Deaf Woof Barks

Time to play catch-up!
Deaf Woof Barks Whoa. Almost THREE months has gone by without my dropping a single line on here?!? Time to play catch-up! It's been a crazy, busy, and amazing summer so far. I've fallen in love with a wonderful guy, and he was sweet enough to alert me to our third-month anniversary recently. (I can imagine you going, "Awwww.") And I've just finished the fourth draft of a new nov...
Tue, Aug 16 2011

The Same Difference: Writers with Disabilities Reading
Deaf Woof Barks This reading features some of Minnesota's most accomplished writers with disabilities. Featured artists are John Lee Clark, Tara Arlene Innmon, Raymond Luczak, and Lynne Nerenberg. ASL and voice interpreting, open captioning, assistive listening devices, and Braille will be provided, as well as a Q & A and art show featuring members of People Incorporated’s Artability...
Mon, May 23 2011

Dear Mr. Mulvaney ...
Deaf Woof Barks Just wanted everyone to know about this letter that I wrote and appeared in my column "Off the Red Carpet" in the latest print edition of SIGNews. Please pass it on to everyone you know!Thanks.===Dear Mr. Mulvaney:For those who savor movies on DVD and Blu-Ray (BD), Criterion stands high above everyone else when it comes to giving movies deluxe treatments, right down ...
Tue, May 03 2011

Oh, no! I'm interviewed again!
Deaf Woof Barks Hi all ...Stephen Mills, who has been doing a series of interviews with LGBT poets, asked me to discuss all sorts of things, mostly related to poetry and which poet I'd love to sleep with. (Got your attention now? Good. Head over to this and enjoy!)When's my next appearance? I'll be doing a joint reading with three other writers, including John Lee Clark, at the L...
Mon, May 02 2011

My, my, my! I'll be on the road for ROAD WORK AHEAD ...
Deaf Woof Barks Hello all:Six weeks ago I'd announced the publication of my fourth poetry collection ROAD WORK AHEAD from Sibling Rivalry Press and released a subtitled trailer in which I'd talked about the book. Over on Deaf Echo, I also talked about the peculiar challenges of marketing a book that has nothing to do with my deafness and yet here I am, signing with my hands and not ...
Sun, Mar 20 2011

My poem "Orphans" and its ASL translation ....
Deaf Woof Barks Hello everyone!I've uploaded a video of yours truly performing my poem "Orphans" from my book MUTE. The YouTube link is right here, but you know what's even more awesome? I wrote a piece about how I'd come up with its ASL translation and edited its video for Deaf Echo. Please check it out!And if you haven't voted yet, PLEASE DO. You've probably heard this from oth...
Tue, Nov 02 2010

Whoa! MUTE has made it to #6!
Deaf Woof Barks Hello all:I'm a bit breathless with excitement. Amos Lassen, one of the most influential reviewers on Amazon and elsewhere, has chosen my book MUTE as #6 in his list of Top 11 Books of 2010.I feel so honored and flattered that out of the dozens of titles he's had to have reviewed this year, he'd remembered my book!Sorry but I *just* had to share!Raymond
Thu, Oct 21 2010

Gotta shout this out loud! MUTE is on YouTube ...
Deaf Woof Barks Hello:I've been very busy with a lot of projects these days, but at least I was able to finish one in particular: My book MUTE has a new trailer in which I talk about why I wrote it. :) You can check it out on YouTube. It's all subtitled in English for the signing-impaired, of course.Have lots of exciting news in store, but I will share it as soon as details are c...
Mon, Oct 18 2010

Two quick things before I vamoose!
Deaf Woof Barks Hello:Hope everyone's staying cool. I certainly am! :)Seriously, though, I do want to call your attention to the existence of two new poems in print ("Guesswork" and "Bessie Smith's Advice to a Young Lesbian") in OFF THE ROCKS 14. (The cover is below.) The new edition is not yet mentioned in their web site, but do check it out anyway.Just as importantly, I got a r...
Wed, Jun 30 2010

A long interview with yours truly at Lambda Literary!
Deaf Woof Barks Hi everyone!Hope y'all are staying cool and dry these summery days!Just wanted to drop a quick note about the interview I did about my experiences as a Deaf gay writer. Check it out!Thanks again.
Tue, Jun 01 2010

