Writers

Beginnings to 1800

The precise beginnings of deaf writing are difficult to ascertain. Teresa de Cartagena, a nun in 15th-century Spain who became deaf in early adulthood, is one of the first known deaf people to publish. In Arboleda de los enfermos, she explores how her deafness brings her spiritually closer to God. Many readers at the time refused to believe that a deaf woman could produce such a tract, showing how, through writing, deaf people could challenge widely held assumptions about their abilities. Several centuries later, Duncan Campbell, a fortune-teller in early 18th-century London, claimed to be deaf (which was disputed but never disproven) and delivered his predictions silently through writing. His career reinforces the idea that, before the modern period, the public viewed a deaf person writing as astounding, even supernatural. It was not until the late 18th century, after the establishment of the National Institute for Deaf-Mutes in Paris, that a culturally deaf writer entered the world of print. Pierre Desloges, a Deaf Frenchman, published a spirited defense of sign language in Deaf education in 1779. He testified to the existence of a vibrant community of Deaf signers in Paris and set the stage for 19th-century deaf authors further to advocate for Deaf causes, especially in the United States.

1800 to 1864

Early deaf writers often used nonfiction prose to argue for deaf people’s worth and capabilities to hearing society. In France, Ferdinand Berthier and others wrote in support of sign-based deaf education. Laurent Clerc, a brilliant teacher at the school in Paris, came over to the United States in 1816 and wrote speeches that testified to the intellectual potential of deaf people, the value of diversity, and the beauty and value of signed languages. His addresses were read aloud at public events, helping to garner support for the establishment of schools for Deaf students in the United States, starting with the Connecticut Asylum (at Hartford) for the Education and Instruction of Deaf and Dumb Persons in 1817.

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