Political poetry can
bridge gap between
personal, political
Lately, I ve been sitting by the shore of the
Willamette River. There is one stretch where I
can see river and highway adjacent to one an
other. Hie first time I was there, I thought
how much the freeway of cars was really like
a river of water. Recendy, I've been noticing
how the river flows in the opposite direction
of the closest lanes of traffic.
As I have said before ("Art falls apart,"
ODE, Aug. 7), 1 feel poetry stands in opposi
tion to all that a culture based on domina
don, patriarchy, violence and authority
would represent and propagate. In Maria
Mies and Vandana Shiva's book "Ecofemi
nism," Mies writes: "What modem machine
man does to the earth will eventually be felt
by all; everything is connected. 'Unlimited
Progress' is a dangerous myth because it sug
gests that we can rape and destroy living na
ture, of which we are an integral part, with
out ourselves suffering the effects."
Aaron Shakra
The poet's tree
Poetry, at its best, is an attempt to mend
this disconnectedness between culture and
nature; it contradicts both thoughtlessness
and selfishness. To write it is to become a
weaver, or seamstress, and to read it is to be
placed in a space of limitless reflection. These
two have a dynamic relationship, but I would
like to emphasize the aspect of listening be
cause our culture tends to emphasize the
"telling" all too much.
Regardless of whether it's a poem or not
consider this exercise: Try listening to some
thing else — your friend, a stranger, an ene
my, a tree — without forming any judgment
or waiting for your turn to talk. This kind of
waking meditation is actually quite difficult
You know why? Listening for {he sake of it
self isn't a value that this culture cherishes.
We're inundated with sound bites, advertise
ments, headlines almost right from the
womb. When it comes to education, the gen
eral attitude is "Give me the information and
let me get out of here"
I won't go as far to blame the world's prob
lems on these examples — they are merely
symptoms of a deeper-rooted disease. Still,
there is no denying we are desensitized to pa
tience and reflection as the result of them.
From my (albeit limited) experiences in
the world of academic creative writing (a
year in Kidd Tutorial and one advanced
creative writing class), I have noticed a hesi
tance toward the idea of political poetry. In a
way, this is justifiable, because I'm not sure if
there's a genre of poetry more prone to de
personalized and unfocused ranting. Here,
the notion of "political" is tied up in broad,
sweeping and arbitrary statements. Further
more, such a poem doesn't write from a
place of experience; lack of experience lacks
emotional resonance.
However, political poetry is also feared for
the power it can elicit within the person. The
personal is political, and the political is per
sonal. This means content doesn't necessarily
have to be about some event, or object sepa
rate from the writer. A political poem written
with focus and from a place of experience is
devastatingly powerful and dangerous be
cause it taps into something primal within
us: our core I don't want to say this is our true
self, because that makes it sound like some
thing fixed. In his poem "Avocado," Gary
Snyder writes: "The great big round seed / In
the middle / Is your own Original Nature— /
Pure and smooth, / Almost nobody ever
splits it open / Or ever tries to see / If it will
grow." This is closer to an idea of a "core."
I feel writers are especially prone to a fear
of political poetry because it implicates a total
connection between creator, creation and the
world. Sylvia Plath likens herself to a mirror,
silver and exact. Yet it goes farther when it
comes to our core; the writer of a political
poem places his or herself in a room full of
mirrors, where they see themselves in every
thing. This is a place of intense reflection that
many would rather turn away from.
I am weary of the ones who distance them
selves from their work and deny its profound
connection to life as a whole. This statement
says nothing about what the content of what
a poem should be; but rather what it should
not. Poetry is not commodity. It cannot be
left and returned to at the drop of a hat be
cause the true poem never leaves us.
I overheard a conversation between folks
about writer's block the other day. It sound
ed like many other similar conversations I've
heard about the subject, which talks about it
as if were something that actually existed. But
writer's block only signals a greater conges
tion within a person, one that is disconnect
ed and alienated from writing, or even worse,
views it as "work" to be done. The true poet
writes as she takes breaths of air. It is possible
to write in the world without writing, just as it
is possible to paint without painting. All it
takes is a blossoming and opening up. Writ
ing in this sense is almost an afterthought, an
echo of experience.
Contact the Pulse editor
at aaronshakra@dailyemerald.com.
His opinions do not necessarily
represent those of the Emerald.
Courtesy
The Argentinean film “Suddenly” opens this year’s Queer Film Festival on Friday at 7 p.m in PLC.
12th Queer Film Festival
commences with 'Suddenly'
The event will feature
‘Word is Out/ which is
considered the first film
made for and about gays
By Ryan Nyburg
Senior Pulse Reporter
The Cultural Forum's 12th
Annual University of Oregon
Queer Film Festival kicks off Fri
day at 7 p.m. with the Argen
tinean film "Suddenly."
This year's festival is centered
around themes of internation
al queer perspectives and the
role film has played in shaping
queer history. Films from
across the country will be
shown alongside fare from
countries such as Sweden and
the United Kingdom.
Documentaries also make up
a fair amount of the festival's
scheduled showings. The 1978
film "Word is Out" — consid
ered the first film made by and
about gays — will show along
side the 2002 release "Hope
Along the Wind: The Story of
Harry Hay," about the founding
of the first successful gay rights
organization.
Other highlights include
"A.KA," a drama that is split into
three simultaneously playing
frames; "Brother Outsider: The
Life of Bayard Rustin," about the
openly gay civil rights activist;
and "Dangerous Living: Coming
Out in the Developing World,"
about lesbian, gay, bisexual and
transgender snuggles in countries
south of the equator.
"This year I was looking for
films that transcend bound
aries," Queer Film Festival Coor
dinator Douglas Hopper said. "I
wanted films that pushed the
envelope, as far as form and
content go."
Hopper, who selects all the
feature-length films for the festi
val, believes the University's fes
tival has a special place among
other festivals of its type.
"It's important that it takes
place in an academic environ
ment," Hopper said. "It makes
the kinds of films we can select
a little more flexible."
One of the highlights of the
festival is its short film compe
titions. The first competition
features films selected by a
special jury comprised of stu
dents and community mem
bers. The second allows the au
dience to select the best from a
group of shorts.
One of the short films that
was selected by the jury is "Love
Life," by director Nanci Gaglio.
Gaglio will be appearing at the
University to present her film.
Her first short film, the B-movie
parody "Pussies from Outta
Space," will be showing at the
audience choice competition.
"My films seem to do pretty
well on college campuses,"
Gaglio said. "I think it's be
cause I don't fit into any partic
ular genre. Mainstream gay and
lesbian festivals have a hard
time with films that don't fit
into a box."
With sponsorship from a
number of campus organiza
tions — including the School
of Journalism and Communi
cation and the Lesbian, Gay, Bi
sexual, Transgender, Queer Al
liance — as well as lower ticket
prices than in previous years,
the festival promises to be a
popular event.
"I think it's a good chance to
see a broad view of queer me
dia," LGBTQA Co-Director Ja
son Wicklund said. "You know,
something that isn't 'Queer Eye
for the Straight Guy.'"
The Queer Film Festival will
run from Friday through Sun
day with the showings at 180
Prince Lucien Campbell Hall.
Tickets for the entire festival are
$5 for students and $7 for the
general public.
Contact the senior Pulse reporter
at ryannyburg@dailyenierald.com.
018165
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