Just beginning to learn about ASL storytelling myself, the ASL artist that piqued my interest was Clayton Valli. Signing Naturally by Ken Mikos, has a short bibliography on Valli including his beginnings in ASL, his life’s work, and contribution to the deaf community (276-277). Valli was born Deaf, and from a young age was fascinated by ASL poetry. His passion for poetic ASL was intensified as he attended from Austine School for the Deaf in Vermont, then attended University of Reno, Nevada to receive his Bachelor’s. After that, he achieved a Master’s in Linguistics from Gallaudet University and finally achieved a Ph.D in ASL Poetry from the Union Institute in Ohio in 1993. Valli studied poetic ASL, specifically, “He studied rhyme, rhythm, and
