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The Quiet Ear: An Investigation of Missing Sound
Raymond Antrobus uses life writing, criticism, biography, and a poet's sense of images that bind and unbind argument, to create a groundbreaking and daring examination of deafness.
Raymond Antrobus was first diagnosed as deaf at age seven. He discovered he had missing sounds: bird calls, whistles, kettles, alarms. His teachers thought he was slow and disruptive. Some friends didn't believe he was deaf.
Moving from London to Jamaica and the United States, The Quiet Ear tells the story of Raymond's upbringing by an English mother and Jamaican father, his first experience using hearing aids, his troubled adolescence navigating his deaf identity, and the parallel mainstream and deaf education systems. It also explores how masculinity and race complicate the shame of miscommunication, his formative introduction to literature as a way to connect with the world, and how the deaf body is 'performed'.
Throughout, Raymond sets his remarkable story alongside those of D/deaf cultural figures, historic and contemporary, the famous and under-recognised—the models of D/deaf creativity he did not have growing up.
Raymond Antrobus was first diagnosed as deaf at age seven. He discovered he had missing sounds: bird calls, whistles, kettles, alarms. His teachers thought he was slow and disruptive. Some friends didn't believe he was deaf.
Moving from London to Jamaica and the United States, The Quiet Ear tells the story of Raymond's upbringing by an English mother and Jamaican father, his first experience using hearing aids, his troubled adolescence navigating his deaf identity, and the parallel mainstream and deaf education systems. It also explores how masculinity and race complicate the shame of miscommunication, his formative introduction to literature as a way to connect with the world, and how the deaf body is 'performed'.
Throughout, Raymond sets his remarkable story alongside those of D/deaf cultural figures, historic and contemporary, the famous and under-recognised—the models of D/deaf creativity he did not have growing up.
224 pages, Hardcover
Published August 28, 2025
41 people are currently reading
3878 people want to read
About the author
Raymond Antrobus
17 books122 followersRaymond Antrobus is a deaf poet and teacher. He has won the Ted Hughes Award and became the first poet to be awarded the Rathbones Folio Prize. About Can Bears Ski?, his first picture book, he says, "It's the book I could see myself reaching for as a child, and I can't wait to have it exist in the world.” He lives in England.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 71 reviews
November 22, 2025
Deeply moving and relevant
Raymond Antrobus does a phenomenal of taking us into the world of what it is like growing up hard of hearing and then being diagnosed as deaf. I thoroughly enjoyed learning more about the deaf community and how they navigate the world.
Raymond Antrobus does a phenomenal of taking us into the world of what it is like growing up hard of hearing and then being diagnosed as deaf. I thoroughly enjoyed learning more about the deaf community and how they navigate the world.
October 22, 2025
i learned a lot from this slim memoir about the author’s experience with deafness. not a subject i’ve read much about, but raymond antrobus holds space within these pages for the various ways that deaf people move through the world, acknowledging that not everyone has had the same experience as him. he also explores his mixed race background, the violence of his childhood in london, his struggles with sexuality, and the transition into parenthood. incorporates history and the works of deaf painters, poets, and musicians that i wasn’t aware of previously, in a way that ties in smoothly to his own experience.
some of the writing style didn’t fully work for me, but i’ve read some reviews saying that the audiobook read by the author was a great experience. i can definitely see how antrobus’s poetic prose would resonate more hearing it come from him directly. 3.5 stars rounded up!
thank you to random house for the advance copy!
some of the writing style didn’t fully work for me, but i’ve read some reviews saying that the audiobook read by the author was a great experience. i can definitely see how antrobus’s poetic prose would resonate more hearing it come from him directly. 3.5 stars rounded up!
thank you to random house for the advance copy!
August 25, 2025
Raymond Antrobus was born deaf, although not profoundly so. Growing up in a council area of London, with an English mother and Jamaican father, he wrestled with identity from an early age and a late diagnosis. From the sound of it, his household was not stable but had a lot of love, and he found a great deal of satisfaction with his swimming since in the water, everybody is deaf. He learned also how to deal with his hearing devices, when to have them visible and when not. This memoir is particularly lovely given his life as an award winning poet.
December 12, 2025
“𝘋𝘪𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺? 𝘏𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧?”
Precious, written with much heart in the spectrum of deafness, dueting such a unique perspective with the part Engish/part Jamaican experience spanning childhood, passage into poetry, and a life, with all its shortcomings, made rich and full with such vulnerability. It’s perspectives like these that are so enlightening, that help me understand the complex world just a little more.
“𝘗𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘭𝘺, 𝘱𝘰𝘦𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘴; 𝘪𝘵 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘪𝘵.”
