2
Clackamas Print
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
‘Bird nerd’s’ poems soar
Nick Peter:
1
1986-20(1
Fufkin Vollmayer
I
The Clackamas Print
Northwest community colleges have a lit
erary scene, one that’s not half bad.
Clackamas’ literary scene became appar
ent at the poetry reading in the Literary Arts
Center on May 4.
The poet Derek Sheffield may not ring a
bell if a) you are not a poet or b) are not in
the English Department. But no matter; the
language in his poems is smart, subtle and
accessible. You do not need a PhD to grasp
the meaning of his poems.
Sheffield, an English professor at cen
tral Washington’s Wenatchee Valley College,
gave his reading as part of Clackamas’ Spring
Term Sustainability Project. What has distin
guished the lecture series from the depressing
avalanche of facts about global warming,
however, have been the voices of writers and
poets such as Derek Sheffield.
Poetry can reflect the impact of habitat
loss more than a map. Take Sheffield’s poem
about Wenatchee Valley College’s decision to
put classrooms smack dab in the middle of an
old grove of pin oaks during a construction
project.
Sheffield introduced the poem by saying,
“There’s lots of development on campus.
The cynical part of me had a hard time get
ting over that. It’s bumper-stickered, you tree
hugger sap, get over it. The loss was .really
palpable, and I felt it enough.”
Sheffield’s poem captures this with lines
such as “[Where] ... Air once laced with
branches, fluorescent tubes flicker.”
Sheffield is a self-described “bird nerd”
and during his post-graduate years in Seattle
lived in a cabin on the Puget Sound.
“I had no TV, no money, a lot of student
loans, and I spent my time watching the
grebes, loons, wood-
ucks [and] harlequin
ducks,” he said. “The
Puget Sound became
my TV.”
His
experience
is encapsulated in a
poem he read about
bird migration: “Slow
descent of tropical
migrants/ one dirty
river
for
South
America’s clear cuts/
its song of hurried
sweets...”
The poem ends
with “3,000 miles
from the gathering
of his state ... that
warbler, thin from its
journey, stood as if I
did not breathe, and
only the wind could
Jennesa Palmer Clackamas Print
move me.”
Sheffield’s day
Sheffield shares his unique poems with an audience in
job at the commu
the Literary Arts Center. His poems are partly inspired
nity college also pays
by his knowledge and love of wildife and his many
homage to the biolog
years of experience as an English professor.
ically unique habitats
of the Northwest. As
a full-time English professor at Wenatchee Where poetry fits in, according to Sheffield,
Valley College, he teaches a course called “[is that it] is the art of what you don’t say as
“Northwest Nature Writing,” which is equally much as what you do say.”
He quoted Emily Dickinson, “Tell all the
part bird biology and creative writing.
For the class, Sheffield teams up with an truth, but tell it slanted.”
So, for those craving some slanted truth,
expert on native birds.
He said of the class, “It’s a learning com get a dose at the next Clackamas literary
munity. Students get a field guide, binoculars reading.
Of poetry, Sheffield said, “If my job was
and learn Latin names for species ... Some
students go on to learn more or to become just to write poetry, I wouldn’t want to do it
full-time. Community college is a good life
nature writers.”
Many people regard listening to poetry for a wrier. I gain a lot of satisfaction from
as the equivalent of eating green vegetables: teaching.”
good for you, but dull. Oh, and irrelevant.
Former
Clackamas®
Community College student ■
Nick Peters died on May 1 ■
due to injuries he sustained inH
a car accident in Casa Grande, 1
Ariz.
Bom in Oregon City onB
June 16, 1986, Peters lived B
in Molalla until his recent I
move to Arizona. He attended I
Molalla High School and was®
in its graduating class of2004.®
He lettered in wrestling all®
four years and was the Molalla®
District champ his sophomore®
year. He loved riding four-®
wheelers, playing guitar andf-
having a good time with hisl
friends.
Peters’ friend, and former®
Print staff member, Kim®
Schiewe described him as fun-B
loving, energetic and always
up for getting a big group®
together.
From spring of 2002 tofl
winter of 2007, Peters attend-®
ed the college and received®
a letter of congratulations for
completion of his transfer®
degree.
