Libraries, Access and ASL Literature Part 4: Emily McCully "The Making of "My Heart Glow." The Deaf Community Shares it's not so silent stories
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0:00 - 0:02(Suzanne Stecker)
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0:02 - 0:06Our next presenter is Emily McCully
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0:06 - 0:09and she's actually going to
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0:09 - 0:11tell us her experience
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0:11 - 0:17of going through the process
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0:17 - 0:21of writing her book, "My Heart Glow."
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0:21 - 0:27She received the F. Scott Medal.
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0:27 - 0:33Emily?
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0:33 - 0:35(Male Interpreter)
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0:35 - 0:41Correction of the interpretation: She was awarded the Caldecott Award for her work.
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0:41 - 0:43(Emily McCully, voice raspy)
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0:43 - 0:44Thank you so much.
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0:44 - 0:47I'm going to try to be heard
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0:47 - 0:50so that I can be interpreted.
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0:50 - 0:52I obviously need to be interpreted today.
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0:52 - 0:54I'm very, very happy to be here
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0:54 - 0:57and I've learned an enormous amount
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0:57 - 1:00in the first half of the program.
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1:00 - 1:04I wish I had known all of the things that I heard this afternoon
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1:04 - 1:06when I wrote this book.
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1:06 - 1:11I am a representative of the hearing community.
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1:11 - 1:14I tried to be a bridge
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1:14 - 1:17between the deaf community and the hearing community
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1:17 - 1:19in creating this story.
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1:19 - 1:23I was just telling that unfortunately
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1:23 - 1:28some of the reviewers of the book in the hearing community
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1:28 - 1:30were a little confused by it.
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1:30 - 1:35And so, I think a lot more work has to be done
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1:35 - 1:39to make ASL and Deaf Culture
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1:39 - 1:42understood in the hearing community.
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1:42 - 1:45Now, the reason that I told the story
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1:45 - 1:47of Alice Cogswell and Thomas Gallaudet
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1:47 - 1:50is that my son told me I should do it,
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1:50 - 1:53and I listened to him.
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1:53 - 1:58He is a linguist. He is fluent in Japanese--works in Japanese.
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1:58 - 2:04He speaks Russian, French, a little bit of other languages, a little Chinese.
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2:04 - 2:07And he got interested in American Sign Language
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2:07 - 2:10and took a course.
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2:10 - 2:12He practices it a lot.
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2:12 - 2:15I have to say, he goes to bars to practice it
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2:15 - 2:19with fluent ASL people
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2:19 - 2:24and has met very, very wonderful people that way.
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2:24 - 2:27He's been fascinated by Deaf History,
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2:27 - 2:31and he knew that in making children's books,
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2:31 - 2:36I always try to find a gripping story out of history
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2:36 - 2:38and they often have involved girls and women
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2:38 - 2:43whose stories are little known or else I invent them sometimes.
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2:43 - 2:49But I want to tell the stories of underdogs, basically,
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2:49 - 2:53because I think they have the most drama.
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2:53 - 2:56And when he told me that American Sign Language
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2:56 - 3:00and the very first school for the deaf in this country
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3:00 - 3:05were created because a young man met a young deaf girl,
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3:05 - 3:08I thought well, this is it, there's got to be a great story here.
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3:08 - 3:10And I think it is a great story.
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3:10 - 3:14Alice Cogswell was about two--
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3:14 - 3:16she lived in Connecticut,
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3:16 - 3:20she was the youngest child of a wealthy family.
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3:20 - 3:24Her father was a doctor
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3:24 - 3:27and quite a famous man in Connecticut.
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3:27 - 3:31When she was two, which would have been, lets see,
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3:31 - 3:33about 1805 I think--
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3:33 - 3:36or no, she was born in 1805--
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3:36 - 3:401807, she came down with probably scarlet fever, but we're not sure,
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3:40 - 3:43and became profoundly deaf.
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3:43 - 3:47She recalled that when she woke up one morning,
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3:47 - 3:50she could no longer hear the church bells.
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3:50 - 3:52She couldn't hear the sound of--
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3:52 - 3:55she could see a carriage draw up to the door
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3:55 - 3:57outside her family's house
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3:57 - 4:00and couldn't hear any of the sounds that it was making.