Precious, written with much heart in the spectrum of deafness, dueting such a unique perspective with the part Engish/part Jamaican experience spanning childhood, passage into poetry, and a life, with all its shortcomings, made rich and full with such vulnerability. It’s perspectives like these that are so enlightening, that help me understand the complex world just a little more.
“𝘗𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘭𝘺, 𝘱𝘰𝘦𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘴; 𝘪𝘵 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘪𝘵.”
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August 5, 2025
The Best New Books of August in Every Genre:
The award-winning Raymond Antrobus uses his poet's eye to look at a childhood spent in London, then Jamaica, then the US as a half Jamaican, half English boy. He recounts discovering he had missing sounds—like bird calls and alarms—how he was diagnosed as deaf at seven, and even how some people thought he was "slow" or faking it. There's a particular view of masculinity, race, and even how deaf bodies act that he explores and dissembles, too.—Erica Ezeifedi
The award-winning Raymond Antrobus uses his poet's eye to look at a childhood spent in London, then Jamaica, then the US as a half Jamaican, half English boy. He recounts discovering he had missing sounds—like bird calls and alarms—how he was diagnosed as deaf at seven, and even how some people thought he was "slow" or faking it. There's a particular view of masculinity, race, and even how deaf bodies act that he explores and dissembles, too.—Erica Ezeifedi
August 24, 2025
Raymond Antrobus (b. 1986) is a British poet. His 2025 memoir The Quiet Ear explores the first four decades of his life, with prominent foci being his deafness, his mixed race identity (his father was Jamaican and Black and his mother is British and white), and his efforts to find a meaningful career.
Speaking as someone close in age to Antrobus, I often struggle with memoirs written by authors in their twenties, thirties, and even forties. Inevitably, the narrative tends to lean heavily on childhood and early-adulthood memories, before the writer has had decades of distance and perspective to broaden the scope beyond themselves. That isn’t to say younger memoirists have nothing to offer - many do - but their accounts can feel narrower in range, lacking the resonance that often comes when their lived experiences span half a century or more. The Quiet Ear unfortunately illustrates this limitation. Antrobus' reflections come across less as seasoned, well-earned insights showcasing personal growth than as unresolved societal frustrations and self-focused complaints - understandable given the author’s age and the hand he's been dealt, but also a reminder that memoir, perhaps more than any other genre, benefits from time and perspective.
My statistics:
Book 266 for 2025
Book 2192 cumulatively
Speaking as someone close in age to Antrobus, I often struggle with memoirs written by authors in their twenties, thirties, and even forties. Inevitably, the narrative tends to lean heavily on childhood and early-adulthood memories, before the writer has had decades of distance and perspective to broaden the scope beyond themselves. That isn’t to say younger memoirists have nothing to offer - many do - but their accounts can feel narrower in range, lacking the resonance that often comes when their lived experiences span half a century or more. The Quiet Ear unfortunately illustrates this limitation. Antrobus' reflections come across less as seasoned, well-earned insights showcasing personal growth than as unresolved societal frustrations and self-focused complaints - understandable given the author’s age and the hand he's been dealt, but also a reminder that memoir, perhaps more than any other genre, benefits from time and perspective.
My statistics:
Book 266 for 2025
Book 2192 cumulatively
December 31, 2025
An interesting and personal memoir of a Deaf/HOH British Jamaican poet and his experience growing up using hearing aids and learning British sign language. He intersperses his life story with that of other Deaf people, especially those of color and also some fellow poets. It was both informative, heartfelt and read passionately by the author himself. Definitely worth a read or listen and I'm glad I took the time to do so!
September 5, 2025
My Shelf Awareness review: Antrobus's first nonfiction book takes up the themes of his poetry--being deaf and mixed-race, losing his father, becoming a parent--and threads them into an outstanding memoir that integrates his disability and celebrates his role models.
Even with hearing aids, Antrobus explains, he catches just 60% of conversations; the rest he must fill in. He was diagnosed with high-frequency deafness at age seven. "My superpower has become lip-reading and perfecting my listening face." What has he been missing? What has he gained in return? These questions drive the touching exploration of his coming to terms with Deaf identity.
The several strands of inquiry include his family history (a Jamaican father experiencing alcoholism; a matrilineal lineage of English painters and ministers), the development of deaf education (Thomas Braidwood opened the U.K.'s first deaf school in Hackney, London--where Antrobus grew up--in 1783), and teachers and Deaf public figures who have inspired him, such as singer Johnnie Ray. He recounts his hobbies of competitive swimming and performance poetry, and early dead-end jobs. As a teenager and young adult, he felt so ashamed that he would leave his hearing aids out and eschew sign language. Now, he recognizes his good fortune to have "lived between the deaf and hearing worlds" and earned not just "an art, a history, a culture" but "much hard-won strength and insight."
