ASL Poetry: Selected Works of Clayton Valli

A total of twenty-one selected works by ASL poet Dr. Clayton Valli are recited by a diversity of signers using a wide variety of styles.  As ASL poetry is a fairly new medium, host Lon Kuntze guides the viewer through the hidden meanings in the poems, affording a keep understanding of the material.  Through Mr. Kuntze’s narration, the viewer will gain an appreciation for how ASL poems are created and will actually see similarities between a written English poem intended to be read aloud and an ASL poem recited through sign language.

Clayton Valli, Ph.D., is a professor of Linguistics and Interpreting at Gallaudet University.  He is a nationally renowned ASL poet and wrote the principles of ASL poetry that are based on generally accepted rules of what constitutes “poetry”  A graduate of the Austine School for the Deaf in Vermont, Valli was born deaf and raised in Seabrook, New Hampshire.  He studied Social Psychology at the University of Nevada at Reno and earned his masters degree and doctorate in Linguistics at Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C and Union Institute in Cincinnati, Ohio, respectively.

DawnSign Press