Air Poems in the Key of Voice
My PhD research identified the rhythmic patterning of image as a significant feature of Signart (sign language poetry). I played with translating this repetition of images into a soundscape, so that hearing people might better appreciate the intricate beauty and form of Signart. To realise this project, I collaborated with poet Paul Scott, vocal artist Victoria Punch, and visual wizards VS1 Productions, Helen Dewberry, and Chaucer Cameron. The resulting piece premièred at Ledbury Poetry Festival, 2016 then featured at Bristol Poetry Festival later the same year.
The Stars Are The Map
A cine-poetry translation I made for the Scottish Poetry Library, in 2014. For this, I collaborated with poets Gary Quinn and Christine de Luca. The original language of Gary's poem is British Sign Language (BSL). I provided a carefully skeletal yet syntactically structural guide translation for Christine, who then produced her English and Shetlandic poetic responses. The dynamic captioning is intended to bridge the gap between the properties of the BSL and English poems. The film was shown in the Scottish Parliament in the weeks prior to the passing of the historic British Sign Language (Scotland) Act of 2015. The work has since been included in the anthology Stairs and Whispers: Deaf and Disabled Poets Write Back (Nine Arches, 2017).
This poem, Accent, was published in the Places of Poetry anthology (Ed. Paul Farley, Oneworld, 2020).
