1817
Following the establishment of the American School for the Deaf in Hartford, Connecticut, "the sign language" becomes the primary language of the school community and the face-to-face (oral) literary tradition of folklore begins.

1910-1920
The National Association of the Deaf Motion Picture Project: Included are some of the earliest examples of ASL Literature (presentations, personal narratives, storytelling and dramatic performances).

1940
ASL Personal Narrative: "Reminiscences of Mrs. Agatha Tiegel Hanson" from the Gallaudet University Archives Video library.

1976
"Gestures," book/film of poetry by Dorothy Miles from Joyce Motion Picture Company (see English Literature).

1978
Poetry in the Palm of Your Hand Conference. South Bend, Indiana.
Video: Ella Mae Lentz on the 1978 Poetry in the Palm of Your Hand Conference

1979
"Tales from the Green Books" published by Sign Media which include ASL literary works.

1980
Clayton Valli performs original Deaf-themed ASL poetry at the National Symposium on Sign Language Research and Teaching (NSSLRT) Conference, Boston, Massachusetts.
Video: Lentz, Valli and Padden on the 1980 NSSLRT Conference

1984
"American Culture: The Deaf Perspective" series from San Francisco Public Library: Deaf Heritage, Folklore and Literature Programs. Includes footage from live performances of ASL literary works.

1986
"The World According to Pat" live footage of Patrick Graybill's performance of personal narratives produced by Sign Media (see Deaf Theatre).

1987
First National ASL Poetry Conference.
Video: Excerpts from Conference Performances

1988
"Language Landscape" from San Francisco Public Library. Clips include performances of ASL storytelling and poetry.

1989
Sign for SIGN-LANGUAGE-POETRY from the Deaf Way I Conference. Washington, DC.
Video: Ella Mae Lentz on the origins of the sign for SIGN-LANGUAGE-POETRY
Text Summary

1989-1990
"Deaf Culture Autobiographies" series from Sign Enhancers:

MJ Bienvenu, Gilbert Eastman, Paul Johnston, Alfred Sonnenstrahl, and Dennis Schemenauer.

1990
"Poetry In Motion" series from Sign Media:

• Clayton Valli: Original Works in ASL
• Patrick Graybill: Original Works in ASL
• Debbie Rennie: Original Works in ASL

1991
First National ASL Literature Conference, Rochester, New York.

1991-1993
"Live at SMI!" series from Sign Media: Mary Beth Miller, Gil Eastman, CHALB, Bill Ennis, Patrick Graybill, Eric Malzkuhn, and Elinor Kraft.

1992
"ASL Literature Series" from DawnSignPress:

• Ben Bahan: "Bird of a Different Feather"
• Sam Supalla: "For a Decent Living"

1993
Poetics of American Sign Language Poetry by Clayton Valli. Doctoral dissertation from Union Institute. First PhD Degree awarded in ASL poetics.
Video: Clayton Valli on Rhyme and Meter in ASL
Text Summary

1995
"ASL Poetry: Selected Works of Clayton Valli" from DawnSignPress.

"The Treasure: Poems by Ella Mae Lentz" from InMotion Press/DawnSignPress.

1996
Second National ASL Literature Conference. Rochester, New York.
Video: Peter Cook Presentation excerpt: 1996 Second National ASL Literature Conference
Text Summary

1997-Present
The Marie Jean Philip Poetry, Storytelling and Deaf Art Competition and George W. Veditz ASL Festival, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts. A number of other school and community programs establish ASL literature competitions.

1999
"The Blue Ribbon Ceremony" created by Paddy Ladd performed at the 13th World Federation of the Deaf Conference. Brisbane Australia.

2000
Deaf American Literature by Cynthia L. Peters is published by Gallaudet University Press.

2005
"No Hand-Me-Downs" by Nathie Marbury from The Tactile Mind Press.

Analysing Sign Language Poetry by Rachel Sutton-Spence published by Palgrave Macmillan.

2006
Signing the Body Poetic: Essays on American Sign Language Literature, edited by H-Dirksen L. Bauman, Jennifer L. Nelson, and Heidi M. Rose is published by the University of California Press.

After 2006
The internet becomes a public space in which to share ASL literary works with the wider community. Sites such as YouTube and others include works of ASL literature.