A Catholic service will®
be held at St. James Catholic I
Church on May 9, with buri-’ I
al to follow at Russellville! I
Cemetery. At 3 p.m on May I
11, a Celebration of Life I
Service will be held at the I
Molalla Nazarene Chuch.
Writing contest deadline dppwdcffim
Andrea Simpson
The Clackamas Print
UNDERGRADUATE INFORMATION
7:00 - 8:30, TUESDAY EVENING, MAY 15™
F LAVI A HALL SALON
Discover the convenience of flexible scheduling — online,
or on campus, days, evenings and weekends. Meet the
academic department chairs and advisors. Learn about
your scholarship and financial aid options.
Sick of being a poor writer?
The Writers’ Club is accepting
entries for the writing contest they
are sponsoring.
The categories are fiction, poetry
and creative nonfiction. There will
be modest cash prizes for the top
three winners. The top three will
also be published in the Writers’
Club publication coming out before
the end of the year.
The collection will also feature
stories by members of The Writers’
Club.
The deadline for entries is May
11 by 5 p.m.
The guidelines for submission
are:
Submit all entries on a CD or
Floppy disk, along with a hard copy,
to the Writers’ Club, RR 225.
The CD or floppy must have the
participant’s student ID number on
it, as well as the title(s) and category
of the entry.
Participants should identify the
hard copy by putting their student
ID number on each page.
Please one-and-a-half space all
fiction and nonfiction (12 pages
maximum).
Include a cover page consisting
of the participant’s name, student
ID number, phone number, address,
category (poetry, fiction, or creative
nonfiction) and title(s) of the sub
mitted piece(s).
Active writers in the surround
ing community will be serving as
judges for the contest. The identity
of these writers will be announced
after the deadline.
The judges will have general
ideas of what they are looking for.
“They’ll be looking for unique
ness of voice, strong use of the
genre’s techniques and having
something important to say. Also,
just pieces that stand out from®
crowd.” said Grabill.
Grabill encourages writer®o
enter who may not have the confi
dence to submit their work
“Often, people can be their «
worst critic, so I would say, ^B
in the words,” he said. “Why®
participate, because it can be a^H
feeling to share your work with
others who aren’t reading it to be
judgmental, but to feel what you’re
communicating.”
For more information, contact
James Grabill, RR 225, at (503).
657-6958, ext. 2824.
CAMPUS NEWS & EVENTS
I
To reserve a place, call 503.699.6268.
PRIOR LEARNING CREDIT
6;30 - 8:00, TUESDAY EVENING, MAY 22ND
ROOM 200, B.P. JOHN BUILDING
Earn up to 45 college credits toward your bachelor's
degree for your college-level learning on the job and from
life experience.
To reserve a place, call 503.699.6260.
★ US News & World Report
best COLLEGES 2007
"Number one in the Northwest for small classes"
MARYLHURST UNIVERSITY
Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities accredited
International Assembly for Collegiate Business Education accredited
17600 PACIFIC HIGHWAY (HWY. 43)
MARYLHURST, OREGON - JUST 10 MINUTES SOUTH OF PORTLAND
Serving students since 1893. www.marylhurst.edu 800.634.9982
Today
What does Clackamas Community College mean to you? Show your pride in Clackamas by entering a video, I
photo, collage, drawing, painting, or sculpture and capturing the Clackamas Experience in a powerful way.
Submissions are due by Wed., May 9 at noon. Take submissions to Michelle Baker in the Community Center,
Room 152 (Student Activities Office). You must include your name, phone number, e-mail address and mailing
address. For additional information, e-mail Michelle Baker at mbaker@clackamas.edu, or call (503) 657-6958J
ext 2245.
Today
Club Carnival in the Community Center from noon to 1 p.m. Contact ASG at (503) 657-6958, ext. 2245 for
details.
x
May 17
Oregon State University writer laureate Kathleen Dean Moore will read from her work in the Literary Arts
Center, Rook 220, from noon to 1 p.m. Moore is the author of The Pine Island Paradox and other creative
nonfiction. The visit is just one of the many events this term connected with the Sustainability Project For monj
information, contact the English Department at ext. 2284.
May 19
Clackamas celebrates its 40-year birthday this year, and its service to students, businesses and the community I
throughout those years. An afternoon of events will begin at noon and continue until 5 p.m. It’s completely freed
and the public is invited to attend. For more information, call ext. 2307 or visit the college Web site.