Mute

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.

From "How to Fall for a Deaf Man"

Silence is always a powerful statement, but even more so in the hands of Raymond Luczak, who demonstrates in his third collection what it's like to navigate between the warring languages of confusion and clarity.

As a deaf gay man in the hearing world, he lends an unforgettable voice to his reality of ache and loss beyond the inadequate translation of sound.