This frank, fluid memoir of finding one's way as a poet illuminates the literal and metaphorical meanings of sound.
(Posted with permission from Shelf Awareness.)
Even with hearing aids, Antrobus explains, he catches just 60% of conversations; the rest he must fill in. He was diagnosed with high-frequency deafness at age seven. "My superpower has become lip-reading and perfecting my listening face." What has he been missing? What has he gained in return? These questions drive the touching exploration of his coming to terms with Deaf identity.
The several strands of inquiry include his family history (a Jamaican father experiencing alcoholism; a matrilineal lineage of English painters and ministers), the development of deaf education (Thomas Braidwood opened the U.K.'s first deaf school in Hackney, London--where Antrobus grew up--in 1783), and teachers and Deaf public figures who have inspired him, such as singer Johnnie Ray. He recounts his hobbies of competitive swimming and performance poetry, and early dead-end jobs. As a teenager and young adult, he felt so ashamed that he would leave his hearing aids out and eschew sign language. Now, he recognizes his good fortune to have "lived between the deaf and hearing worlds" and earned not just "an art, a history, a culture" but "much hard-won strength and insight."
This frank, fluid memoir of finding one's way as a poet illuminates the literal and metaphorical meanings of sound.
(Posted with permission from Shelf Awareness.)
October 9, 2025
A poignant and powerful memoir threaded with anger and sadness. Antrobus is one of the best and most readable contemporary poets; I came to his work through his collection Perseverance and, in particular, the remarkable title poem - a heart-breaking sestina unpacking Antrobus’ childhood memories of his flawed father. Antrobus writes about how forms such as the sestina - based on pattern and repetition - are in part a response to his deafness and a way of thinking about the ‘missing sounds’ of the memoir’s subtitle. Antrobus’ prose, like his verse, has an everyday straightforwardness that is nevertheless lyrical and poised. He moves deftly through explorations of infancy, adolescence, racial identity, D/deaf identity, fatherhood, shame and ambition in a tight and moving 200 pages.
August 25, 2025
This memoir is full of some astounding writing. Besides the poetry, creating a genealogy of both the biological family and the cultural family was a brave choice that gives the text its strength. I'm somewhat familiar with D/deaf culture and history so some parts weren't as interesting and in others I wished the author would have gone more in depth but altogether it is very solid and I wish more people would read it.
September 17, 2025
I decided a while ago to stop star rating memoirs but this one is so excellent that I'm doing it anyway. I loved this. Loved.
Raymond Antrobus is a d/Deaf, Black, British poet writing here about his life in those identities, and the experience, education, and history of those in similar places. It is very much a book meant to be listened to, read by the author in a way that allows the poetry and all the emotion in it to come through loud and clear, and putting the author's work in articulating words that can't be learned just by lipreading there in your ears. Really the whole audiobook made me think a lot about the work I was putting in to paying attention to listening to it, the occassional differences in pronounciation, my enjoyment of his accent and the rhythm and cadence of the poetry, all against the work the author describes as part of his life in a hearing society.
But beyond the listening experience, his depiction of his own life on the borders of so many things was thoughtful and moving. I loved the intertwining of his own personal experiences in the here and now with broader discussions of Deaf and Black histories - maybe this works better in the audiobook than the written version - and obviously I'm always going to find the experience of two homes/no one home thing compelling, but this really gets at the heart of finding home in different places and then expanding it into new corners. I loved the insights into Deaf culture and the experience of nature described throughout. I am really, really glad I picked this up.
Raymond Antrobus is a d/Deaf, Black, British poet writing here about his life in those identities, and the experience, education, and history of those in similar places. It is very much a book meant to be listened to, read by the author in a way that allows the poetry and all the emotion in it to come through loud and clear, and putting the author's work in articulating words that can't be learned just by lipreading there in your ears. Really the whole audiobook made me think a lot about the work I was putting in to paying attention to listening to it, the occassional differences in pronounciation, my enjoyment of his accent and the rhythm and cadence of the poetry, all against the work the author describes as part of his life in a hearing society.
But beyond the listening experience, his depiction of his own life on the borders of so many things was thoughtful and moving. I loved the intertwining of his own personal experiences in the here and now with broader discussions of Deaf and Black histories - maybe this works better in the audiobook than the written version - and obviously I'm always going to find the experience of two homes/no one home thing compelling, but this really gets at the heart of finding home in different places and then expanding it into new corners. I loved the insights into Deaf culture and the experience of nature described throughout. I am really, really glad I picked this up.
August 4, 2025
4 stars
Raymond Antrobus's memoir is a fantastic study in intersectional identity and how different parts of who we are impact us distinctly at different points in our lives and in unique circumstances. As the title hints at, Raymond's early diagnosis as deaf is a focus here, and the discussion is fascinating, but this is also not a myopic study. There is so much to enjoy. This is the kind of memoir that's informative, instructive, and worthy of readers' time.