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4:00 - 4:02They subjected her to radical treatment.
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4:02 - 4:06They poured horrible substances into her ears
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4:06 - 4:09through ear trumpets.
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4:09 - 4:12It was very painful. Nothing could be done.
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4:12 - 4:17Her family feared that she was doomed,
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4:17 - 4:19that she wouldn't go to heaven when she died
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4:19 - 4:24because they couldn't teach her about the Bible.
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4:24 - 4:27And in those days, that's what they thought--
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4:27 - 4:29that her soul was lost.
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4:29 - 4:33So, they loved her and they cherished her,
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4:33 - 4:36but they didn't know what to do.
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4:36 - 4:39And there were no schools for the deaf.
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4:39 - 4:42Deaf people had absolutely no way to communicate
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4:42 - 4:44with the rest of the world.
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4:44 - 4:49I am sure that they spoke with what was called "home sign" then.
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4:49 - 4:51And we heard this morning about the people
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4:51 - 4:56of Martha's Vineyard, most of whom came
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4:56 - 5:00in the 17th Century from one part of England,
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5:00 - 5:03where almost everybody was deaf.
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5:03 - 5:06So this was a case of genetic deafness.
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5:06 - 5:09And those people settled in Martha's Vineyard.
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5:09 - 5:11They had their own sign language,
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5:11 - 5:15and the rest of Martha's Vineyard learned it.
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5:15 - 5:19Everybody on the island, from the late 17th Century
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5:19 - 5:22through the early 20th Century,
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5:22 - 5:27spoke a sign language that was developed there.
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5:27 - 5:30And of course deaf people were considered perfectly normal
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5:30 - 5:33unlike what was the case
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5:33 - 5:35in the rest of the country.
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5:35 - 5:41Alice Cogswell and her sisters and brothers
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5:41 - 5:45used a kind of home sign, but she wasn't taught to read
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5:45 - 5:47she wasn't taught anything else.
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5:47 - 5:51And when Thomas Gallaudet,
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5:51 - 5:55who was in his early 20's when he met Alice--
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5:55 - 5:57he had cast about for what to do with his life
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5:57 - 6:01and finally he decided to go to theological seminary.
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6:01 - 6:04And he wanted to minister to Indian tribes,
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6:04 - 6:07which meant that he would learn
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6:07 - 6:10a kind of sign language because Indians did.
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6:10 - 6:13He graduated and came home to visit his parents in Hartford.
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6:13 - 6:17They lived next door to the Cogswells
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6:17 - 6:21and he saw Alice one day. And he felt terribly sorry for her
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6:21 - 6:24because she was sitting by herself
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6:24 - 6:27while her brothers and sisters played,
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6:27 - 6:30and she couldn't join in the games.
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6:30 - 6:32And he thought he would see,
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6:32 - 6:35since she looked so intelligent and appealing
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6:35 - 6:37and of course she was aware of him
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6:37 - 6:41because her other senses were very highly developed.
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6:41 - 6:47And he came over to her, and the story is
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6:47 - 6:51that he scratched the letters H-A-T on the dirt
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6:51 - 6:54and then put his hat on top of them and her face lit up.
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6:54 - 6:57She was already understanding
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6:57 - 7:00what reading would lead her to.
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7:00 - 7:02And he began working with her
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7:02 - 7:04trying to teach her to read.
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7:04 - 7:07And she was very, very receptive
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7:07 - 7:09and delighted.
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7:09 - 7:14And at this point, Dr. Cogswell thought that
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7:14 - 7:17he must reach not only Alice, but other deaf children
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7:17 - 7:21and found a school for them.
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7:21 - 7:24So he asked Thomas if he would go to Europe
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7:24 - 7:27and learn how to teach the deaf.
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7:27 - 7:29And Thomas agreed to do this.
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7:29 - 7:33The Cogswells raised enough money to send him
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7:33 - 7:35to England, where he knew that there was a school
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7:35 - 7:38in London and another one in Scotland,
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7:38 - 7:41operated by a family called Braidwood.
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7:41 - 7:46Gallaudet left Alice behind
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7:46 - 7:49but first he said Alice really should go to school
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7:49 - 7:51with her siblings.
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7:51 - 7:53So this was arranged.
