Sign of the Times: British Sign Language Poetry in an Already Image-Preoccupied Society

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It is crucial for social inclusion and the development of arts accessibility that BSL poetry, and not just that exclusively involving D/deaf experiences (Deaf referring to cultural identity, deaf referring to audiological ability), be available beyond the written English language translations. Recent publications have increasingly sought after the experiences of D/deaf writers and included BSL in their calls including: Magma 69: The Deaf Issue (2017), Stairs and Whispers: D/deaf and Disabled Poets Write Back (2017), and Modern Poetry in Translation: Our Small Universe (2019). However, these have been published inconsistently with captions, transcripts, and videos being located across various resources and the majority relying on English language translation in a conventional textual form. With technology being at its most advanced, and most sympathetic, the translation of BSL poetry can be significantly improved.This PhD will create a digital exhibition of BSL Poetry that aims to expand and enthuse audiences by consistently using technological developments and digital methodologies to ensure the accessibility of the poetry to a wide audience. In multiple sections, this exhibition will explore a chain of translations through prominent BSL poets such as Richard Carter, Bea Webster, Dot Miles, and Caroline Parker, as well as translations of my own creative work. It will aim to present cohesive audio-visual translation tools such as audio-description, voice-over, transcript, and pending further research augmented-reality subtitling (as introduced by the National Theatre). All of the preceding, demonstrating best practice publishing standards to ensure sustainable access to BSL poetry. As part of my creative component, there is scope to take a collaborative approach and facilitate poetry workshops. This PhD could engage D/deaf children at Jordanstown School, or Action Deaf Youth, a local charity, by presenting studentswith their first experiences of BSL poetry. Similar to the anthology England: Poems from a School (2018), it could encourage creative responses by students and also provide an opportunity for formal and informal feedback on the varying success of the translation tools in the digital exhibition.