Poetry International Poetry International
52e Poetry International Festival Rotterdam
Sign language poets and poetry with sign language interpreter

Sign language poets and poetry with sign language interpreter

Première Imaginings, performances Ilya Kaminsky and Safia Elhillio, more

On Saturday, June 11, three festival programs are open to the deaf and hard of hearing; including performances by deaf-born American-Ukrainian poet Ilya Kaminsky and the premiere of the short film Imaginings by Anja Hiddinga and deaf collective Kitchen's Light. In the film, sign language performers tell their story poetically, the premiere of the film is part of a program with live performances by sign language poets. In doing so, the festival continues the efforts started last year to be accessible to the hard of hearing and deaf; then the readings of the deaf-born British poet Raymond Antrobus were interpreted and Kila van der Starre explored the theme of "poetry and sign language" in the program End of an Ear. 

Ilya Kaminsky was born in 1977 in Odessa - now Ukraine, then Soviet Union - but was granted asylum in the US in 1993. In his early childhood, deafness was overlooked. Only in the U.S. was that deafness discovered and treated to the best of his ability. In Kaminsky's poems...

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On Saturday, June 11, three festival programs are open to the deaf and hard of hearing; including performances by deaf-born American-Ukrainian poet Ilya Kaminsky and the premiere of the short film Imaginings by Anja Hiddinga and deaf collective Kitchen's Light. In the film, sign language performers tell their story poetically, the premiere of the film is part of a program with live performances by sign language poets. In doing so, the festival continues the efforts started last year to be accessible to the hard of hearing and deaf; then the readings of the deaf-born British poet Raymond Antrobus were interpreted and Kila van der Starre explored the theme of "poetry and sign language" in the program End of an Ear. 

Ilya Kaminsky was born in 1977 in Odessa - now Ukraine, then Soviet Union - but was granted asylum in the US in 1993. In his early childhood, deafness was overlooked. Only in the U.S. was that deafness discovered and treated to the best of his ability. In Kaminsky's poems, the characters are also often deaf, but they make love and dance against the odds, not hearing what is said about them and literally deaf to commands. Kaminsky has a keen eye for the absurdity of existence and writes unapologetically about grimness and horror, but always remains engaged as an observer. Lovingly and optimistically, his poetry shows the other cheek. Violence and coercion are answered with love, dance and music. The poet previously performed at the Poetry International Festival in 2013. This year he will read poems from his extraordinary collection Deaf Republic. Sign language interpreters will be present during the interview with Kaminsky and his poetry reading together with the American-Sudanese poet Safia Elhillo.
LantarenVenster 1, Saturday, June 11, 15:30 and 19:30

In the film Imaginings by Anja Hiddinga and the deaf poet collective Kitchen's Light, the performing poets tell their stories in their mother tongue, Dutch sign language. They take the audience into their thoughts and experiences in a penetrating way. Also on the program are live performances in signed word and the SignLab will be presented, a place where performances in sign language are uploaded and creators share their work to inspire each other.
Dutch filmmaker Anja Hiddinga has made several films about deafness, such as Bewogen (2005), the documentary Ik gestaar, ik leef (2012) and the short film Embodiment of Conflict (2022) about the controversy over the status of sign language. She is also a researcher and lecturer at the Anthropology Department of the University of Amsterdam. Kitchen's Light is a group of performers presenting their own work in Dutch Sign Language (NGT), founded in 2019, after a series of workshops by spoken word artist Elten Kiene. The group performs 'signed word' performances, individually or collectively, in freestyle pieces, classic sign poetry and 'visual vernacular', an 'own' recitation form of sign languages. Also story telling and sign dancing (songs and music translated into sign language) are part of the repertoire.
LantarenVenster 3, Saturday, June 11, 17:00 

 

 

Date:
Sa June 11
15:30 - 18:00
Location:
LantarenVenster 1 and 3

Pricing

For these programs you need a day ticket for Saturday 11 June or a festival passe-partout 
Day ticket: 10 to 20 euro’s 
Passe-partout (three days): 25 – 50 euro’s 
Discounts for CJP, Student card, Rotterdampas

See also

Sponsors
Gemeente Rotterdam
Nederlands Letterenfonds
Stichting Van Beuningen Peterich-fonds
Ludo Pieters Gastschrijver Fonds
Lira fonds
Partners
LantarenVenster – Verhalenhuis Belvédère