Itsy-Bitsy Spider's Got Some Itsy-Bitsy News (and Reviews)...
Deaf Woof Barks Hello ...While I continue to await word on my second novel and work on my third novel, I did want to toss out a few shout-outs:- Verse Daily. My poem "The Elegist," which comes from my book Mute, was chosen as today's poem. It's a huge honor because so many publishers have tried to get them to choose one poem a day. Needless to say, I'm very tickled pink!- Wilde Oa...
Wed, May 12 2010

Miami, here I come!
Deaf Woof Barks Hello:As I'm in the final throes of last-minute packing for my week-long sojourn in Miami and Fort Lauderdale, it just occurred to me that in this blog, I haven't mentioned a lovely media moment earlier this week: Time Out New York. For years, when I lived in New York, it was one of my favorite magazines because it had tons of listings, interviews, features, and wha...
Sat, Apr 03 2010

A few tidbits ... MEN WITH THEIR HANDS ...
Deaf Woof Barks Hello ...These past few weeks have been a whirlwind (play rewrites, rehearsals, two presentations in Columbus, Ohio, performances of three of my plays, etc. to give you a rough idea), but I just had to share a lovely review of my novel MEN WITH THEIR HANDS from the web site OUT IN PRINT. Please check it out!I'll be in Fort Lauderdale on Saturday April 10th (11:30 am ...
Thu, Mar 25 2010

What? An interview with moi as a Deaf poet?
Deaf Woof Barks Hello ...This is an excerpt from a long interview I've done with Wordgathering, a fantastic online journal focusing on disability and literature. (I hope I haven't babbled too much!)Wordgathering: Raymond, you are such a Renaissance person – a poet, playwright, translator, film maker, novelist and essayist – that it is hard to know exactly just where to begin, but o...
Mon, Mar 15 2010

I shouldn't shout ... but MUTE is coming out!
Deaf Woof Barks Hello, everyone!While I've been busy rewriting my new play The Darkest Room in the House for Bridge Productions these days for its performance in March 2010, I got word that my newest book of poems, Mute, will be shipping within two weeks. (OMG.)Here's what A Midsummer Night's Press had to say about my book:"Do not be afraid of your face.Move into a beam of lightin t...
Mon, Feb 08 2010

Hey, I'm back!
Deaf Woof Barks The first month of 2010 is almost over, and I still feel like I've been on a whirlwind between a number of projects that will see fruition later this year. (I'll share more details in due time when they're ready.)For now, I've uploaded a brand-new clip promoting my novel MEN WITH THEIR HANDS which I'd taped on January 10th, and yes, I've also included a new PDF sampl...
Thu, Jan 28 2010

Tidbits and some WHISPERS OF A SAVAGE SORT ...
Deaf Woof Barks Hello:When I first learned that the LGBT bookstore Lambda Rising, my "home away from home" when I lived in DC during the 1980s and always merited a visit each time I visited DC ever since, was closing, I actually cried. That place had truly meant so much to me, providing "voices" I wouldn't have "heard" otherwise in all their books I'd consumed so hungrily as a young...
Thu, Dec 17 2009

On ordering MEN WITH THEIR HANDS on Amazon ...
Deaf Woof Barks Hey ...A few of you have asked me about why it seems so hard to find my new deaf gay novel on Amazon.Simply put, Suspect Thoughts Press had planned to publish it, and that listing hasn't been removed from Amazon's database. (No hard feelings between Suspect Thoughts Press and me; they just didn't have the money to publish it, which was why I went with a new publisher...
Fri, Dec 04 2009

My first novel MEN WITH THEIR HANDS ... is coming out.
Deaf Woof Barks The book is coming out ... NEXT week! Okay, okay--what's it about? I'll quote my publisher on this one:Sometimes your own family isn't enough."Growing up different is never easy, but Michael, a deaf young man from a small town, knows that he must find his true family beyond his biological one. He struggles and fails to find others of his kind until he attends colleg...
Wed, Nov 25 2009

Quick newsflash: I NEVER SLEPT WITH HELEN KELLER postponed!
Deaf Woof Barks Hello:Deaf Blender Theatre has decided to postpone its production of my play I NEVER SLEPT WITH HELEN KELLER to the spring of 2010. We want to make our show even better! Go to deafblender.org for information about your tickets (if you'd ordered them already).Once the spring dates are confirmed, I'll let everyone know! We're still excited about the show. Thanks for...
Thu, Oct 29 2009

