Exiled Chinese poet shares influential work
Bei Dao's misty poetry' played a significant role in
changing China's 1970s political climate
RACHEL LEE
FREELANCE REPORTER
The Browsing Room of the Knight
Library was packed Monday for the
reading from Bei Dao, one of China’s
most treasured writers in the 1970s. In
1976, Bei Dao’s poetry was instru
mental in the formation of the April 5
Democracy Movement and later, the
Tiananmen Square demonstration.
Bei Dao was also the poet that started
a particular style of poetry called
“menglong shi” or “misty poetry.”
“I first met Bei Dao in Denmark, at
the University of Aarhus,” said
Wendy Larson, the Associate Dean of
Humanities and a Professor of East
Asian Languages and Literature. “At
the time, I was a Fulbright and he was
teaching. Funnily enough, both of us
didn’t know how to speak the lan
guage in Denmark, so we clicked as
friends immediately.”
“The two things that makes Bei
Dao so successful is the fact that in
the 1970s, his poetry broke apart the
socialist model. Secondly, it is also be
cause he has been so active, always
keeping up to his writing, that he has
done so much to introduce Chinese
writing to the world,” she said.
Bei Dao, whose real name is Zhao
Zenkai, read from his published
works in the Chinese language. Af
ter each Chinese reading, Garrett
Hongo, a Creative Writing Professor,
read the English translated version.
The audience was mesmerized by
Bei Dao’s words as they echoed
through the room.
“1 just think that we are very for
tunate to have him here with us
tonight and hearing his poetry
translated in English. Garrett did a
good job,” said Lori O’Hollaren, the
Assistant Director for the Center for
A large audience
congregated in the
Knight Library on
Monday evening as
exiled Chinese poet
Bei Dao read a
selection of his
poetry, saturated
with political strife
in unique and
surreal language.
Lauren Wimer
Senior Photographer
Asian and Pacific Studies.
“I think the motivation for writing
is always mysterious,” Bei Dao said.
“I can’t really say what exactly got me
writing but probably the many
conditions that were happening in
China at the time. So with the politi
cal and personal that was happening,
it all reached a climax that was my
writing.
“During that time, political -r
pressure was very hard. Everything,
including writing, was banned. When
I started writing, my father was very
BEI DAO, page 8
College basketball
player quits team,
Islamic religion
The Oregon resident now views her former Islamic
beliefs a 'misstep' and has returned to Christianity
TAMPA, Fla. — A 22-year-old
woman who created an uproar when
she wanted to wear Islamic garb
while playing basketball for Universi
ty of South Florida has left the school
and returned to Christianity.
Andrea Armstrong, who is from
Lakeside, Ore., said in an Oct. 6 e
mail to The Oregonian that her con
version was a misstep caused by
loneliness and estrangement from
her home support system.
“It was my loneliness and forget
fulness of my past teachings that
caused me to convert to Islam,” she
wrote.
Armstrong's story drew interna
tional headlines when she an
nounced she left the team and lost
her scholarship after coach Jose Fer
nandez told her she could not wear
the religiously mandated long pants,
top with long sleeves and scarf dur
ing practices or games.
Armstrong then met with
Fernandez, university officials and a
representative of Council on Ameri
can-Islamic Relations, and officials
agreed that the team would
accommodate her Islamic attire and
reinstate her scholarship. The univer
sity also agreed to ask the NCAA for
an exemption to its uniform policy to
allow her to wear a scarf.
The following week, Armstrong
met with Fernandez and quit the
team, saying she didn't want the uni
form issue “to cause further distrac
tion.” She withdrew from classes
Sept. 23, according to the school's
registrar's office.
Armstrong returned to her home
town after leaving USF.
“At the time, I thought Florida was
what I wanted,” she said in the e
mail to The Oregonian. “I did not re
alize that with this move 1 was slowly
distancing myself from God, my fam
ily and friends.
“Had I recognized the emptiness
that 1 felt for what it was — a home
sickness for my family, friends, and
home town — I would not have tried
so hard to fill it with an unfamiliar re
ligion. I take full responsibility for my
actions and live in the certainty that
God will forgive me.”
— The Assosiated Press
IN BRIEF
Williams Bakery requests
site-review zone change
Students and community members
are encouraged to attend a public hear
ing on a zone-change request by
Williams Bakery, Jeff Nelson of the
Fairmount Neighbors Association said.
Located just east of campus,
Williams Bakery, the targeted site for
the University’s new basketball are
na, is looking to change zones from
one requiring a site-review overlay to
one that doesn’t.
The Fairmount Neighbors Associa
tion unanimously passed a resolution
earlier this month stating its opposi
tion to the zone change request.
Nelson said he doesn’t know why
the request is being made but that the
association is concerned about what a
lack of a site review could mean for the
neighborhood surrounding the bakery.
“Site review is important because
it does look at compatibility with the
neighborhood,” Nelson said. “With
out the site review overlay you could
just apply directly with the city and
have no public hearing.”
A proposal last fall to build a cell
phone tower in the same neighbor
hood was subject to a site review and
consequently turned down, Nelson
said.
He said because the rezoning in
volves a neighborhood heavily popu
lated by students, it is crucial stu
dents are aware of the request and
the implications it could bring to the
surrounding neighborhood.
“1 think the students are underrep- *
resented in this zone change,” Nel
son said.
The hearing will take place at 5
p.m. today in the Sloat Room of the
Atrium Building, 99 W. 10th Ave.
— Meghann Cuniff
PRO -
Prozanski
State Senate
District 4
ENDORSED BY:
• GTFF (AFT)
• Oregon Eduction
Association
• Oregon Bus Project—Lane
I Paid and authorized by Friends for Floyd
Prozanki, John VanLandingham, Treasurer,
P.O. Box 11511, Eugene, OR 97440.
www.floyd4senate.com
020481
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