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7:53 - 7:55The teacher at this school
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7:55 - 7:57was named Lydia Huntley.
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7:57 - 8:01She was later married to Mr. Sigourney.
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8:01 - 8:03So she became Lydia Huntley Sigourney,
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8:03 - 8:07a rather famous poetess of the day,
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8:07 - 8:10but at this time she was a young teacher.
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8:10 - 8:13Alice joined this little school
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8:13 - 8:15and everybody in the school learned to fingerspell --
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8:15 - 8:20that is, they had signs for each of the letters of the alphabet
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8:20 - 8:24and they would painstakingly spell out words.
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8:24 - 8:27So Alice learned a little bit more.
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8:27 - 8:29She learned to read
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8:29 - 8:31and she learned a little bit of history
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8:31 - 8:33and a little bit of geography and so on,
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8:33 - 8:36but she was not learning a language.
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8:36 - 8:39Meanwhile in London, Thomas was having a hard time.
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8:39 - 8:43The Braidwood family insisted on
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8:43 - 8:48teaching deaf people to talk.
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8:48 - 8:50There was no sign language used -- in fact, it was forbidden.
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8:50 - 8:56The Braidwoods told Thomas that they would teach him
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8:56 - 8:59their method, but he would have to stay in England
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8:59 - 9:02for two years and it would cost a lot more money
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9:02 - 9:05than they had raised for Thomas's trip.
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9:05 - 9:07So, something wonderful happened --
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9:07 - 9:10completely unexpected:
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9:10 - 9:13Thomas met an Abbot from Paris
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9:13 - 9:16and his young assistant who was deaf.
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9:16 - 9:20And the Abbot's name was Abbé Sicard
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9:20 - 9:23and his assistant was Laurent Clerc.
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9:23 - 9:27And Laurent Clerc, of couse, was deaf
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9:27 - 9:31and a fine teacher at a school in Paris
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9:31 - 9:35where they used sign language to teach the deaf children.
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9:35 - 9:39And Gallaudet went to Paris
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9:39 - 9:43and was taught how to use this method,
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9:43 - 9:46but he was getting terribly homesick
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9:46 - 9:48and he was running out of money.
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9:48 - 9:50So, he knew he had to go back to Hartford,
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9:50 - 9:52but in order to teach and to start a school
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9:52 - 9:55and teach deaf children in America,
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9:55 - 9:57he was going to need help.
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9:57 - 9:59So he persuaded Laurent Clerc
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9:59 - 10:00to come with him,
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10:00 - 10:03and this was extrordinary.
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10:03 - 10:06Clerc had to leave his parents behind.
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10:06 - 10:08He had to get permission to go.
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10:08 - 10:12Fortunately, he was a very adventurous young man
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10:12 - 10:16and had always wanted to see more of the world.
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10:16 - 10:19So they sailed to America.
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10:19 - 10:20It took almost two months
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10:20 - 10:23and during that time,
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10:23 - 10:26Gallaudet taught Clerc English
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10:26 - 10:29and Clerc taught Gallaudet
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10:29 - 10:32more of the signs that they were using in the school.
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10:32 - 10:36Now, that school in Paris
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10:36 - 10:41had adapted a kind of home sign
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10:41 - 10:44that French children naturally--
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10:44 - 10:47French deaf children--used with each other.
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10:47 - 10:52The teachers at the school saw that sign language
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10:52 - 10:54was being used by these children
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10:54 - 10:57and they knew that it was a good method,
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10:57 - 10:59but they thought that it needed help.
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10:59 - 11:01They thought they needed to make it grammatical.
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11:01 - 11:05They didn't realize that this natural sign language
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11:05 - 11:07already had a grammar.
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11:07 - 11:10So the kinds of misunderstandings
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11:10 - 11:12that people have always had about ASL
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11:12 - 11:14were there with its very founders.
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11:14 - 11:18Thomas Gallaudet also didn't realize that
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11:18 - 11:25home sign or methodical sign, it was called,
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11:25 - 11:28already had a grammar.
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11:28 - 11:30And as we heard earlier today,
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11:30 - 11:32people didn't realize that
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11:32 - 11:35until the 1960's, when American Sign Language
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11:35 - 11:37was finally analyzed by linguists.
