Deaf Poet Wows PBHA

Harvard students were treated to a unique combination of art, motion and speech last night at a poetry reading sponsored by the Committee on Deaf Awareness (CODA).

The reading featured professional poet Clayton Valli, who presented six poems in American Sign Language (ASL).

Throughout the reading, Valli explained how a combination of hand motions and hand shapes could bring the meter, rhythm of written verse to his gesture poems.

"There are so many creative uses of the hands," Valli said, speaking through an interpreter. "The poet's challenge is to decide how to use all of these tools to make art."

According to CODA co-chair Debra A. Grossman '99, the CODA poetry reading was the second event in a series of artistic presentations designed to familiarize Harvard students with the deaf community and culture.

"There are still a lot of people in upper-crust academia that recognize [deafness] as a disability and not as a sub-culture," added Tiffany R. Beechy '99, CODA's program director.

After the reading, Valli said he also recognized a general insensitivity to deaf culture.

"I can see [deaf children in public schools] become energized and excited when I work with them," he said.

"[After they have become so animated], their teachers will say to me, 'I thought this child was retarded,'" he added. "But I say to them, 'No, this child has developed perfectly beautiful American Sign Language."

Valli's presentation was one of many CODA efforts to increase deaf awareness on campus.

Through the Phillips Brooks House Association, CODA also offers ASL classes and provides volunteers for the deaf community.

Some students feel that Harvard could further benefit from an academic approach.

Last night, several students signed a petition stating their interest in bringing a deaf studies professor to Harvard in some capacity.

"We want to show that there's interest [in such a program]. We feel that Harvard, being such a major university, can really have an impact on this field," Grossman said.

Regardless of whether CODA is successful in its attempt to obtain a deaf studies professor, several students said last night's even was a success, increasing their understanding of ASL.

Joseph M. Garland '00 called the presentation "amazing."

"It really proved to me the richness of sign language which I had been told about but had never understood before," he said.

Jason C. Hurdich, an ASL teacher working with CODA, called Valli "a pioneer."

"I hope he opens a revolution in ASL poetry," he added.