Today in our poetry news round-up, we take a look at the Google Doodle dedicated to the poet and activist who was the founder of British Sign Language.

Google Doodle Dedicated to Dorothy Miles

Earlier this week, Google dedicated its doodle to the poet Dorothy Miles. The doodle celebrated her work not only as a poet but also as an activist in the deaf community. Miles’ work laid the foundations for modern sign language in the UK and the US.

The doodle depicted the poet at work and was displayed on the Google homepage on 19^th August for a number of countries. August 19^th plays a significant role in the life of the Welsh poet who was born on that day in 1931.

The doodle was created by a deaf Korean American artist with whom the poetry of Miles “deeply resonated”. Youmee Lee said that she had discovered the work of Dorothy “Dot” Miles a while back and felt drawn by the link that the two shared: that of being an ambitious deaf in the arts with a love of telling stories. She created an animated film using American Sign Language poetry, which helped connect her further to a number of other poets who had also been inspired by Miles.

Born in Holywell, Flintshire, Miles wrote poems in both British Sign Language, American Sign Language and English. Her writing helped create the groundwork for contemporary Sign language in the US and the UK. She is recognised as the BSL poetry founder, and her work has been influential to many deaf poets.

Miles became deaf in 1939 as a result of cerebrospinal meningitis. When she was 25, she made a trip to the United States. She enrolled in Gallaudet College, taking up a place that was partly funded by the association for the deaf and hard of hearing. She had a brief marriage to a fellow student.

Following her graduation she stayed in the US and began a career teaching in New York City public schools. It was during this time that she realised just how many children in the education system were facing difficulties.

In 1964 she established the Children’s Book Council ensuring that books and a range of other resources were made available to children who were underprivileged. She joined the National Theatre of the Deaf in 1967 before returning to the UK where she played a prominent role in the deaf community.

In addition to her poetry, she was also responsible for establishing and teaching the British Sign Language tutor training course. This was the first course of its kind and helped train deaf individuals to become BSL tutors. She also achieved success as the author of a best selling book on BSL. However, despite her success, she was battling against manic depression (now referred to as bipolar disorder), and in 1993, she took her own life by jumping out of a second-floor window. She was 61 years of age.

Following her death, the Dorothy Miles Cultural Centre was founded in her honour by a group of friends.