Fiona Murphy is a Deaf poet and essayist. Her work has been published in Kill Your Darlings, Overland, Griffith Review and the Big Issue, among other publications. Her memoir is The Shape of Sound.
Byron Writers Festival 2021
PODCAST
The Shape of Sound: Fiona Murphy in conversation with Caroline Baum
Fiona Murphy kept her deafness a secret for over twenty-five years. After an accident to her hand, she discovered that sign language could change her life, and that Deaf culture could be part of her identity. In this podcast she talks with Caroline Baum about her memoir The Shape of Sound, and her journey from a position of shame to one of pride as she navigated the world of d/Deafness and disability.
Blending memoir with observations on the healthcare industry, The Shape of Sound is a story about the corrosive power of secrets, stigma and shame, and how deaf experiences and disability are shaped by economics, social policy, medicine and societal expectations.
Thanks to Delta Kay, Arakwal Bundjalung woman, for the Welcome to Country on this podcast.
Purchase the Book
The Shape of Sound is available to purchase online via The Book Room Collective.
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About the authors
Fiona Murphy
Caroline Baum
Journalist Caroline Baum is the author of Only: A Singular Memoir, and presents Life Sentences, a podcast about contemporary biography. She is also ambassador for the Older Women’s Network (OWN) in NSW.
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