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11:37 - 11:42It's this grammatical complexity--
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11:42 - 11:46this whole language aspect of ASL--
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11:46 - 11:51that is so important for hearing people to understand,
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11:51 - 11:54and, of course, for deaf children to learn
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11:54 - 12:00because it stimulates the language capacities
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12:00 - 12:01of the brain.
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12:01 - 12:05And if they learn ASL, they learn English much more easily.
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12:05 - 12:11And, as we all know, ASL was suppressed
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12:11 - 12:14for a long time all over the world.
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12:14 - 12:18I believe the Milan Conference was mentioned
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12:18 - 12:21this morning. I think that's where it happened.
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12:21 - 12:24And so, for a long time, deaf children
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12:24 - 12:26in their schools would sign to each other
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12:26 - 12:28but it had to be secret.
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12:28 - 12:32They weren't allowed to use ASL.
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12:32 - 12:35I didn't put that in my book,
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12:35 - 12:37but I think it's important that I knew it
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12:37 - 12:40because it was part of the story.
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12:40 - 12:44When you tell a story in any kind of book,
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12:44 - 12:46you may not put everything about the story
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12:46 - 12:50into the book, but you have to know it.
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12:50 - 12:55And this bridge to the hearing community--
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12:55 - 12:58that's so important;
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12:58 - 13:00and having enough materials in libraries
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13:00 - 13:04for deaf children is terribly important.
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13:04 - 13:07This book, "My Heart Glow,"
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13:07 - 13:10whose title was suggested by Harlan Lane,
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13:10 - 13:15whose book I used in much of my research.
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13:15 - 13:18And I contacted Harlan Lane
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13:18 - 13:21at the suggestion of Gary Wait,
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13:21 - 13:23who is the archivist
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13:23 - 13:26at the School for the Deaf in Hartford--
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13:26 - 13:29a very wonderful man who was a tremendous help to me.
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13:29 - 13:33And he also sent word about the book
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13:33 - 13:35out through the community--
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13:35 - 13:37to Alice in particular,
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13:37 - 13:40who was so good in making it known to people.
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13:40 - 13:46Gary Wait's resources at the School for the Deaf--
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13:46 - 13:48he has the library there,
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13:48 - 13:52which is almost like a little museum of deaf history.
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13:52 - 13:55It was so important to be there
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13:55 - 13:57and see all that material.
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13:57 - 14:01He told me that I should not include anything
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14:01 - 14:03about the suppression of ASL--
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14:03 - 14:06that this story, "My Heart Glow,"
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14:06 - 14:11should be a story of triumph over nothing --
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14:11 - 14:13of the creation of something
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14:13 - 14:17when there had been nothing.
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14:17 - 14:20So, armed with the materials I learned from him,
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14:20 - 14:24with a lot of reading of what books there are
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14:24 - 14:26about deaf history,
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14:26 - 14:28with Harlan Lane's book in particular,
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14:28 - 14:30I wrote this story.
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14:30 - 14:32It was published.
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14:32 - 14:35It was acquired by an editor, who was fired
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14:35 - 14:38about a few weeks later.
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14:38 - 14:41So it was shepherded through the publishing process
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14:41 - 14:43without an advocate.
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14:43 - 14:47It was published without any help at all
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14:47 - 14:49by this company, that more or less ignored it.
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14:49 - 14:52And then it was reviewed by hearing reviewers,
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14:52 - 14:54many of whom were confused
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14:54 - 14:58by the syntax in Alice's letters,
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14:58 - 15:02and I had read Alice's letters at Hartford,
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15:02 - 15:07so I knew that the syntax was the product of her mind--
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15:07 - 15:10of the way she was thinking.
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15:10 - 15:13They didn't understand that,
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15:13 - 15:14even though I said so in the author's note.
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15:14 - 15:17So there was some confusion, which was unfortunate.
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15:17 - 15:22And I was so, so gratified--so happy--when I learned
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15:22 - 15:25that the deaf community embraced the book.
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15:25 - 15:30And not only that--after it had gone out of print,
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15:30 - 15:38I heard from ASL Tales that they wanted to do a DVD of it
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15:38 - 15:43and try to get it back into the world with signing.
