THE BUTTERFLY CAGE: an interview with Rachel Zemach

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: We're just a few days from September, Deaf Awareness month, and we have a wonderful guest to kick it off for us. Diana Todd, a/k/a Bibliophile, is a long-time commentor here who is also part of the Deaf community. She offered to interview Rachel Zemach about her critically-acclaimed memoir, THE BUTTERFLY CAGE.

Diana and Rachel are also giving one lucky commentor the chance to win a signed copy of THE BUTTERFLY CAGE. Thank you, Diana!

 

DIANA TODD: So excited to introduce Rachel Zemach here on Jungle Red Writers blog.  Rachel was living in England with her sisters and parents, themselves authors and illustrators of children's books, when she suddenly lost her hearing at the age of 10.  She learned Sign Language at school in America after her family moved back to the States. She has written a memoir, THE BUTTERFLY CAGE, about her experiences as a Deaf teacher in a Deaf classroom at a public school.  

Welcome, Rachel!

Your poignant memoir, The Butterfly Cage is about your experiences teaching Deaf children at a public school and at a residential school where all of the students are Deaf.

How did you come up with the title "The Butterfly Cage"?

 

Rachel:  I was looking for a title, and I had just written two chapters:  one titled "Blood" and one (that I later deleted), that had a description of a time in my classroom when we had some butterflies hatch from caterpillars then released them. To our surprise, when they first came out of their cocoons, we saw spots of blood.  We thought they were hurt, but it was a natural part of their growth process.

The title "Butterflies and Blood" suddenly hit me and I was excited.  The beauty and tragedy combination reminded me of my experiences in Deaf Education.  Though there were mixed reactions to the title.  While some loved the title, others hated it and I eventually changed it to "The Butterfly Cage".  The metamorphosis the butterflies go through is like my students learning American Sign Language. The "cage" is the mainstream school.  The title fits better and sounds less like a horror flick.

 

What kind of challenges, besides the lack of American Sign Language interpreters, did you face since publishing your memoir?

 

Rachel:  Oh my goodness. The hard part is hiring a publicist or a book marketer who knows about book marketing AND who knows the world of the Deaf community. (It’s icons, values, major institutions, and resources).  I have not been able to find that, so either I work with hearing people, who have no knowledge of Deaf Culture, or Deaf people who have limited experience with marketing.  For me hearing publicist, fighting for me, and for my friends in the Deaf community to have access, including when I am on the radio, is a new experience.   It is a steep learning curve for outsiders.  

Another tricky issue is deciding whether or not to use my voice.  I do not want to alienate Deaf people but I do not want to rely on an interpreter to voice for me either. The ability to speak is a privilege for sure, but the decision of whether to do that does not come lightly at all.  I myself had the gut punch experience of seeing someone I’d always signing, suddenly speaking with their mouth.  It is a disconcerting and alienating feeling.  

 

A recurring theme in your memoir is about ableism.  Can you tell us a bit about that?  

 

Rachel: I loved that quote "I read books, not lips" by Brendan Stern, that you shared with me.  

 First, there is the unconscious assumption that speech, hearing devices, and being mainstreamed in hearing classes makes the person smarter and better somehow than if they sign and are in a Deaf class, or proudly Deaf-identified.  

Second, that same assumption is applied to Deaf staff members.

Third, is the lack of accountability the Administration and staff have with evaluating problems.   The assumption is always that being Deaf, or knowing ASL is the problem.  When in reality, the root causes are language deprivation due to families not being encouraged and required to learn ASL early on in their child's infancy. Also, poor quality of education, and the dearth of Deaf teachers in public, mainstream schools, which 85% of our students attend.

 

Speaking of families, I read about a couple who found out their baby was Deaf before it was born.  The hearing couple decided to learn ASL before the child was born, and they also made friends with other Deaf people.

 Rachel: WOW, that’s fantastic!

 

As a Deaf Author, what have you learned since you published your memoir in April 2023?  

 

Rachel: I have learned that marketing is a full time job!  It is totally worth it, just like all of the work writing the book was.  Also, do not write a book with the expectations of making money.  There are other rewards, including stunningly passionate and powerful letters from readers telling me how my book impacted them.  One feels more connected to the human race, in very positive ways.  

As a Deaf Author, I learned that the Deaf community are absolute champs about spreading the word about my book.  Even though I wrote the book for hearing people, I held firm to my principles.  When hearing editors wanted to remove the Deaf POV, I refused to do that.  It's always been clear to me that if my book did not earn the respect of the Deaf people— whom I respect—then I would not have done my job. I treasure their opinions.

 

You are organizing a dinner party.  Which writers, dead or alive, would you invite?

 

Rachel: Wow.  Tears sprang to my eyes at this question.  All of your questions are great.  My answer is not hard.  Paddy Ladd, Mary Karr, Mark Drolsbaugh, Ayelet Waldman, Sara Novic, Michael Chabon, Joyce Maynard, Jason Rezaian, Raymond Carver and Anne Lamott. And there are many more! I would also invite an ASL interpreter (or two).  I would also like to invite all of my brilliant Deaf and Deaf-adjacent friends who want to, or have started, writing their own books.  I want everyone to write books now, especially those who can help get the word out about the Deaf experience; to help hearing people understand what it is and what it is not.  

One word of warning about this dinner though:  I am not much of a cook.

 

THE BUTTERFLY CAGE

Joy, heartache, and corruption: Teaching while Deaf in a California public school

This book is tender, funny, surprising, and disruptive. You'll be a fly on the wall in a Deaf classroom in a public school, watching a Deaf teacher struggle with staff, administration, and aides who sabotage the teachers at every turn. You’ll also see the children struggle with a principal who removes their textbooks, a vindictive, power-hungry speech therapist, and a system that leaves them defenseless against it.

You'll also meet a language-hungry boy who will capture your heart and run away with it and the political, fiercely intelligent elite members of the Deaf community who rally to change legislation after his life takes a shocking turn. Learn from these true stories of individual students and their quirky, fallible teacher, what the deepest feelings and dilemmas of Deaf and hard of hearing people are, and why 90% of our students around the country are being unnecessarily set up for failure.

Rachel Zemach was hearing for half of her childhood, until an accident left her Deaf at age ten.  But it was not until later, over a ten year period when she taught Deaf classes at a hearing public school, that she began to identify as Deaf with a capital D.  Rachel Zemach's parents were also authors and illustrators of children's books. 

 

You can find Rachel's memoir, The Butterfly Cage here. You can find out more about Rachel at her website, you can friend her on Facebook, follow her on Twitter as @rachel_zemach and enjoy her Instagram posts at @mezemach.