NEWS/FEATURE
April 29,1992
Page 3
THE CLACKAMAS PRINT
Averill, Williams express memories, views through poetry
by Melissa Freels
Co-Editor-in-Chief
Teaching, Earth Day and
censorship were among the
numerous themes expressed at the
Diane Averill and Sandra
Williams poetry reading, which
took place on April 22 in CCC’s
McLoughlin Theater.
Averill, an English
instructor at Clackamas, and
Williams, an English instructor at
Mt. Hood Community College,
both read poems that were filled
with experiences and memories.
“Memories come floating
detoured, “suddenly riding gravel
with my grandma at the wheel.”
Following Williams’
reading of “Detours,” Averill
recited “Colors,” another poem
from Branches Doubled Over
with Fruit.
“I’ve read this several
times before,” she told the
audience, “and every time that I
read it I think that it’s not going to
affect me as much, but each time it
does. It brings me right back to that
situation where I was sitting out on
the back porch and there were
these teenagers-abused teenagers-
"When I first began writing poems seriously,
I was about 11 years old and I loved doing it.
.. I was also writing short stories at the time. "
-Diane Averill
to me out of nowhere,” said
Williams.
Sometimes, for no
particular reason, Williams told
the audience, “suddenly I’m
transported
back
into
an
experience.”
Williams’ first poem
during the hour-long reading was
“Sausage.” The poem is written
from Williams’ experiences as an
English teacher and actually
contains four sentences from a
student’s writing assignment.
Averill continued the
theme of teaching as she read
“Steps in Composition: Four
-in my backyard.”
Averill explained that she
has helped many teenagers who
were abused and had no family to
turn to. “Colors,’’isaboutJulieand
her brother Jim, who had been
abused by their father. When Julie
and Jim were kicked out of their
house, they turned to Averill for
help. This experience prompted
Averill to write “Colas.”
“Julie couldn’t have her
school picture taken-her father
stained her cheek a blue-yellow
Students,” which is published in
her book Branches Doubled Over
with Fruit. “One thing that has
always bothered me a bit as an
English teacher is the necessity to
correct punctuation, grammar and
sentence structure . . .,” Averill
bruise,” Averill wrote.
Averill
followed
“Colors” by reciting “The
Mother,” which expresses the
experience of separating with all of
the girls she helped.
Appropriately, Averill
and Williams recognized Earth
Day during their April 22 reading.
explained.
Averill’s poem
includes four student voices and
the “traditional English teacher
voice.”
During last Wednesday’s
reading, Williams also read
“Detours,” which deals with “the
phenomena of memory,” she said.
“It seems that, as we grow older,
sometimes the memories seem to
come drifting back at us with
increasing frequency,” Williams
said. In “Detours,” Williams
wrote about driving on the freeway
when unexpectedly she was
“When I first started
teaching at Mt. Hood Community
College, one of the reasons I
accepted the contract was that I
thought it would be lovely each
day to drive from the urban
environment of Portland—the city-
-into the rural landscape,and go to
school and teach in a community
college where there were fields and
orchards and farmland ... Since I
started teaching there, almost all of
that is gone. It’s rare that one sees
much that looks rural, mostly it’s
fast-food restaurants,” said
Williams.
She wrote “The Error in
Creation” after seeing the rare
experience of a pheasant flying
across the road while she was
going to class one day. “This is a
sight we won’t see much again out
here ... “ Williams wrote of the
sighting. Rapid development in
rural areas, where “lights twitch
messages all day,” and where a
new shopping center is “a miracle
in seven days,” are all images that
Williams wrote about in “The
Error in Creation.”
In honor of Earth Day,
Averill read “Notes Fran Oaks
Bottom Trail.” Averill, who has
spent much time in Sellwood at
Oaks Bottom Trail, wrote “Notes.
. .” from the perspective of a
mother, trying to understand her
son’s fears.
“I always find the natural
world beautiful in itself, but also as
photo by Vivian Johnaon
Diane Averill, an English instructor at CCC, read some of her
poems from "Branches Doubled Over with Fruit" at a poetry
Averill
reading on April 22 in the McLoughlin Theater.
a source for renewal,”
explained.