Like all good memoirs, this one includes a great deal of background on the author's young life. I loved getting to learn about his family dynamic, and I appreciated the ways in which he was able to paint a fuller picture of some family members whom it would be really easy to write off instantly. Antrobus's relationships with his parents are not straightforward, and the structural and organizational choices here force readers into a similar position (uncertainty around how to respond to these folks). Along with his familial connections, there are fascinating discussions of friendship, coming-of-age occurrences, and self exploration. I have very limited awareness of BSL and the ways in which deaf children access education and general literacy in England. For me, that information was an unexpected highlight. But it's really Antrobus's personal experiences and growth that make this such a memorable adventure.
Though I was completely unfamiliar with this author prior to cracking this read, I am now very interested in his life, hot takes, and additional written work. I'm looking forward to learning more and recommend this thoughtful memoir.
*Special thanks to NetGalley and Jaylen Lopez at Random House & Hogarth Books for this widget, which I received in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
Raymond Antrobus's memoir is a fantastic study in intersectional identity and how different parts of who we are impact us distinctly at different points in our lives and in unique circumstances. As the title hints at, Raymond's early diagnosis as deaf is a focus here, and the discussion is fascinating, but this is also not a myopic study. There is so much to enjoy. This is the kind of memoir that's informative, instructive, and worthy of readers' time.
Like all good memoirs, this one includes a great deal of background on the author's young life. I loved getting to learn about his family dynamic, and I appreciated the ways in which he was able to paint a fuller picture of some family members whom it would be really easy to write off instantly. Antrobus's relationships with his parents are not straightforward, and the structural and organizational choices here force readers into a similar position (uncertainty around how to respond to these folks). Along with his familial connections, there are fascinating discussions of friendship, coming-of-age occurrences, and self exploration. I have very limited awareness of BSL and the ways in which deaf children access education and general literacy in England. For me, that information was an unexpected highlight. But it's really Antrobus's personal experiences and growth that make this such a memorable adventure.
Though I was completely unfamiliar with this author prior to cracking this read, I am now very interested in his life, hot takes, and additional written work. I'm looking forward to learning more and recommend this thoughtful memoir.
*Special thanks to NetGalley and Jaylen Lopez at Random House & Hogarth Books for this widget, which I received in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
September 17, 2025
i do enjoy expanding my understanding of d/Deaf narratives and this offered a personal narrative grounded in histories of deaf figures I wasn't necessarily familiar with. sometimes I did feel like that educational aspect was a way to keep the reader at a slight distance- although raymond antrobus definitely does get raw and vulnerable in the narrative, you definitely don't get his complete story here. which i actually didn't mind at times- I liked that this wasn't a chronological account of his life, as no offense I often find the childhood stuff to be boring. here it was more peppered throughout and felt more palatable. this is the second memoir from a poet that i've read this year that really leand in on how discovering poetry became a lifeline and a means to understand themselves- as someone a little poetry allergic, i actually do appreciate getting deep into that insight.
October 2, 2025
DNF at 93 pages.
I can mostly see what the author is doing as he meanders through stories of his childhood. Antrobus is coming to terms with his identity. He is neither black nor white. He is neither deaf or fully hearing.
He was not diagnosed as deaf until he was six years old. He has gaps in his hearing range. Enough that he was described as "slow" (his own sister said he's not deaf, just dumb). Then he had to deal with the stigma of hearing aids. Already considered different because he is mixed race, this new "development " increased his feeling of other.
Why the DNF? I had a hard time engaging with it. Almost quit at page 30 because of all the seemingly irrelevant background of various ancestors (details about parents and grandparents- deafness does not run in the family and those stories didn't have to do with race).
I appreciate the intent of this memoir. Sorting through memories and ideas about identity. And I read the last few pages. Page 177 he talks about writing down all the names given to him including "idiot", "not really deaf", "ugly", "bush boy". And labels he has given himself "disappointment ", "limited", "shame". And he burns them as he then writes the word "forgive" and signs it to himself on the mirror. He does not burn this word.
Some very powerful stuff in this memoir. Perhaps needed some better editing?
I can mostly see what the author is doing as he meanders through stories of his childhood. Antrobus is coming to terms with his identity. He is neither black nor white. He is neither deaf or fully hearing.
He was not diagnosed as deaf until he was six years old. He has gaps in his hearing range. Enough that he was described as "slow" (his own sister said he's not deaf, just dumb). Then he had to deal with the stigma of hearing aids. Already considered different because he is mixed race, this new "development " increased his feeling of other.
