work online, I felt as though I was peeking into her inner world. Powerful poetry does that to you as it offers you a view into someone’s private perspective.

Since then I’ve come across and enjoyed many BSL poets. Richard Carter, John Wilson and Zoe McWhinney are all firm favourites for different reasons. Richard and John’s works feel very strongly rooted in the grassroots of BSL whereas Zoe’s performances are always – to me at least – leaning towards the rhythmical styles of Visual Vernacular.

Yet, I guess I’m still on the hunt for a poet unlike no other. I would like to see more original works being created by deaf BSL-using poets. It’s why I’m really intrigued by the BDA’s search for their Deaf Poet Laureate – a BSL poet who will create works around the happenings of the deaf community.

I’m sure there are plenty who fit the bill out there. They could be ordinary people with grand ways of telling stories, clear communicators who possess an artistic view of seeing the world. I want to see a BSL poet with a big heart, who is able to give all of our shared experiences a voice.

As I traipse the internet for examples of BSL poetry, I am saddened by the little amount on offer online. Compared to written poetry in English, BSL poetry is hugely underdone. The poetry movement in the deaf community has made very few changes to its style in the last 30 years too.

In comparison, I’m currently enjoying a poetry book by Donna Ashworth who mostly writes from a modern woman’s perspective and her works are currently going viral across social media platforms. There are several of her poems that have moved me to tears as they feel incredibly relevant. However, the deaf part of me still feels very much underrepresented in the world of poetry.

Poetry is said to be one of the most artistic ways a person has his voice “heard.” I am hopeful that we will find a BSL poet who is able to – through their hands – give a visual voice to our shared experiences and also raise awareness of the plights deaf people still face.

By Rebecca A Withey

Rebecca Anne Withey is a freelance writer with a background in Performing Arts & Holistic health. She is also profoundly deaf, a sign language user and pretty great lipreader. She writes on varied topics close to her heart in the hope that they may serve to inspire others.