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15:43 - 15:46And I thought it was a fabulous idea
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15:46 - 15:52and Janice's work on this DVD is so brilliant,
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15:52 - 15:56and of course, the quality of storytelling
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15:56 - 15:59that is possible with ASL
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15:59 - 16:04is just beyond anything else that's available to anyone.
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16:04 - 16:05So, I think
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16:05 - 16:08deaf children and hearing children will both
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16:08 - 16:13benefit enormously from this kind of product
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16:13 - 16:16and from all of the others that I hope
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16:16 - 16:21are going to be available in libraries everywhere.
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16:21 - 16:24Maybe there will be questions for me?
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16:24 - 16:26I don't know. I think that's about all
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16:26 - 16:29I can pump out of my throat today.
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16:29 - 16:32I thank you so much for having me here
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16:32 - 16:37and as I say, it's been extraondinarily illuminating for me,
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16:37 - 16:41and I love being with you all today.
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16:41 - 16:44Are there any questions?
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16:44 - 16:49[applause] Thank you.
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16:49 - 16:51No? Okay.
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16:51 - 17:01Thank you again.
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17:01 - 17:02(Female Audience Member)
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17:02 - 17:05Hello there. I just wanted to tell you how delighted
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17:05 - 17:06I am that you've made this book possible
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17:08 - 17:13and many more works such as these.
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17:13 - 17:17I'm inspired by the fact that this book is there.
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17:19 - 17:25(Emily McCully)
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17:25 - 17:27Thank you so much.
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17:27 - 17:29(Female Audience Member)
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17:29 - 17:34My question is how long did it take you to complete that book?
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17:34 - 17:35(Emily McCully)
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17:35 - 17:40Well, this one... of course there's the research
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17:40 - 17:43and the reading process was several weeks,
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17:43 - 17:46and I don't usually have an advisor.
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17:46 - 17:50Gary Wait was my advisor on this one,
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17:50 - 17:53so we communicated back and forth.
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17:53 - 17:55And the trip to Hartford--that had to be scheduled,
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17:55 - 17:56and so on.
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17:56 - 18:01So, I would say two or three months for that.
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18:01 - 18:05And then, sitting down and doing a picture book
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18:05 - 18:07requires doing a "dummy,"
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18:07 - 18:11which means that I write the text
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18:11 - 18:14at the same time that I'm creating a little pretend book.
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18:14 - 18:17And the little pretend book is absolutely necessary
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18:17 - 18:21because a picture book is unlike most other books
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18:21 - 18:23in that it's like a little movie that's in my head,
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18:23 - 18:26and I have to get the movie down on paper
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18:26 - 18:30The movie is not projected. It involves the reader.
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18:30 - 18:34The book cannot be read
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18:34 - 18:36unless the reader wants to turn the page,
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18:36 - 18:40so I had to figure out how much material to put on a page.
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18:40 - 18:45I put so much on...well, I'll do it with this.
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18:45 - 18:48I make a dummy that looks sort of like this,
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18:48 - 18:50but it's just black and white sketches.
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18:50 - 18:52I put so much material on this page
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18:52 - 18:55so that the reader will want to know what happens.
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18:55 - 18:57The reader lifts the page, and for a few seconds
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18:57 - 19:00anything can happen!
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19:00 - 19:04Turns the page, more information--not too much,
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19:04 - 19:07just enough to create enough tension
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19:07 - 19:09so the reader wants to turn the page
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19:09 - 19:12and advance the story.
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19:12 - 19:15So, it's a complete collaboration with the reader.
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19:15 - 19:17And I have to figure out with the dummy--
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19:17 - 19:20I play with how much I put on this page and that page
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19:20 - 19:22and I go back and forth.
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19:22 - 19:25I tend to make little rough sketches
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19:25 - 19:28and tape them down, or tape down the words
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19:28 - 19:29with scotch tape
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19:29 - 19:32and then lift them up and move them around
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19:32 - 19:34if I have to.
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19:34 - 19:37And that process takes, oh maybe two or three weeks.
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19:37 - 19:39And then I send it to the publisher,
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19:39 - 19:44and the editor figures out what else I have to do
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19:44 - 19:47and what isn't working and what is working
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19:47 - 19:49and tells me and sends it back.
