“We consider ourselves an alternative culture. It’s like being Spanish in an English society: there’s just a language barrier,” Peter Cook told the Chicago Tribune. Cook is, to say the least, a deaf artist, poet and actor who attempts to challenge the language barrier by creating performances that not only deaf people can understand, but also allow hearing people to interact. Through these shows, he tells stories of miscommunication and the obstacles he has had to overcome since becoming deaf. I wonder what his real inspiration was for becoming a poet and performer, whether it was a person or his own personal experiences throughout his life. Peter Cook was born with the ability to hear, but contracted deafening spinal meningitis at the age of three. him for the rest of his life. Although he was born in West Virginia, his family moved often, but he attended a Pennsylvania school for the deaf until the ninth grade. Then he attended a prep school where there were hearing students, so he was forced to sit in front to try to understand what his teachers were teaching. He began writing poetry at a young age to communicate his inner thoughts. When Cook was nineteen, he was exposed to American Sign Language (ASL), which allowed him to express his thoughts more creatively. When he watched others sign poems, they left him a blank page, without ever forcing him to imagine what they were transmitting. The poetry was always signed literally, which Cook didn't like, so he took workshops that helped him get in touch with his more creative side. He learned to articulate his ASL with repetitive hand shapes similar to their actual shape. After college, he founded a non-profit organization called Flying Project. This... middle of paper ... deaf or hard of hearing people can use it, becoming a true source of inspiration for those who thought it was not possible. Works Cited “Department of ASL – English Interpretation. »Peter S. Cook. Np, and Web. March 7, 2014. Rago, C. (November 4, 1994). PETER COOK’S “YOUR EYES, MY HANDS” PUTS DEAFNESS INTO INTENT. Chicago Tribune (full text pre-1997). Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/283834665?accountid=26459Sid Smith, T., art critic. (1994, October 30). PETER COOK, STRICTLY NON-SPEAKING INTERPRETER, SEEKS TO COMMUNICATE BEYOND WORDS. Chicago Tribune (full text pre-1997). Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/283742574?accountid=26459 "TALESOFGRAZ 2006 - Artists." :: TALESOFGRAZ 2006 - Artists ::. Np, and Web. March 7. 2014. .