Donna Williams is a deaf poet who uses English and British Sign Language. Working with such different languages has inspired a deep interest in translation and how her work can be made accessible to hearing and deaf audiences. She has performed at festivals around the UK including the Edinburgh Fringe, as well as in America and Brazil. Most recently, she has performed at the Albert Hall with BBC Orchestra of Wales, having composed poems in response to their pieces of music and at The Barbican as part of Jess Thom’s “Touretteshero Barbican Takeover”. Several of her poems have been published, most recently in Stairs and Whispers, an anthology of poems by deaf and disabled poets, and in Magma issue 69, released winter 2017. Her poems cover many themes, from bilingualism to identity, to her beloved cats.
Poem in BSL and English by Donna Williams
Performed by Donna Williams
A film by Sandra Alland and Ania Urbanowska