The Quiet Ear: Raymond Antrobus in conversation with Joe Dunthorne

This event will feature a BSL interpretor for the audience.

Raymond Antrobus was first diagnosed as deaf at the age of six. He discovered he had missing sounds – bird calls, whistles, kettles, alarms. Teachers thought he was slow and disruptive, some didn’t believe he was deaf at all.

THE QUIET EAR tells the story of Raymond’s upbringing at the intersection of race and disability. Growing up in East London to an English mother and Jamaican father, educated in both mainstream and deaf schooling systems, Raymond explores the shame of miscommunication and the joy of finding community, and shines a light on the decline of deaf education in Britain.

Throughout, Raymond sets his story alongside those of other D/deaf cultural figures, from painters to silent film stars, poets to performers – the inspiring models of D/deaf creativity he did not have growing up.

THE QUIET EAR is a groundbreaking and much-needed examination of deafness. A memoir, a cultural history, a call to action.

Raymond Antrobus is the author of four poetry titles: To Sweeten Bitter (Out-Spoken Press), The Perseverance (Penned in the Margins), All The Names Given and Signs, Music (Picador). Raymond's poems have been added to GCSE syllabi, and his work has won the Ted Hughes Award, the Somerset Maugham Award and the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year Award. In 2019 he became the first ever poet to be awarded the Rathbone Folio Prize for best work of literature in any genre. He is also the author of a children's book, Can Bears Ski? (Walkers Books), which became the first story to be broadcast on the BBC entirely in British Sign Language. Raymond was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 2020 and appointed an MBE in 2021.

Joe Dunthorne is a poet and novelist. His debut novel, Submarine, was translated into fifteen languages and made into an award-winning film. His second novel, Wild Abandon, won the Royal Society of Literature’s Encore Award. His debut poetry collection, O Positive, was published by Faber & Faber in 2019. His latest book, Children of Radium – a memoir about family and chemical weapons – was published in April 2025. He was born in Swansea and lives in London.

Tickets

To ensure there is space for you at the event, we strongly recommend booking tickets in advance via Eventbrite. All ticket types offer general admission and unreserved seating.

Solidarity: Paying a little extra helps to fund our concessionary tickets (£8+)

Standard: Our standard ticket rate (£6)

Concession: For those on a low income (£4)

Accessibility

The Old School Rooms are located on the first floor of Clapton Park United Reformed Church. The room is accessible via steps from the street, with an alternate entrance via lift. Seating will be provided for all attendees.

The speakers will use microphones and a small PA system, and the event audio will be recorded and made available as a podcast.

While we await comprehensive venue accessibility information, please contact us with any specific questions or requests and we'll be very happy to help.