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Poetry Slam compilation CD
features local lyricists’work
CD review
Aaron Shakra
Pulse Reporter
If there was any doubt to the existence of a thriving po
etry scene in Eugene, let the newly released “Best of the
Eugene Poetry Slam 2003” album quell any doubts. It’s
now available at Foolscap Books for an economical $7.
This disc is being sold as a benefit for the Eugene po
etry slam team. For those unfamiliar with slamming,
it’s basically competitive poetry, judged and rated for
the audience’s pleasure. For the first year ever, Eugene
will send a poetry team to the 2003 National Poetry
Slam in Chicago.
Slams at Foolscap Books have been going down
since fall, but in the past few months a series of playoff
rounds have been slimming down the competitors.
The final round in May will determine the four players
going to Chicago. All six finalists in that round are rep
resented on this disc, among others who have read
throughout the course of the school year.
While the poetry included on this disc doesn’t reach
perfection, that’s a tough criteria to set in first place.
There are mistakes, and things academic-types might
consider breaking rules, or cliches, but what this disc
contains above all is energy, unhindered, throughout
all 31 pieces of material.
Jahan Khalighi’s “Ode To All Fallen Creators,” is
among the numerous highlights on the album and drops
numerous lyrical bombs, including, “For words whir
worlds into existence painting pictures as elixirs to feed
your starving dreams.” Parts of Martha Grover’s “The
13th Step” actually have her singing. Closing out the disc
is Nathan Langston’s trickily titled “Ode.” With lines
such as: “Oh my slippery orifice oracle, oh my queenly
delta miracle / oh my well my temple my sheath, clit
above and slit beneath,” it’s not hard to tell what this
piece is about.
Mentioning specific poems probably neglects to show
the range of diversity among the poets. Events like slams
Courtesy
bring a whole range of styles, ages and ethnicity together
into one beautiful whole.
Due to slam rules, each poem hovers around the
three-minute range. However some pieces seem to take
poetry in a distinctly different direction. Might it better
to call some of these things “performance pieces” or per
haps, simply, “slams?” Or maybe this discussion only
gives further credo to the view that poetry encompasses
life. Isn’t everything poetry, after all?
A limited run of 100 discs has been manufactured,
so get yours while they’re still available. It’s the sure
first step into the local poetry scene, and hopefully, it
won’t be the last.
Contact the Pulse reporter at aaronshakra@dailyemerald.com.
Trek
continued from page 5
longer hike. It’s a five-mile round
trip trek and represents the highest
‘ Best Old-Growth
Forest Hikes:
Washington and
Oregon Cascades ”
Authors John
and Diane Cissel
Forest ecologist, John Cissel
hiked over 2,000 miles on short
day trips through ancient forests
of the Cascades. He will show
images of old-growth forests
from his book.
University of Oregon
Knight Library
Browsing Room
Wednesday, May 7
7:00 p.m. • Free
UNIVERSITY OF OREGON
BOOKSTORE
Co-sponsored by the UO Outdoor Program • For info visit uobookstore.com
peaks in the park.
But Ander cautioned visitors to be
prepared for the terrain.
“Most of these trails are not too
strenuous, but you can’t go into it
with an amusement park mentality,”
Ander said.
The most weather-friendly time of
year to visit Grater Lake is from mid
July to early October.
Beyond Grater Lake, Ander rec
ommended hikers check out Mount
Thielsen.
“It’s been called the lightning rod of
the Cascades,” Ander said. “It’s one of
the most rugged hikes in the area.”
This inactive volcano is not for the
novice hiker. The trail is a steep climb
— the last 200 feet is a hand-over
handclimb. The trail head is 1.5 miles
north of the Highway 230/Highway
138 junction near Diamond Lake, just
north of Grater Lake.
Pacific Northwest Trail Education
Coordinator Erik Burge is particularly
familiar with trails in the upper North
west. The Pacific Northwest Trail runs
from Alberta, Canada, to Tobacco
Plains, Montana. Burge helps run the
Service Knowledge Youth Leadership
Program, an outreach service that tar
gets at-risk youth using outdoor-based
experience.
Among Burge’s favorite regional
hikes is the Pacific coastline seg
ment of the Olympic National Park.
“It’s one of the largest portions of
uninterrupted wilderness in this part
of the country,” Burge said.
Burge said he is particularly fond
of lesser known destinations, adding
that he often ventures out to find old
abandoned mine shafts, which he
searches for via historic records.
For trails a little closer to home,
hikers may want to check out Silver
Falls State Park. Located 26 miles
east of Salem, Silver Falls is a rain
forest nestled in the lower elevation
of the Cascades. The Canyon Trail
portion of the park winds through 10
water falls, ranging in size from 27 to
177 feet.
Rooster Rock State Park, located
22 miles east of Portland, is also
known as a great spring season desti
nation. Visitors can check out the
meadows of wild roses and grapes
that combine with the views of the
Cascades and the Columbia River to
make for a sensory-loaded trek.
Finally, there’s Humbug Mountain
State Park, six miles south of Port
Orford, off US 101. This destination
has some of the warmest weather on
the Oregon coast; the surrounding
mountains protect hikers from the
ocean winds. The Park offers a three
mile trail leading to the summit of
Humbug Mountain.
These hikes are certainly just a
few of the backpacking destinations
in the region. But with luck, they will
serve to inspire consideration of the
options. After all, summer is closing
in and the trails are waiting.
Contact the senior Pulse reporter
atryanbornheimer@dailyemerald.com.
Carlson
continued from page 5
turning into my parents. Last
month, it was my mother and her
garden. This month, it’s my dad and
his pies.
Baking, then, evokes all the
things that I don’t have as a college
student. It is an escape from the
pointless effort of looking up vo
cabulary words and memorizing
names and dates.
I’ll be graduating in the fall. In
stead of the stress of classes, I’ll have
the stress of a job. My time will be
taken up by different responsibili
ties, and perhaps I still won’t have
the luxury of spending time baking.
But I won’t be wasting precious
hours on mind-numbing textbooks,
either. I guess that’s a fair trade.
Contact the columnist
at nikacarIson@dailyemerald.com.
Her views do not necessarily
represent those of the Emerald.