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19:49 - 19:50I make revisions--
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19:50 - 19:55that can take two or three more weeks--
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19:55 - 19:57when I finally get to the point
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19:57 - 19:58where I do the finished work.
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19:58 - 20:02And my emphasis in my books is
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20:02 - 20:06I want everything to look as if something is happening--
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20:06 - 20:09I want it to have a sense of action--
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20:09 - 20:13so I, to try to make things look spontaneous,
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20:13 - 20:17I make, for example, color choices as I'm painting.
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20:17 - 20:19I don't do color sketches,
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20:19 - 20:21I wait until I'm doing the finished paintings
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20:21 - 20:25and they take another six weeks.
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20:25 - 20:30Then I send that off. My work is done.
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20:30 - 20:35The book is separated. The colors are all separated
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20:35 - 20:39and printed - each color separately.
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20:39 - 20:42Probably these days in Asia.
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20:42 - 20:46The book doesn't come out for a full year
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20:46 - 20:50after I have finished my work.
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20:50 - 20:52And by that time, in this case,
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20:52 - 20:54the publisher had forgotten about it.
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20:54 - 20:58So, that can happen--
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20:58 - 21:01that's not such a good story.
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21:01 - 21:08So, I hope that this ASL Tales version has...
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21:08 - 21:11I hope it's going to have a lot of momentum
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21:11 - 21:14and will really reach as many people as it can.
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21:14 - 21:19Once again, thank you so much, Deaf Community,
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21:19 - 21:24for embracing it.
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21:24 - 21:47More questions?
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21:48 - 21:50(Male Audience Member)
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21:50 - 21:54I'm curious if you've had the experience...
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21:54 - 21:56oh sorry, one moment...
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21:56 - 21:59I'm curious if your work on this book
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21:59 - 22:03has made you inspired to learn more
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22:03 - 22:07about the deaf community and deaf culture?
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22:07 - 22:13(Emily McCully) Yes it has. Very much.
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22:19 - 22:21(Female voice, offscreen)
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22:21 - 22:29I believe we have two questions off to the side.
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22:29 - 22:31(Alice Hagemeyer)
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22:34 - 22:35Hello there.
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22:35 - 22:38For some of you who may not know,
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22:38 - 22:41her book is the very first book
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22:41 - 22:45written for children that is talking about deaf history,
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22:45 - 22:47and I applaud you for that.
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22:47 - 22:49I'm not sure if even you knew that.
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22:49 - 22:51Did you know that?
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22:51 - 22:52(Emily McCully)
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22:52 - 22:55No, I knew it was the first one about Alice and Thomas.
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22:55 - 22:57I didn't know it was the first, period.
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22:57 - 22:59That's amazing. That's terrible.
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22:59 - 23:00(Alice Hagemeyer)
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23:00 - 23:03Right, it's the first historical work for children--
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23:03 - 23:05first historical fiction book for children.
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23:05 - 23:10And also, it's very fortunate, and I'd like everyone to know
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23:10 - 23:12that the School for the Deaf has a museum,
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23:12 - 23:18which in the past, people weren't really cherishing
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23:18 - 23:21their heritage and the artifacts
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23:21 - 23:25and so oftentimes, things weren't preserved well
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23:25 - 23:28until Gary Wait, also a good friend of mine
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23:28 - 23:31got involved with their museum program
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23:31 - 23:33and made some drastic changes.
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23:33 - 23:36And having that material preserved,
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23:36 - 23:38made your research, I'm sure, much better,
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23:38 - 23:40so our thanks also have to go out to Gary.
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23:40 - 23:43Now, any of you who want to write
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23:43 - 23:45something like this,
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23:45 - 23:47I have to let you know about what wonderful resources
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23:47 - 23:49these deaf archives are.
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23:49 - 23:51Many places around the country don't have these
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23:51 - 23:54kinds of resources available as well.
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23:54 - 23:56And also I know deaf people are quite surprised
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23:56 - 23:59that a hearing author has written this,
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23:59 - 24:01rather than a deaf author.
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24:01 - 24:04But, it brings to bear the point that we must all work together--
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24:04 - 24:06that our communities have to work together.
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24:06 - 24:09I thank you so much for getting this story out there
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24:09 - 24:12and accessible to our deaf children.
