December 1, 2004
Feat
Mingo mixes writing, technology wor
Elizabeth Tobey
Mingo, who also designed the
English department website for
both Clackamas and Mt. Hood
“Language is everywhere,” community colleges, feels that the
explained English Instructor Andy Internet is a very powerful tool for
Mingo, who just began his first year communication.
as a full-time teacher here at
“My theory is that within the
Clackamas.
next five years the Internet will
Mingo is interested in exploring replace television,” he said.
ways to “integrate writing, art and “Because it is so readily available
technology.”
to so many people, “it will be the
However, being a writer was not medium for sharing information
always a clear goal for him.
and ideas,” he added.
“I think I didn’t know what I
He has also written a novel,
wanted to do,” said Mingo of how “East of Elko,” which was pub-
he stumbled upon writing, “But fished by Chiamsa Press.
then I read some authors that
“It’s about a man,” said Mingo,
changed the way I looked at the “who takes a job in the Basque land
world.”
of northern Spain and loses himself
Specifically Ken Kesey and his in the culture.”
band of Merry Pranksters, Neal
The novel comes from personal
Cassady, Allen Ginsberg and experience. Mingo lived in San
Jack Kerouac
Sebastian for six
months while
were
great
influences on
going to school
writing]
his view of the
at the University
you work
world and of
de Paise de
writing.
Vasquos. He saw
people... who
At this point,
a lot of anti-
can create
his interests go
American senti
out
beyond fiction
ment,
mostly
into screenwrit
from the ETA,
of
”
ing and film
the
Basque
making, and he
Liberation
Andy Mingo
has a clearer
Front, while he
English Instructor
idea of what his
was there. It was
goals are.
the first time he
“I want to'
came face-to-
bring writing into the 21 st century,” face with wide-scale rioting.
“They actually bombed our
he said.
To do this he employs a variety bus once,” he said. “It was all
of media. He works with Chiasma very exciting.”
Productions, an independent film
When he returned to the
company that defines itself as being States he got his BA in English
“the crossover (or chiasma) from the University of Reno,
between contemporary literature Nevada, his hometown.
and its visual representation.” He
“I grew up learning to gamble in
uses Final Cut Pro™ to create short a 24-hour town,” declares Mingo.
films that combine written text with
With his BA in hand, Mingo left
visual images and sound.
for Italy to pursue his dream of
Contributing Writer
“[In
with
something
nothing.
becoming a writer. But after three
years living in Sardinia, “it got too
slow and boring.” So once again he
returned to the states, and to school.
He was accepted, and got his MFA,
at San Diego State University.
“The MFA gave me a free ticket
up to Oregon,” he said. Once here
he worked for a little while at Mt.
Hood Community College, and
then started work as an adjunct
instructor at Clackamas.
“CCC, I saw right away, put an
emphasis on non-traditional ways
of learning,” Mingo said.
Now a full-time instructor,
Mingo is excited about the job.
“I love it,” he said, “I’m real
ly jazzed about the diversity of
the students.”
Although he’s currently teach
ing mostly basic English composi
tion courses, he is looking forward
to spring term, when he will be
teaching screen writing production,
a class which lets students take a
script and translate it into visual
medium. Students will go through
all the steps to “move away from
just a piece of writing,” he said,
“and create a concrete film.”
Mingo will also be taking on
Clackamas’ small press literary
journal, synesthesia.
“My favorite part of teaching,”
Mingo said, “is to see students learn
something new, see something in a
way they’ve never seen it before.”
His approach to teaching is
“firmly based on an old, stable
notion of critical inquiry.” It is an
idea that began with Socrates and
his method of questioning every
thing in order to find truth.
“I try to bridge that gap
between ancient philosophy and
modem culture,” Mingo said, “to
try and help students see the
world for what it really is. Then I
try to empower students to take
control of their own realities.
In keeping with the idea of tak
ing control of his reality, Mingo
recently co-edited “Northwest
Edge:
Fictions
of
Mass
Destruction,” with his wife Lidia
Yuknavitch who is the founder of
Chiasma Press, and fellow
Clackamas English Instructor,
Trevor Dodge.
The anthology of works by
Northwest writers focuses on a
variety of current, controversial
political issues. Published by
Chiasma Press, the book uses a lot
of experimental forms of fiction,
which Mingo explains as being
“cut up, fragmented text.”
Working with Dodge and
Yuknavitch on that™
as getting to know at
many other writers is
aspects of being a writ
finds most rewarding,
“My favorite thing
writer is becoming a
world,” he said. “It’s a
glittery world. You w
pie with interesting, i
of the world, who can
thing out of nothing.”
Mingo encourages
ested in becoming
“never stop writing.” I
“To be a great J
said, “you have to sn
the same to be a grea
have to write every dal
English instructor seeks a better Amer
Nick Peters
Contributing Writer
New English Instructor Trevor
Dodge takes his citizenship serious
ly and prefers his entertainment
substantial.
A graduate of Twin Falls High in
southern Idaho, Dodge’s small
town upbringing may have been
similar to any Willamette Valiev
kid’s, but probably not as wet.
Dodge went on to the University
of Idaho where he originally
intended to become a journalist, but
eventually switched his major to
creative writing.
j
DODGE
“In college I read things I never tioned “Adaptation” and “Being
would have had my hands on if I John Malcovich” as some movies
hadn’t had been there ...” Dodge he enjoyed.
said, “and the professors there blew
As for citizenship, Dodge thinks
my mind”.
with a cause-and-effect point of
Dodge continues to learn and view, and looks at the bigger pic
keep his mind sharp with books, the ture.
Internet, and more talk radio than
“We need to understand we five
music. Movies that portray them- in a global economy ... and what
selves as art hold
we do will have
more value to
ripple effects on
Dodge than those
other countries”
strictly for the pur
said
Dodge,
“
to
pose of entertain
who believes
understand
ment.
our presence in
in
Dodge men
Iraq is not justi
fied and won
economy
ders if our
we do
motives in Iraq
have
are imperialistic
or concerned
other
only with our
countries, ”
economy.
“We need to
Trevor Dodge
ask ourselves,
English Instructor
‘How did we
get where we
are?’” he said.
“Americans aren’t ready to realize
that.”
“Our consumerist habits expect
cheap oil, as cheap as possible” said
Dodge. When asked what kind of
car he would prefer to be driving,
he said he wished we “lived in a
society that doesn’t need cars” and
a more efficient idea would be
“mass community transit.”
Dodge said it’s sad -that the
“working-class people believe in
the American dream,” but these are
the same Americans that “have to
turn to the National Guard to pay
for an education” while at the same
time, NBA players like Ron Artest
who, according to Dodge, “embod
ies things that are wrong by the way
Matt Hanrahan Clackamas Print
he conducts himself,” get millions
of dollars and all the breaks.
So is this treason talk, or is this
the kind of thinking that will save
an FCC-regulated.i:
country run by a fewJ
by mass ignorance? I
»
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