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http://www.toledofreepress.com/2008/10/03/nw-ohio-native-to-speak-on-deaf-hearing-boy/
Dr. Robert H. Miller, professor emeritus of English at the University of Louisville, will present “Deaf Hearing Boy: A Life in Northwest Ohio,” a talk about growing up as the hearing child of two deaf parents, at 3 p.m. Oct. 8 in the Ward M. Canaday Center for Special Collections in UT’s William S. Carlson Library on Main Campus.
Miller, who grew up in Toledo and Defiance, also will sign copies of his book, “Deaf Hearing Boy: A Memoir,” published in 2004 by Gallaudet University Press. Copies will be available for sale following his talk.
The book concerns Miller’s childhood with his parents as they struggled to raise their family. Richard and Elizabeth Miller married young and against their parents’ wishes. Both sets of parents had little confidence in the couple’s ability to live independently. To escape their family farm in Defiance, Miller’s parents moved to Toledo in the 1940s in order to find work and to be connected to the deaf community. They found particular companionship in the city’s Silent Club, a social club for deaf Toledoans located on Adams Street downtown. The club still exists, known today as the Deaf Club.
During the summers, Miller would go to live with his hearing grandparents on their farm in Defiance. His book describes his feelings of being caught between the two worlds of his parents and his grandparents. Miller’s grandparents often spoke in demeaning terms about Miller’s parents, and his grandparents relied on Miller to be the conduit for communicating with their deaf children.
The worst time for Miller was when his parents divorced, although they remained separated only briefly. They were eventually forced to move back to the family farm in Defiance as work was scarce in Toledo. As Miller got older, he was forced to cope with the awkward situation of informing his friends about his parents’ deafness, and the discrimination by some in the small town against his parents. Miller’s difficulties led him to work harder than most, and he eventually became class president in high school and went on to college and graduate school.
He received BA and MA degrees in English from Bowling Green State University, and his PhD from Ohio State University. Miller served on the faculty of the Department of English at the University of Louisville from 1968 to 2004, including serving as chair of the department. He retired in 2004. He is the author of five books, two of them on the author Graham Greene, and more than 20 articles, and has had numerous works of poetry published.
Miller’s free, public talk is part of the programming associated with the Canaday Center’s exhibit, “From Institutions to Independence: A History of People With Disabilities in Northwest Ohio,” which is on display through Feb. 27.
For more information on the talk or the exhibit, contact the Canaday Center at (419) 530-4480.
Dr. Robert H. Miller, professor emeritus of English at the University of Louisville, will present “Deaf Hearing Boy: A Life in Northwest Ohio,” a talk about growing up as the hearing child of two deaf parents, at 3 p.m. Oct. 8 in the Ward M. Canaday Center for Special Collections in UT’s William S. Carlson Library on Main Campus.
Miller, who grew up in Toledo and Defiance, also will sign copies of his book, “Deaf Hearing Boy: A Memoir,” published in 2004 by Gallaudet University Press. Copies will be available for sale following his talk.
The book concerns Miller’s childhood with his parents as they struggled to raise their family. Richard and Elizabeth Miller married young and against their parents’ wishes. Both sets of parents had little confidence in the couple’s ability to live independently. To escape their family farm in Defiance, Miller’s parents moved to Toledo in the 1940s in order to find work and to be connected to the deaf community. They found particular companionship in the city’s Silent Club, a social club for deaf Toledoans located on Adams Street downtown. The club still exists, known today as the Deaf Club.
During the summers, Miller would go to live with his hearing grandparents on their farm in Defiance. His book describes his feelings of being caught between the two worlds of his parents and his grandparents. Miller’s grandparents often spoke in demeaning terms about Miller’s parents, and his grandparents relied on Miller to be the conduit for communicating with their deaf children.
The worst time for Miller was when his parents divorced, although they remained separated only briefly. They were eventually forced to move back to the family farm in Defiance as work was scarce in Toledo. As Miller got older, he was forced to cope with the awkward situation of informing his friends about his parents’ deafness, and the discrimination by some in the small town against his parents. Miller’s difficulties led him to work harder than most, and he eventually became class president in high school and went on to college and graduate school.
He received BA and MA degrees in English from Bowling Green State University, and his PhD from Ohio State University. Miller served on the faculty of the Department of English at the University of Louisville from 1968 to 2004, including serving as chair of the department. He retired in 2004. He is the author of five books, two of them on the author Graham Greene, and more than 20 articles, and has had numerous works of poetry published.
Miller’s free, public talk is part of the programming associated with the Canaday Center’s exhibit, “From Institutions to Independence: A History of People With Disabilities in Northwest Ohio,” which is on display through Feb. 27.
For more information on the talk or the exhibit, contact the Canaday Center at (419) 530-4480.
