Visual Language as Literature

Dating back to 355 B.C. - Aristotle said: "Those who are born deaf all become senseless and incapable of reason." For millennia following, it was thought that signed languages were illegitimate, and deafness indicated lack of intelligence and even soulnessness.

Even today, some continue to say "it's not possible for signed languages to have literature, just because the content was never written down".

First of all - We know literature is not solely recorded through writing. According to page two of the text, Introducing Sign Language Literature: Folklore and Creativity, by R. Sutton-Spence and M. Kaneko (2016), literature includes a special way of working creatively with language in any modality (written, spoken, signed, or [performed]). Sign language uses the performance modality to contribute to literature.

Among the performance of many sign language stories, folklore, poems, and even religious interpretations, sign language is absolutely included in literature. It utilizes a body-centered art form to encompass a cultural message that deeply resonates with the Deaf community. If anything, sign language is a specialized form of literature that requires deep understanding and knowledge to effectively enjoy. Sign language can relate to oral literature in the modality aspect, as sign language literature is just portrayed using a different language. 

As oral language contributes to literature, sign language can do the same; if not more. Sign language literature addresses the instance of Deafness in a valid way. Signed languages are culturally relevant to the Deaf community’s perspective and carry important messages for members of the community. Sign language literature includes many things that oral literature cannot offer us - like signed Classifiers (IYKYK). Classifiers can be used to an almost unending extent to visually portray the situation and story in a way that words fail to describe. 

Point blank - signed languages are literature and deafness is culture.

Sources for Funsies

Sutton-Spence, R., & Kaneko, M. (2016). Introducing Sign Language Literature: Folklore and Creativity. MacMillan Education UK: Red Globe Press. [ISBN: 9781137363817]