Why the DNF? I had a hard time engaging with it. Almost quit at page 30 because of all the seemingly irrelevant background of various ancestors (details about parents and grandparents- deafness does not run in the family and those stories didn't have to do with race).
I appreciate the intent of this memoir. Sorting through memories and ideas about identity. And I read the last few pages. Page 177 he talks about writing down all the names given to him including "idiot", "not really deaf", "ugly", "bush boy". And labels he has given himself "disappointment ", "limited", "shame". And he burns them as he then writes the word "forgive" and signs it to himself on the mirror. He does not burn this word.
Some very powerful stuff in this memoir. Perhaps needed some better editing?
September 28, 2025
A memoir that brings me into a world I really knew nothing about and it was lovely to spend time with the author - what more could you ask for- also love mention of the poetry library at the SouthBank.
August 26, 2025
An unusually written memoir, the author combines his experiences of growing up as a deaf child in the UK along with racial issues that he encountered with some informative components about British sign language, classifications of deafness and the history of some semi famous people who were also deaf. The theme that stood out the most was the culture in which Raymond grew up - both deaf culture and racial culture.
I struggled with this book because the writing style conflicted with how I like books formatted. The information was presented in a choppy and disjointed manner. The author’s story wasn’t written chronologically and it seemed like the informative pieces were randomly thrown in. I did gain new information and found the cultural component interesting but the writing just didn’t flow.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for an honest review. Opinions are my own.
I struggled with this book because the writing style conflicted with how I like books formatted. The information was presented in a choppy and disjointed manner. The author’s story wasn’t written chronologically and it seemed like the informative pieces were randomly thrown in. I did gain new information and found the cultural component interesting but the writing just didn’t flow.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for an honest review. Opinions are my own.
November 13, 2025
4.5 This is a poet’s memoir about deafness, growing up in London, and acceptance of oneself. As is typical for me with poets’ writing, I spent more time with this book—the pacing was reflective and unhurried, and the language carried deep resonance.
November 13, 2025
His quiet ear opens our eyes.
November 17, 2025
still quite spooked by the fact my surname is in this book about being deaf about 10 times including the epigraph
September 3, 2025
Great insight on growing up with a hearing loss and not quite fitting in with society
September 8, 2025
Thank you to Net Galley and Hogarth/Random House for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. This book is part memoir and part commentary on how the world treats deafness and deaf people. We get an inside view as the author is deaf and learn the many nuances of how to live in a hearing world (which misunderstands and can be quite unkind) and how the author experiences the world. The author interweaves his story beautifully with the history and culture of deafness and how beautiful it can be. I learned so much and it gave such an eye-opening perspective on being deaf. I look forward to reading his poetry!
September 28, 2025
Raymond Antrobus is deaf. Well, maybe not in the way most people think of it. His is mainly in the severe high-frequency range, making it impossible for him to hear sounds such as alarms, birds, and most spoken sounds. I know about this because my daughter has the same kind of hearing loss, and so I was drawn to this book on a personal level.
Antrobus is a poet. Before then, though, he was late diagnosed despite having passed a neonatal hearing test that, for the record, doesn’t really cut it in cases like these. (Again, familiar.) Not hard of hearing in the way most people think of elderly people, not deaf in the way those in culture are imagined, he slips between the cracks as much as he is stuck between them. Add to the fact that he is multiracial (white English mother, Jamaican father, divorced from the time he was very small) and you can see how identity is a prominent part of his worldview.
Many of Antrobus’ experiences are typical if not universal: school, girls, family issues. Yet, he catches only some of it. He feels unrecognized as a swimmer, being the only kid of color on the team. Unlike his peers, he is uniquely drawn to Busta Rhymes’ Rasta braids signaling a shared Jamaican parentage. He learns what a dangerous place the world can be for young men like him.
Of course, a lot of Antrobus’ difficulties are directly related to his hearing loss. His first girlfriend breaks up with him because, she says, he doesn’t answer her when she says hello. Spending part of his day at the deaf education side of his school and half in the mainstream classroom, he feels othered by both. (He notes that were he a teenager today, he likely would be mainstreamed. Can confirm.) Yes, the world is a dangerous place for young men like him.
A turning point for Antrobus comes after he briefly attends college. He is stabbed in a conflict with a classmate, and he immerses himself in writing as he recovers. Still, he is not exactly reinvented. His old challenges remain and are even amplified. He cannot keep a job due to his inability to hear well and penchant for holing up in the bathroom to write; attempting to promote himself, Antrobus discovers that radio presenters are uncomfortable with his voice. (Again, I can attest: The deaf accent is real.) His limited BSL is unintelligible to ASL speakers. He persists.