ASL-interpreted readings at the Twin Cities Book Festival!
Deaf Woof Barks Hey there ...For those of you who love the printed word and who happen to live near the Twin Cities (that's Minneapolis and St. Paul to those who haven't heard that before), the Twin Cities Book Festival is providing ASL interpreters this Saturday for readings by four major writers: the novelist Nicholson Baker (I've been reading him for years), the short story write...
Thu, Oct 08 2009

And another clip about my new book WHISPERS OF A SAVAGE...
Deaf Woof Barks This is the other clip I'd completed earlier today. In it, I talk about the four full-length plays in my collection WHISPERS OF A SAVAGE SORT AND OTHER PLAYS ABOUT THE DEAF AMERICAN EXPERIENCE, which Gallaudet University Press brought out recently. The clip is silent but subtitled in English for those who don't know American Sign Language (ASL). Enjoy!
Mon, Sep 21 2009

A new clip about being a Deaf playwright ...
Deaf Woof Barks Today I finally completed two short clips to celebrate the publication of my new collection WHISPERS OF A SAVAGE SORT AND OTHER PLAYS ABOUT THE DEAF AMERICAN EXPERIENCE (Gallaudet University Press). The first one below is about how I got into Deaf theater. (It's silent but subtitled in English in case you don't know American Sign Language.)
Mon, Sep 21 2009

Oh, gee! A *lovely* rave for my new play THAT CHAIR WAS MY...
Deaf Woof Barks Now that my new show's opened, I was starting to feel in a bit of a slump ... until I read this amazing review. (Suddenly: WOW!) Please check out what he has to say RIGHT HERE, so if you're close to the Twin Cities (as in Minneapolis or St. Paul), please come see the show! There are only FOUR performances left.Wanna order your tickets? Go to the Fringe Festival's ...
Sat, Aug 01 2009

Hey! I got a new column!
Deaf Woof Barks Before I forget again, please check out my new Thursday column "Which Reminds Me" over at CLERC SCAR. What am I writing about every Thursday? As my editor says, "Readers are invited to suggest a thing, person, place, event, or concept for Raymond Luczak to write about. You can suggest anything up to three words and send it to editor@clercscar.com and Raymond will pi...
Tue, Jul 21 2009

What?!? A new video for THAT CHAIR WAS MY WIFE?
Deaf Woof Barks Yep. Check it all out, and please come see our show!Where can you get tickets? Easily, at the Fringe Festival's web site! Remember, there are only FIVE performances so grab your seats now! Of course, for more information, check out Deaf Blender Theatre's web site too! Hope to see y'all there. Toodles!
Tue, Jul 21 2009

Happy Birthday, Rocky!
Deaf Woof Barks Hello all:While Rocky tries his best to act like an old man at the tender age of three today, I was told that he's made his first appearance on YouTube! At this link, look for him at the 5:47 mark and after. The clip is a long montage of different things and people who made this year's Chicago Pride Fest such a blast! (Yes, I was wearing a T-shirt that said: INTEL...
Tue, Jul 07 2009

There's a big piece on moi in PHILADELPHIA GAY NEWS!
Deaf Woof Barks Hello gang:*gulps*Please click on this link PHILADELPHIA GAY NEWS, and scroll down a little bit to the right column where there's a "print edition" that's viewable online. Go to page 19 and go from there! OMG. This is the biggest write-up on yours truly in years!I talk about Deaf LGBT issues, cochlear implants, and the nature of ASL among other things. ;-)Toodles!...
Sat, Apr 18 2009

OMG! My hearing service dog's lost a lot of weight!
Deaf Woof Barks Today I took Rocky to his groomer's for the first time in many months, simply because I had wanted him to keep his coat thick and warm for winter. Well, spring's indeed arrived, so it was time for him to shed his woolly mammoth look. The transformation was so shocking that when I emailed this picture of him to one of my friends, he said: "I don't recognize that dog....
Tue, Apr 14 2009

Are you subtitled? I sure am.
Deaf Woof Barks Hello:In my previous blog entry, I apologized for the lack of subtitles for the clip that Signcasts.com had done with me. I decided to rectify that situation. Enjoy!Thanks for your patience.Raymond
Tue, Apr 14 2009

