Do not be afraid of your face.
Move into a beam of light
in the bar. Smile openly.
Watch his hands move
quicker than strobe lights
as he surveys the crowd with his friends.
Do not think of how hard
it might be to have a casual
conversation.
When he comes across the floor,
do not ask his name with
exaggerated lip movements.
A simple “How are you” will do …
— “How to Fall for a Deaf Man, 2025”
Silence is always a powerful statement, but even more so in this third poetry collection by Raymond Luczak, now expanded with an introduction and thirteen new poems that include elegies for his Deaf gay friends. First published in 2010, Mute explored what it was like to navigate the warring languages of confusion and clarity.
As a Deaf gay man in the hearing world, Luczak lends an unforgettable voice to his reality of ache and loss beyond the inadequate translation of sound.
“Hearing Your Voice for the First Time”
“Instructions to Hearing Persons Desiring a Deaf Man”
“Orphans”
MUTE trailer