One somewhat standalone chapter I particularly loved involves Antrobus’ kinship with the American singer Johnnie Ray, whose prominent 1950s hearing aid drew all the wrong kinds of attention. Nevertheless, Ray became wildly popular and even established a school for the deaf in his later years. When Hugh Downs called his hearing loss a handicap, Ray explained with a smirk that he gets better sleep without hearing the maid vacuuming and the phone ringing. And, in his filmed performances, he wears his hearing aid as he belts out his latest single, ever defiant.
Many thanks to Penguin Random House for providing me this book for review. I really enjoyed it.
Antrobus is a poet. Before then, though, he was late diagnosed despite having passed a neonatal hearing test that, for the record, doesn’t really cut it in cases like these. (Again, familiar.) Not hard of hearing in the way most people think of elderly people, not deaf in the way those in culture are imagined, he slips between the cracks as much as he is stuck between them. Add to the fact that he is multiracial (white English mother, Jamaican father, divorced from the time he was very small) and you can see how identity is a prominent part of his worldview.
Many of Antrobus’ experiences are typical if not universal: school, girls, family issues. Yet, he catches only some of it. He feels unrecognized as a swimmer, being the only kid of color on the team. Unlike his peers, he is uniquely drawn to Busta Rhymes’ Rasta braids signaling a shared Jamaican parentage. He learns what a dangerous place the world can be for young men like him.
Of course, a lot of Antrobus’ difficulties are directly related to his hearing loss. His first girlfriend breaks up with him because, she says, he doesn’t answer her when she says hello. Spending part of his day at the deaf education side of his school and half in the mainstream classroom, he feels othered by both. (He notes that were he a teenager today, he likely would be mainstreamed. Can confirm.) Yes, the world is a dangerous place for young men like him.
A turning point for Antrobus comes after he briefly attends college. He is stabbed in a conflict with a classmate, and he immerses himself in writing as he recovers. Still, he is not exactly reinvented. His old challenges remain and are even amplified. He cannot keep a job due to his inability to hear well and penchant for holing up in the bathroom to write; attempting to promote himself, Antrobus discovers that radio presenters are uncomfortable with his voice. (Again, I can attest: The deaf accent is real.) His limited BSL is unintelligible to ASL speakers. He persists.
One somewhat standalone chapter I particularly loved involves Antrobus’ kinship with the American singer Johnnie Ray, whose prominent 1950s hearing aid drew all the wrong kinds of attention. Nevertheless, Ray became wildly popular and even established a school for the deaf in his later years. When Hugh Downs called his hearing loss a handicap, Ray explained with a smirk that he gets better sleep without hearing the maid vacuuming and the phone ringing. And, in his filmed performances, he wears his hearing aid as he belts out his latest single, ever defiant.
Many thanks to Penguin Random House for providing me this book for review. I really enjoyed it.
September 27, 2025
The Quiet Ear
By Raymond Antrobus
This is a memoir. Mr. Antrobus was born with a degree of hearing loss that was not identified until he was seven years old. Previous to this discovery, he was thought to be slow or a difficult, disobedient child. He speaks here of the challenges of adjusting to hearing aids and the many ways that teachers and coaches, among others, worked to correct his speech patterns. Between his ability to read lips and his skill with signing, he eventually found himself living a life somewhere in between the hearing world and the deaf world.
As an older adult who developed hearing loss at midlife and has been wearing hearing aids since my forties, I was very interested to follow the author's thoughts on there being a whole range of disability when it comes to hearing loss. Were you born deaf? If not, how much exposure did you have with speech before your hearing issues – thus how much of your speech remains close to normal? Do you get by in the hearing world mostly by reading lips and your own speech patterns? How much do you rely on signing?
The author also discusses his own personal experiences. How he deals with his son who hears, for example. How he has learned that being deaf is not cause for shame. How to compensate for what you do not have by developing your own set of skills.
I liked this book and I think it will provide a level of understanding of just what being deaf is like for both the hearing and the deaf.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC.
By Raymond Antrobus
This is a memoir. Mr. Antrobus was born with a degree of hearing loss that was not identified until he was seven years old. Previous to this discovery, he was thought to be slow or a difficult, disobedient child. He speaks here of the challenges of adjusting to hearing aids and the many ways that teachers and coaches, among others, worked to correct his speech patterns. Between his ability to read lips and his skill with signing, he eventually found himself living a life somewhere in between the hearing world and the deaf world.
As an older adult who developed hearing loss at midlife and has been wearing hearing aids since my forties, I was very interested to follow the author's thoughts on there being a whole range of disability when it comes to hearing loss. Were you born deaf? If not, how much exposure did you have with speech before your hearing issues – thus how much of your speech remains close to normal? Do you get by in the hearing world mostly by reading lips and your own speech patterns? How much do you rely on signing?
