Language as an Art Form: Sign Language Poetry.
Poetry takes language far beyond its primary task of everyday communication. By artfully manipulating the forms and meanings of language, the poet conveys a particular or heightened understanding of human experience. Devices such as meter, rhyme, and alliteration may filter the meaningful content of a poem , in order to create an impression or focus an image in the mind of the audience . A conventional meaning may be intentionally distorted in such a way as to enhance the perspective the poet wishes to present. This union of language, culture, and art is found in some signing communities . We know of several accomplished deaf poets in the United States and Holland, and bring as an example of sign language poetry some work of Wim Emmerik from Amsterdam. Among the devices used by this poet are reiterative use of handshape, and a fluidity of style that results from the elimination of transitional movements. Entire poems may be characterized by one or two basic handshapes, such ...