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PEOPLE
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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.
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