The author also discusses his own personal experiences. How he deals with his son who hears, for example. How he has learned that being deaf is not cause for shame. How to compensate for what you do not have by developing your own set of skills.
I liked this book and I think it will provide a level of understanding of just what being deaf is like for both the hearing and the deaf.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC.
November 23, 2025
Raymond Antrobus has authored children's books, one of which was read on the BBC using British Sign Language, and four poetry collections for which he has won numerous awards. His collections are included in the UK qualification exams for students ages 14–16. This memoir is a departure for Antrobus as his first work of prose. In it, he walks readers through his impoverished childhood as a mixed-race, deaf person in England who still struggles to find “a grounding voice” to combat the critic inside. Deafness, he says, is on a continuum. In his case, he says Deaf people who sign as a first language would call him hard of hearing. He also references this term though he says it is an inaccurate one that doesn’t capture his experience. One example that helped me grasp some of the challenges he faces is an example he gave of seeing a sign with a missing letter. Missing sounds is how he hears. He must fill them in by attentively listening and observing. Antrobus is a swimmer and uses associated metaphors to describe his deafness and his journey. He says, “We are all deaf underwater to a certain extent,” which is an excellent way for a reader to relate.
His singular use of language creates mood and gives depth to this work. While I found the information about deafness and his experience on its continuum interesting, this memoir might be more engaging for those who know this author or are fans of his work.
Many thanks to Random House Publishing Group | Hogarth and NetGalley for providing this eARC.
May 20, 2025
“The Quiet Ear: An Investigation of Missing Sound” by Raymond Antrobus is a fascinating memoir describing the life of a deaf poet. “The Quiet Ear” is Raymond Antrobus’ exploration of our relationship to sound and how it impacts our relationship to each other and to ourselves. A poet first, this memoir is written with profound awareness of sound and language. Beautiful and poignant, the text brought me new awarenesses and helped me to hear and understand the repercussions of the societal response to deafness and to disability in general. Antrobus is profoundly human, yet has the strength to be vulnerable, exposing the shame and pain of growing up different. The book strengthened my awareness and compassion, while making me aware of things I have missed. We all have missing sounds. We are all deaf to things beyond our ken. Antrobus aids us in focusing on, and hearing things, that would otherwise be outside our range. This is a literary, multicultural, and brave memoir. The reader is given an intimate look into the poet’s life – its beauty, its pain, and its sheer overwhelming humanity.
A thank you to Hogarth/Random House and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
A thank you to Hogarth/Random House and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
October 30, 2025
"I gather up the words I can hear and guess at the missing sounds. (...) Missing sound is a sound not heard within your range of hearing and, as I explored, as well as finding joy and nourishment in that so-called missingness, I charted losses too. Missing sound can also be interpreted as a misunderstanding, a mismanaged sense of self, a miseducation, a miscellaneous shelf in a mystery library."
Hard to convey how much The Quiet Ear resonated with me and my lifelong in-between deafness, and how rare that is. In some ways the book is a bit choppy and doesn't fully come together, and y'know what, damnit, that's how life is: to experience the world when you're deaf, when you're human - it's fragmented. And the more important thing is any and all connection found within. Antrobus offers connection(s) here in spades. Very lucky to have read this, and to now have some more d/Deaf folks to get to know from afar (I knew about Johnnie Ray but so grateful for Granville Redmond, for learning that Goya was deaf (!), Reece Cattermole, et. al).
"Mishearings are an obvious staple of deaf poetics, a way to honor one's own sound."
(oh goodness, yes. How I love my mishearings, and yours too.)
Hard to convey how much The Quiet Ear resonated with me and my lifelong in-between deafness, and how rare that is. In some ways the book is a bit choppy and doesn't fully come together, and y'know what, damnit, that's how life is: to experience the world when you're deaf, when you're human - it's fragmented. And the more important thing is any and all connection found within. Antrobus offers connection(s) here in spades. Very lucky to have read this, and to now have some more d/Deaf folks to get to know from afar (I knew about Johnnie Ray but so grateful for Granville Redmond, for learning that Goya was deaf (!), Reece Cattermole, et. al).
"Mishearings are an obvious staple of deaf poetics, a way to honor one's own sound."
(oh goodness, yes. How I love my mishearings, and yours too.)
July 8, 2025
As a child, Raymond Antrobus was diagnosed as partially deaf - unable to hear sounds in high pitches and frequencies, his entire experience has been one where he's had to come to terms with the portion of the world that he will never truly experience, even with the help of hearing aids. "The Quiet Ear" is Antrobus's memoir, a retelling of his childhood and adult years learning to navigate his disability and the ways in which it impacts his interactions and relationships with others, and his eventual career path to becoming an award-winning poet.
