It is hard for hearing people to imagine what it must be like to be born-deaf. Many of us take speaking, reading and writing for granted. But actually all three are dependent upon good hearing. Reading is not based on sight alone - it is based on sounds. When hearing people learn to read, they "sound-out" the letters in each word, plus they are learning to read a language they already know how to speak.

For born-deaf people to function in a hearing world, they must learn to read and write words - words they have never heard. Profoundly deaf people cannot "sound-out" words. They must learn to read from rote-memory, without sounds to help them. The SignWriting Literacy Project develops specially-designed materials teaching literacy to the born-deaf.

D.N. SUTTON donates all proceeds from her poetry books to help the born-deaf to learn to read and write. In fact one of her poems, One Harbor, has been translated into American Sign Language by Deaf artist Kevin Clark.

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