Join us for an evening with writers John Cotter and Shanna Compton as they read from their recent works and engage in a dynamic conversation about language, perception, and shifting terrains of the senses. In dialogue with the 2025 NEA Big Read selection Deaf Republic by Ilya Kaminsky, Cotter and Compton will discuss their own work’s relation to sensory loss, adaptation, and poetic expression. Through readings, discussion, a collage slide show, and conversation with the audience, the writers will delve into how writing can give voice to altered perception and how language, music, and art are tools for navigating sensory change.

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Presented in partnership by SPACE and Mechanics’ Hall with the NEA Big Read of Deaf Republic, this event invites explorations of how we listen, perceive, and communicate.