Dr. Robert Panara and Allen Ginsberg, 1984.
This presentation inspired students Peter Cook and Debbie Rennie to create ASL poetry. Clayton Valli, an alumnus, was the first to write a dissertation about ASL poetry. In 1987, the first ASL poetry conference featured five ASL poets: Peter Cook, Clayton Valli, Debbie Rennie, Patrick Graybill (NTID faculty who translated the Hydrogen Jukebox), and Ella Mae Lentz. Courtesy of Deaf Studies, Culture & History Archives at RIT Archives.
The Museum of American Poetics is a great poetry website by Jim Cohn, an alumnus (interpreter) who was involved in the early years of ASL Poetry in Rochester, NY. He published ACTION magazine, which includes poems by Deaf poets Patrick Graybill, Peter Cook, and Debbie Rennie.
Look at the ASL Poetry Archive from his website, which is listed below.
BirdBrain Society, Bridge Of, Deaf Beat Summit, "Like a Teardrop in Some Forgotten Video," and the National Deaf Poetry Conference.
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