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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 21, 2003)
febfuafy 21. ¿QQ3 - J— 0 ^ 3 9 PEOPLE ...............¥ ............... imberly Dark didn’t always dream of being a poet. Nor did she hold lofty aspi rations of becoming a performance artist. But somewhere along the way, the les bian’s work in social science and auto-ethno graphic writing became performance, and those performances have brought national acclaim. Dark will unveil her latest CD , You Are My Singing Lesson, to Portland audiences Feb. 22 and 27. T he San Diego native has won numer ous poetry slams, has been published in count less anthologies and in 2002 held the distinctive title of San Diego’s poetry slam team coach. Dark’s full-length theater shows Public Contact and The ButchJFemme Chronicles: Discussions with Women Who Are Not Like Me (and Some Who Are) gracefully combine aspects of art, social sci ence and storytelling with her smart, sexy intu itive style. “My work sort of merged into what it is today,” says Dark, who holds a master’s degree in sociology. She recalls the duality and later the fusion that ultimately created her style. “1 love working in the social sciences. I love writing. But 1 always thought of the two as being very different. I thought, ‘W hat if I theme and group life experiences— these emo tional aspects— like data and process them sci entifically?’ I could see what comes from Ux>k- ing at these two aspects as one process." The work is ambitious. It exhibits all of the qualities of an inquiring mind that can’t be still and pushes the limits of social constructs around gender identity. The backbone of a gcxxJ performance, she asserts, is one in which people feel represented. “Gixxl drama should mirror the lives of the audience," she says. “People who have been marginalized their entire lives— in this case Dark lessons K Slam poet and one-woman dyke show comes hack to Portland by J odi Kimberly D ark don’t need no lessons on how to be hot. See her Feb. 22 or 27 in Portland. women— need to see their lives represented and made important.” A standard in Dark’s performances is audi D arby ence participation. A venue can become at once a performance space, a social laboratory and a safe place for the sharing of experiences. And, as venues can vary from university auditorium to theater to coffee shop to queer bookstore, the energy and outcome of a performance can differ greatly. “I’ve performed at venues where people.. .are convinced that they have never seen a lesbian in their lives,” laughs Dark. “It’s funny because here they are, in the audience, and they are sur rounded by 15 to 20 lesbians! Folks learn sort of quickly through my performances that lesbians don’t come in one form. The fact that I ‘pass’ as straight definitely challenges people’s preconcep tions of what a lesbian looks or acts like.” Dark’s work comes from a collage of experi ences and real dialogue with friends, lovers and strangers about gender and social constructs of identity. “I always write and read in the first person,” she explains. “People always feel more comfortable being spoken to.” She strives to connect with individuals based on universal experience. “I’ve done read ings where straight men and women have approached me afterward and said that they really identified with my pieces,” she adds. “T h at’s a pretty powerful feeling for someone to take home with them. Especially someone who never dreamt that they could identify with a queer person.” WUEINI Dark’s latest spoken word C D combines two kinds of writing, she says. “Some of the pieces are lyric and rich in poetic imagery. I also do poetry and storytelling th a t’s based on social research.” Singing Lesson includes some dialogue from real people, she reveals, “much like The Vagina Monologues.” From one story to the next, Dark conjures images and emotions, and her delivery allows them to come with the fluidity of a carnival ride— one that shakes you up a little but leaves you wanting to ride again and again. T h e devotional poem “Let Me Tell You A bout Style” is about a bad-ass femme who “can take th e fear out of th e shadows and the hollows and the predawn illusions like mere daylight never could" and “at the same time kick your ass w ithout lifting a finger or spilling her drink.” In “Truth and G od” Dark embraces silence and reminds us that some languages use the same word for “truth” and for “God." She beau tifully recounts the ubiquity of both. Guitar accompaniment by San Diego musician Damon Cisneros adds layer upon layer of sen suality to this already multitiered piece. Each poem becomes familiar— a story told from a place of mutual experience or, as Dark says, of “universal character." T he words are like a balm, with imagery that soothes the ear and excites the mind. j n K imberly D ark will perform pieces from You Are My Singing Lesson 7 p.m. Feb. 22 at Toitchstone Coffee House, 7631 N. E. Glisan St., and 7 p.m. Feb. 27 at Laughing Horse Books, 3652 S.E. Division St. JODI D arby is a Portland free-lance writer. ...take responsibility for their own erotic education. Learn about waking up and sustaining erotic energy, giving and receiving pleasure, and expressing your desires. 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