Cook is an important figure in the deaf community. He was first diagnosed at the age of three. At the time American sign language wasn’t available, which is why he began performing to help him communicate with others. It also eased him express who he was and how he was feeling. At the age of nineteen, he found out about ASL, which was a way to interact with his peers by signing. In addition, he used it to enhance his performance. It made his style unique, a way no one has seen before. He could combine acting along with American sign language. When he finished college, he began a program called the “Flying Words Project”. Which included all the hidden talents of deaf storytellers. It caught the attention of many deaf people along with hearing. Their performance was acted out, signed, and translated into English. Many deaf and hearing people see him as a leader who led them to showcase. …show more content…
The beginning of his career was with the commencement of “Flying Words”, which is a performance created by himself and his partner, Kenny Lerne. They began by visualizing the story and acting it out, then transferring all the scenes into American sign language and English. Along with that Peter wrote other poems and was able to make a connection with his audience by sharing personal stories. They took it into consideration and were able to understand what it was like to grow up surrounded by hearing people. With the success of his career it led him to extensively travel around the country. In 2003 he was invited to the White House. As for his personal life, he lives in Chicago and works at Columbia College. His only known family member he talks about is his son who he loves to tell stories