The Raab Writing Fellows Journal

Pure silence is not simply the absence of sound. It is the piercing memory of it, a raging void that howls with mimicries. Even when I cannot hear, my world is never fully quiet. “In the Absence of Sound” is a collection of creative short stories, poems, vignettes, and images centered around my experiences as a deaf individual with cochlear implants. My hearing is dependent on technology, but not even the most cutting-edge scientific advances can replace natural sound. I have lived my life not quite hearing the entire conversation, relying on lipreading and other aids to compensate where my hearing falls short. Through this project, I explored and reflected on the struggle of being surrounded by conversation, while comprehension is just out of reach. It can be lonely to be caught between the hearing and deaf worlds, even as they cut and bleed into one another. But the hard-of-hearing community is vast, and more often I find myself encountering others with similar experiences. With the support and understanding of my friends and family, I appreciate my hearing more every day. Sounds that were once artificial and tinny are now beautiful melodies. I hope this project is a glimpse into the deaf experience.