SuperSisters UK made a great video about me

Thanks to SuperSisters, an UK organization that advocates on behalf of Black Muslims and BME (British Minority Ethnic) communities in London, for supporting my works as a Deaf South Asian Muslim artist. I am very grateful. Here is the video you can watch.

Deaf Playwriting: A New Art Form

HowlRound has asked me to participate in Deaf Theatre Week as part of April's Disability Awareness Month. I wrote an article called "Deaf Playwriting: A New Art Form." I suggest that we need to think of deaf playwriting (or deaf theatre) as a new art form, rather than as a "deaf version" of hearing-abled theatre. 

You can read my article here.

Support #DeafTalent #POCDeafTalent

Bollywood Vampires (2009-2011)

Starting in 2009, I started creating a series of "Bollywood Vampires" cards that showcased Indian women as vampires on the rampage against misogyny, patriarchy, and sexism. I was tired of our image being represented as passive and submissive, so I wanted to take images of traditional Indian women and change the context. Note: text will be posted after each image for those who cannot read the text.

Photos and text appear after the line break.

नमाज़ की उदासी (The Prayer of Sorrow)

Short film by Sabina England 

Performed, filmed, written and edited by Sabina England
Sound effects and music by various recording artists.

Of Winter's Beauty

Short film by Sabina England
Performed, filmed, and edited by Sabina England
Sound effects and music by various recording artists

Into the Woods, Love is Death

Short film by Sabina England

Performed, filmed, and edited by Sabina England
Sound effects and music by various recording artists

Poema 15 (Poema por Pablo Neruda)

Short film by Sabina England

Based on the poem, "Poema 15," written by Pablo Neruda
Performed, filmed, and edited by Sabina England
Voice-over by Yannett Ramirez
Music by various recording artists
(Subtitles in English and Spanish are available)

Allah Earth: Costa Rica (Islamic Sign Language Poetry)

Short film by Sabina England
Shot on location in La Fortuna, Costa Rica; Monteverde, Costa Rica; and Guanacaste, Costa Rica.
Performed, filmed, written, and edited by Sabina England
Music by Bryson Gerard (Lux Ascension)
Voice-over by Samuel Gonzalez
Sound effects by various recording artists
(Subtitles in English are available)

Deaf Brown Gurl (Deaf ASL Indian Poetry)

Short film by Sabina England

Based on the written poem "Deaf Brown Gurl"
Filmed on location in Patna, Bihar, India and St. Louis, USA
Performed, filmed, written, and edited by Sabina England
Voice-Over and Sound Design by Micropixie
Music by Om/Off
(Subtitles in English and Spanish are available)

Brillante

Photo by Alberto Hernandez

Brillante 
Written by Sabina England

Mis ojos
Mojados

Mi alma
Vacia

Black Braids

"Earth and Sky," painting by Angela Babby

Black Braids
Written by Sabina England

I want to run my fingers through your black braids,
unloosen your hair every night before we go to bed,
hold your hand all night while we sleep,

una pieza sobre indios

una pieza sobre indios (a piece about Indians)
Written by Sabina England

east indian
south indian
west indian
asian indian
american indian
dot indian
curry indian
brown indian

Apathetic City

Apathetic City
Written by Sabina England

Nothing interests me anymore

I am pathetically apathetic
I just wanna party and have fun
I see news of war and destruction on TV but I don’t care
I change the channel to watch the Jersey Shore.
Oh Miss Snooki, it’s a sure thing my eyes will be glazed to the TV screen.
Keep me drugged, keep me happy
Ignorance is Bliss, oh! I love it
I’m in Apathetic City,

Aphrodisiac

Aphrodisiac
Written by Sabina England

the pain
in your eyes
i wish i could dissolve it
like chocolate in one’s mouth
the sorrow in your heart
so heavy
like a steel torch

Deaf Brown Gurl

This poem was originally called D.E.A.F (Deep Enigmatic Audist Force) and then revised and re-named Deaf Brown Gurl. I have performed this poem at Pride STL (2013), The Haberdashery Revue (2013), Subcontinental Drift (2014), amongst a few other places. This poem also appears in The Deaf Experience (2014), an anthology of deaf poetry, essays and stories, curated and edited by Michelle Jay.

Deaf Brown Gurl 
written and performed by Sabina England

blackness
stillness
nothing
in the air
world quiet

Last Night, I Made Love to Allah

This poem is written on the first day of Ramadan, 1433 A.H

Last Night, I Made Love to Allah
Written by Sabina England

Last Night... 

 I made love to Allah

Knelt in Salat 

Desperate to be touched

I wept 

Calling out to Her

Kama Cama

Written by Sabina England

Deep in the woods
inside the shack
the wind outside
blows the door open
violently

el sol

bursts through,

Poem of a Lonely Soul

Poem of A Lonely $oul
Written by Sabina England

El hombre
seated in my heart
in the lotus position
holding jasmine flowers in his hands
whispering sweet Spanish nothings
into my deaf ears
delicately.