in which educators made a final decision that speech was to be the primary teaching method in the classroom. From then through the mid-20th century Deaf students would be punished to discourage communication through sign. Despite the suppression of ASL in Deaf education, it was still a common means of communication in dormitories, playgrounds and Deaf families. Following the introduction of the Oral method, the National Association of the Deaf (NAD) recorded a film project from 1913 through 1920 out of fear that ASL would not survive. George Veditz oversaw the project and recorded the first film,The Preservation of the Sign Language. The project sought to record and preserve the words of Deaf individuals who had a strong sense of Deaf cultural identity. The film recordings included lectures, poems, stories and songs all of which comprise ASL literary genres. One of documented storytellers, John B. Hotchkiss, filmed a series of stories called Memories of Old Hartford about his time as a student at ASD in the 1860s. From his recorded memories, we know that ASL storytellers, and therefore at least some modern ASL literary genres, date back to at least the 1860s. Influence of Deaf community on ASL literature As the Deaf community developed in Deaf institutes, families and clubs, the community's cultural traditions and stories have been passed from one generation to the next through something akin to the "oral" traditions of spoken languages. In this context, "oral" refers to the sharing of culture through interactions with other members of a cultural community. Folklore and narrative traditions are included in the types of cultural interactions that are passed from person to person in the Deaf community. There is also a high value placed on an open exchange of information, since Deaf individuals cannot incidentally overhear information the way that hearing individuals are able to. Therefore, storytellers may be selected for their ability to share knowledge in addition to their storytelling abilities. Individuals who have been approved by the community as performers are who Ben Bahan refers to as "Smooth Signers", which he defines as "someone who as a language artist can weave a story so smoothly that even complex utterances appear simple, yet beautiful". These storytellers provide a sense of community for their Deaf peers and help perpetuate common cultural values. Large gatherings of the Deaf community are common in modern-day Deaf culture, such as conventions or festivals, and