In this classic bestseller, first published in 2000, Cynthia Peters uses the archetypal concept of the carnival as a framework to interpret the evolution of ASL literature. The Deaf literary canon, much like the carnival itself, represents the "counterculture of the dominated," and Peters shows how Deaf artists and ASL performers have used and continue to use their art as a means to traverse the barriers between disenfranchisement and privilege. Crossing these boundaries is not only a means of self-empowerment for the Deaf community, but a singular vehicle for raising the profile of ASL as its own distinct art form. Deaf American Literature: From Carnival to the Canon was and will continue to be a seminal text in the emerging discipline of ASL literary criticism.