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Another Voice

© Myron Lysenko

INTRODUCTION

One of the ideas behind being a poet in the deaf community is to provide another voice for people who don't necessarily have one. By this I mean those hearing impaired people who may not be able to speak. Of course, the deaf do have their own way of communicating, either by using Auslan, sign language or by lip-reading & speaking words they themselves may not be able to hear. Not all deaf people are completely deaf; many have hearing aids.

I have been doing poetry with deaf people for six years & am collecting their poems with the aim of getting a book of their work published in Australia.

I am grateful to Peter Folan from the Victorian Services for Deaf Children for giving me opportunities to work on this project. Folan has slowly but surely introduced me to the deaf community & this project would not have been possible without his vision, perseverance & generosity.


THE POEMS

Written English is very difficult to translate into Auslan, & vice-versa. Many of the poems I have gathered so far have been written in English, but some interesting ones are a mix of Auslan grammar & English grammar and these have created what may be a new poetic language.

Duncan Bartlett, Stephanie O'Hanlon and Talisa Burnham wrote in their own words, using some Auslan phrasing & aspects of English grammar to create vibrant poetry. It was the refreshing & intriguing language of their work which inspired me to write this article, in the hope that many more new voices will emerge out of the deaf community.

In My Own Words

I am happy like myself.
I like talk with mum and
Racheal on the boat going
Deep.
Tennis ball hit some girls.
Arrow I like to play with
Some everyone.

I am happy watch out for
pet.
I watch out of water
Out on my ways.

- Duncan Bartlett

In Bartlett's poem, In My Own Words, we are presented with Duncan's unique use of language, after his opening line which is a disarmingly self-affirming simile. His poetry is a combination of Auslan, English and his own idiosyncratic sense of phrasing. So we get poetic lines with multiple meanings, when he describes himself canoeing:

I like talk with my mum and
Racheal on the boat going
Deep.

His sense of cheeky humour emerges when he observes girls playing tennis being hit by the ball. He takes part in archery & shows his willingness to be friends with everybody when he writes:

Arrow I like to play with