Averill
closed
Wednesday’s reading by reciting,
“Paint By Number.” The poem
stresses Averill’s belief that
“artists need free minds in order to
create.”
Speaking against
censorship in the arts, Averill
wrote, “Well-endowed art is ‘safe
art.’”
In “Paint By Number,”
Averill wrote against painting to
please, and against guidelines for
art. Censorship, Averill wrote can
be like “ocean drift nets.”
.Following the poetry
reading, Averill and Williams
answered questions from the
‘“You must stop this creative
writing nonsense, and get into
journalism where you can make
sone money,”’
Averill took
journalism courses in junior high
and high school.
This “effectively killed
my desire to write, because at that
particular time, journalism... was
taught ‘formulatively,’” she said.
Journalism was not the creative
outlet that Averill wanted.
In her 20s, Averill began
writing poetry again. In 1991, she
published Branches Doubled
Over with Fruit, which is a
7 guess I had more of a romantic image (at the
age of 12) that rd die and somebody would
find all of these wonderful poems that id
written... sort of a la Emily Dickinson."
-Sandra Williams
audience. The questions focused
on subjects ranging from imagery
to careers.
“When I first began
writing poems seriously, I was
about 11 years old and I loved
doing it... I also was writing short
stories at the time,” Averill
explained. After pressure from her
parents and teachers, who told her,
collection of her poems.
Like Averill, Williams
also started writing poetry when
she wasyoung. “I guess I had more
of a romantic image (at the age of
12) that I’d die and somebody
would find all of these wonderful
poems that I’d written... sot of a
la Emily Dickinson,” Williams
said.
“I received a lot of praise
from teachers all the way through
high school... but I never got any
constructive criticism,” Williams
explained.
After she began
teaching at MHCC, a friend in
California convinced her to submit
some poetry to a literary contest.
“I submitted my very first
poem and got accepted for
publication and thought, ‘Hey it is
this easy...’ Then (I) took the next
step and then got the ‘Whap!’”
Williams said.
Criticism like,
“‘Wok, change it, I don’t like it,
it’S .na good enough, if you make
these changes...’’’made Williams
think, “My God, this person’s
telling me to make changes in my
poem, my heart, my soul.”
“I actually came to the
whole idea of publication, and the
suffering that’s attached to it, quite
late. I was already 22 before I
realized that this was going to be
tougher than I thought,” Williams
said.
Williams has had her
work published in numerous
magazines. She will have poetry
published in two forthcoming
anthologies, and has been
nominated for a Pushcart Prize.
She recently received a fellowship
and hopes to publish a book of
poetry soon.
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USA Today recognizes CCC honor student
by Ginger Land
Staff Writer
Kathleen Mayer, a full-
time CCC student, was recently
mentioned in USA Today when
she was presented with a
nationwide scholarship worth
$2,500.
The Academic All-
American First Team Scholarship
was awarded to her in Phoenix,
AZ.
CCC Administrators Dian
Connett, John Keyser, Vince
Fitzgerald and Bernie Nolan were
present for the ceremony.
There
were
400
applicants and only 20 winners,
with only aie applicant submitted
per college. Kathleen’s 4.0 GJ*. A.
was a big factor in the application
she submitted. She is the only
student west of the Rockies to be
awarded and the first ever in
Oregon. The award was sponsored
by Phi Theta Kappa, USA Today,
and the American Association of
Community and Junior Colleges.
Kathleen has received
three scholarships altogether and is
planning on going to Lewis and
Clark College next fall. She is an
English
wants
major
to get
and
Education Degree. Being a mother
of five, Kathleen’s scholarships,
along with financial aid, will help
her reach her goals. “I recommend
that more people apply for
scholarships.” Kathleen stated.
"There is money out there; you just
have to have the initiative to apply
and follow through.”
eventually
her Secondary
"There is money out
there; you just have
to have the initiative
to apply and follow
through."
-Kathleen Mayer
Quit smoking.
American Heart
^^Association
Oregon Affiliate, Inc.