Beyond his personal experiences and memories, Antrobus also dives into history and literature, pulling out key figures and moments in time that have been pivotal to the deaf community; it is a history that I knew very little about before this book and I appreciated the educational aspect of his work as well. Throughout, Antrobus's prose is well-developed and layered, an unsurprising fact given his background as a poet - although there were moments throughout reading that Antrobus's retelling of his past felt a little too detached and cerebral.
A moving and enlightening read, and very much recommended when published in August 2025!
Beyond his personal experiences and memories, Antrobus also dives into history and literature, pulling out key figures and moments in time that have been pivotal to the deaf community; it is a history that I knew very little about before this book and I appreciated the educational aspect of his work as well. Throughout, Antrobus's prose is well-developed and layered, an unsurprising fact given his background as a poet - although there were moments throughout reading that Antrobus's retelling of his past felt a little too detached and cerebral.
A moving and enlightening read, and very much recommended when published in August 2025!
August 19, 2025
The Quiet Ear by Raymond Antrobus
Raymond Antrobus has spent his life as a D/d deaf person. He differentiates between Deaf-one who accepts deaf identity and culture and deaf-one who uses speech and lip reads.
He had a rough go as a kid missing certain sounds and only getting parts of words. He pretended to understand more than he did, which caused him a lot of problems. No one wants to feel different,so he rarely wore his hearing aids or used signing. He explains that British Sign Language is different than American Sign Language. He is British.
Antrobus has become an accomplished published poet and has given back to the deaf community by helping others who are deaf. In this memoir, he also mentions several other accomplish deaf people, such as the painters Goya and Granville Redmond, as well as musician Beethoven.
This was an informative book from which I learned many new things about the non-hearing experience. Three stars.
Raymond Antrobus has spent his life as a D/d deaf person. He differentiates between Deaf-one who accepts deaf identity and culture and deaf-one who uses speech and lip reads.
He had a rough go as a kid missing certain sounds and only getting parts of words. He pretended to understand more than he did, which caused him a lot of problems. No one wants to feel different,so he rarely wore his hearing aids or used signing. He explains that British Sign Language is different than American Sign Language. He is British.
Antrobus has become an accomplished published poet and has given back to the deaf community by helping others who are deaf. In this memoir, he also mentions several other accomplish deaf people, such as the painters Goya and Granville Redmond, as well as musician Beethoven.
This was an informative book from which I learned many new things about the non-hearing experience. Three stars.
September 13, 2025
"I wasn't the kind of deaf person that he expected to speak to."
Having heard Raymond Antrobus speak this year at the T.S. Eliot Prize shortlist's poetry readings, I had a slight acquaintance with his body of work, but wasn't prepared for the perceptiveness that he brings to his first prose publication, an autobiography that examines his deaf identity, mixed-race background, and development as a poet. Antrobus insightfully examines the cultural assumptions that remain prevalent about deafness, with his discussions of using BSL in poetry and his critique of Ted Hughes' "Deaf School" helping me better understand this unfamiliar subject. In THE QUIET EAR, Antrobus draws together his life story with extensive analyses of deaf culture and his Jamaican and British roots, offering a thoughtful commentary on his own artistic development and the value of poetry that speaks to deaf and minority experiences.
Having heard Raymond Antrobus speak this year at the T.S. Eliot Prize shortlist's poetry readings, I had a slight acquaintance with his body of work, but wasn't prepared for the perceptiveness that he brings to his first prose publication, an autobiography that examines his deaf identity, mixed-race background, and development as a poet. Antrobus insightfully examines the cultural assumptions that remain prevalent about deafness, with his discussions of using BSL in poetry and his critique of Ted Hughes' "Deaf School" helping me better understand this unfamiliar subject. In THE QUIET EAR, Antrobus draws together his life story with extensive analyses of deaf culture and his Jamaican and British roots, offering a thoughtful commentary on his own artistic development and the value of poetry that speaks to deaf and minority experiences.
November 6, 2025
I thank Raymond Antrobus for explaining the missing chunks of my life. There are sounds I have never heard. We don’t know if I was born this way (GaGa) or my inner ears were damaged very young. Whatever, I have missed certain sounds. Love reading the lyrics of Joni Mitchell but not her voice. The sound I was hearing was not what others heard. Leonard Cohen and Kris Kristofferson made more hearing sense for me. Still do. Am I partially deaf? Partially hearing? Yes,no. Thank you Raymond, I know now I have missing sounds. For the past 35 years I have been/am a Professional Speaker. I speak and initiate people to have conversations with each other. I rarely take questions from an audience (my participants) as I will need them to say things several times and then I’m still guessing. However, my missing sounds mean that I have utilised other methods of reaching folk and they can ask each other the questions. This is, like your book, kind of beautiful. Thank you
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