2 poems from 'The Perseverance'

Raymond Antrobus

A couple of months ago I joined a three month programme to learn Indian Sign Language organised by the Haryana Welfare Society for Persons with Speech and Hearing Impairment. Two of my hearing friends have been working with the deaf community for many years, as allies, invested deeply in the cause and culture of the deaf community. When they shared information about this course, I jumped at the opportunity, and immediately registered to learn the basics of Indian Sign Language (ISL) with deaf teachers.

Learning ISL with this small community of practice has been a profoundly rewarding experience for me. I am trying to understand the complexities of language deprivation, and the myriad ways in which deaf individuals are marginalised (from birth) in a society that privileges hearing people and repeatedly tries to negate the thriving existence of deaf culture. Across the world, the struggle to acknowledge sign languages (more than 200 different ‘national sign languages’) as a basic human right for deaf people continues. In the Indian context the movement has grown, and the community and its allies are knocking at the doors of the Indian government, to declare ISL as the 23rd official language of India. Inshallah this day will come very soon, and we will see an inclusive society that is sensitive to the community, its language, experiences and culture.

My journey with sign language has only just begun, but this has been among the most meaningful experiences I have had so far in this year. My favourite time of the week is the days on which I have Sign Language classes and the ISL club. It is a real gift - being a part of this community, making deaf friends, and learning this breathtaking, expressive visual language with its own nuanced syntax, grammar, expressions and framework. I love learning from our teachers Ramnath Sir and Sanket Sir and their students (who are training to be teachers) as well, who come and teach us. The energy and warmth they bring to this work is unimaginable.

I’m sharing some of my thoughts with you about this today, to mark ‘International Day of Sign Languages’. This entire week is celebrated as ‘International Week of the Deaf’.

I have merely touched the tip of the iceberg, and I urge hearing readers who would like to know more about this to explore further, and work towards being allies in creating a safe, inclusive space for the deaf community.

I’m sharing with you today 2 poems by the British-Jamaican poet Raymond Antrobus from his collection of poetry, ‘The Perseverance’. The collection won the Rathbones Folio Prize and this is what the judges had to say about it -

“In the end, though, we agreed on Raymond Antrobus’ ‘The Perseverance;, an immensely moving book of poetry which uses his D/deaf experience, bereavement and Jamaican-British heritage to consider the ways we all communicate with each other… It ’s an exceptionally brave, kind book…It seemed, in our atomised times, to be the book we most wanted to give to others, the book we all needed to read.”

Click on this link if you would like to learn ISL with deaf teachers (in courses organised by The Haryana Welfare Society for Persons with Speech and Hearing Impairment).

Watch this video that talks about deaf culture, and why you should learn ISL only from Deaf Teachers.

This entire post is in English, and I would have liked to share some more videos in sign language (with subtitles). I will be sharing more in the future, hopefully. Sign Language Poetry is a whole other realm of aesthetic and expressive brilliance… For next time :)

Spread the word - oops I mean - sign!

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