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24:12 - 24:16And also, I have to applaud Janice Cole and
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24:16 - 24:21her company's work to put these in ASL versions.
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24:21 - 24:25This is a story that will never be outdated. Never.
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24:25 - 24:28(Emily McCully)
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24:28 - 24:30Thank you very, very much.
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24:30 - 24:32Yes, I meant to say earlier
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24:32 - 24:35that history is absolutely vital for everyone.
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24:35 - 24:38If you don't have a context for your life in the present,
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24:38 - 24:42you really don't have anything to stand on.
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24:42 - 24:45Often, when I'm talking to school kids,
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24:45 - 24:47I quote Cicero, who said,
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24:47 - 24:52"To not know what happened before one was born
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24:52 - 24:55is to always be a child."
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24:55 - 24:58So you know, in order to grow up,
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24:58 - 25:00children have to know history.
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25:00 - 25:02Especially their own history.
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25:02 - 25:06So, yeah, there has to be more of it.
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25:06 - 25:07Thank you.
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25:07 - 25:09(Margie English)
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25:09 - 25:12I have one small question if I may?
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25:12 - 25:13(Emily McCully)
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25:13 - 25:15You're entitled.
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25:15 - 25:17(Margie English)
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25:17 - 25:21As a person who has published a number of works
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25:21 - 25:26and illustrations. With this text, "My Heart Glow,"
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25:26 - 25:30and that one has not been widely marketed
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25:30 - 25:33and you said the reviewers weren't sure
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25:33 - 25:37quite how to take the book and the use of syntax by a deaf person
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25:37 - 25:40in the expression of the deaf person's thinking process.
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25:40 - 25:43Now in terms of future publishers of deaf works
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25:43 - 25:45by deaf authors, what would you say
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25:45 - 25:48to those future publishers
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25:48 - 25:50and these future authors,
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25:50 - 25:53that they could do to improve this process
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25:53 - 25:55so that it's more readily accepted?
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25:55 - 25:57And educate those reviewers as well,
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25:57 - 26:00so that it would be more appropriately received?
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26:00 - 26:02(Emily McCully)
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26:02 - 26:06Well, I think my publisher should have
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26:06 - 26:09provided something, I think, for reviewers
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26:09 - 26:11but they did not.
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26:11 - 26:14I thought and I hoped that the author's note
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26:14 - 26:17would suffice, but apparently it didn't.
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26:17 - 26:21Now, I'm saying only one or two people did this,
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26:21 - 26:25but it was significant that they didn't understand.
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26:25 - 26:29So, yeah, there has to be support of the book.
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26:29 - 26:35In the storytelling process, I didn't want to interrupt the story
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26:35 - 26:39with editorial comments or, you know, references to facts
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26:39 - 26:42or anything like that.
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26:42 - 26:46I wanted the story to flow, as a story must.
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26:46 - 26:49So it was up to the publisher, I think,
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26:49 - 26:51to provide the support material
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26:51 - 26:54that reviewers needed.
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26:54 - 26:56You know, adult books are often published
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26:56 - 27:02with reader's guides, guides for book clubs and so on.
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27:02 - 27:05So that kind of thing
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27:05 - 27:08that goes along with the book
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27:08 - 27:09but doesn't have to be part of the story
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27:09 - 27:13would be very helpful.
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27:13 -Thank you Janice.
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Not Synced[end of segment 4. go to segment 5]
- Title:
- Libraries, Access and ASL Literature Part 4: Emily McCully "The Making of "My Heart Glow." The Deaf Community Shares it's not so silent stories
- Description:
-
In this segment, author Emily McCully talks about the writing of the first historical fiction book for children about deaf history, her book "My Heart Glow"
On Sunday, June 27, 2010, in conjunction with the American Library Association Annual Conference, which met in Washington, DC that weekend, the DC Public Library and the District of Columbia Association of the Deaf co-sponsored an afternoon seminar: "Libraries, Access, and ASL Literature: The Deaf Community Shares Our Not-So-Silent Stories." The goal of the seminar was to help librarians create libraries that support the deaf community's efforts to be understood as a cultural and linguistic minority, and to have resources on the shelves that would accurately reflect the deaf community's culture and language. - Video Language:
- English
- Duration:
- 27:18