A Poetry Anthology in Brazilian Sign Language (LIBRAS)

Fernanda de Araújo Machado is a renowned Deaf poet who composes her work in Brazilian Sign Language (abbreviated LIBRAS). She is currently a PhD student and Instructor in the department of Translation Studies at the Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC). Her work has focused on compiling an anthology of LIBRAS poetry and associated research about the structure of literary form in LIBRAS. Since 2014 with funding from the Ministry of Culture she has coordinated the Festival Folclore Surdo (the Festival of Deaf Folklore).

This lecture will describe an anthology of Brazilian Sign Language (LIBRAS) poetry. It will provide a rationale for why certain poems were selected and others excluded, as well as detailed information about the poems—such as author, production context, and whether or not they were published previously. Some poems had a title while others did not have one, thus creating a challenge within this latter group. The lecture will also define some characteristics of the poetic form of the works included in the anthology.

The lecture will be presented in International Sign and interpreted into ASL and Spoken English.