Who said that Deaf people aren't newsy? I sure am!
Deaf Woof Barks Hello gang!I've been far too busy lately, but I wanted to give y'all a quick summary of what mischief I've been up to lately.DEAF BLENDER THEATREMy show UN: 2 SHORT PLAYS ABOUT LOVE was a huge success. Signcasts has uploaded two videos of the director Evonne Bilotta-Burke and me talking about Deaf Blender Theatre. Both videos are unfortunately not subtitled, but if ...
Sun, Apr 12 2009

OMG! I've got a new video clip about my new book!
Deaf Woof Barks As promised, here's my new clip about my new book Assembly Required: Notes from a Deaf Gay Life! Please enjoy. Thanks!
Tue, Feb 24 2009

No one gives you a manual on how to be a Deaf gay man.
Deaf Woof Barks Yes, my dear friends, my eighth book Assembly Required: Notes from a Deaf Gay Life is coming out in a few days! I've waited almost twenty years for this book to see the light of day, so I'm very, very happy that it'll be in my hands by early next week.RID Press will start promoting this book next week and on, so you can say you "heard" it here first! ;-) Heck, if y...
Tue, Feb 24 2009

UN-notes on UN: 2 SHORT PLAYS ABOUT LOVE
Deaf Woof Barks As is the case with my life at times, a lot can happen all at once. Happily, it's all good. (More on that soon in my next blog entry.)For now, you should be aware that tickets are going fast in the last week's run of UN: 2 SHORT PLAYS ABOUT LOVE, and so far everyone have told me how much they love the plays and how excited they are to see Deaf theater return to the ...
Tue, Feb 24 2009

UN: 2 SHORT PLAYS ABOUT LOVE
Deaf Woof Barks My, my! A new year's already here. (I'm just so glad that 2008 is over!)Right now I don't have much exciting news lately (other than the fact that I'm still slaving away on the first draft of my new little magnum opus, which has entered six figures in terms of its word count) and that I have quite a few irons in the fire, but I did want to announce that UN: 2 SHORT ...
Tue, Jan 13 2009

Rocky Off-Duty: 22 June 2008
Deaf Woof Barks It's been a while since I've blogged here, but the good news is that I've signed an agreement with Gallaudet University Press to publish a collection of my full-length plays Playing It by Eye: Stage Plays about the Deaf American Experience, which is slated to appear in the fall of 2009. (That should be my tenth book; I'll talk more about it once its cover is ready fo...
Sun, Jun 22 2008

When it rains, it truly POURS .... ah, spring!
Deaf Woof Barks You know how life sometimes operates? When it rains, it truly POURS?That's what the past six months have felt like. I'm only finally beginning to feel that the sun is finally shining here in my new apartment off Hennepin Avenue. To recap these past six months of my life:Eyes of Desire 2: A Deaf GLBT Reader. The anthology has gotten some really nice reviews lately....
Mon, Apr 07 2008

Fingerspelling in the Operating Room (and other stuff)
Deaf Woof Barks I know it's been a while since I've blogged in here, but a lot's happened earlier this month. I didn't want to worry anyone about my laparoscopic gallbladder removal surgery until I was more or less recovered. Lou took this picture of me moments after I'd woken up from my surgery. I was spaced out, naturally, but what really touched me was the fact that the hospita...
Thu, Nov 29 2007

My new book is in . . . my hands!
Deaf Woof Barks Hello everyone--Very few people have seen this blog but I did want to let out a tiny peep of joy that my seventh book, EYES OF DESIRE 2: A DEAF GLBT READER, is finally out. I'm just shocked by how good it really looks. I guess I had low expectations or something, but wow! I'm just very happy about the fact that my three-year journey is actually over.You would think...
Thu, Oct 18 2007

The launch party for EYES OF DESIRE 2 . . . announced!
Deaf Woof Barks For those of you who haven't "heard" already, the very first book launch party for my newest book has been announced. If you're local to the Twin Cities, please come on over to Blue Moon Coffee Cafe (3822 East Lake Street, Minneapolis 55406) on Friday, November 2nd from 7 to 9 p.m. If you want to look at just who the eleven Minnesotans are in the book, please look n...
Thu, Oct 18 2007