Image provided by: Clackamas Community College; Oregon City, OR
About The Clackamas print. (Oregon City, Oregon) 1989-2019 | View Entire Issue (May 7, 2008)
[ Clàckamas Print Arljj^Culture 9 Wednesday, May 7, 2008 • • •••••••••••••••••••••••••••• ••••• Upcoming Sustainability Events è Gardening ?oet shares iterary works stainability Project at Clackamas Community Col- eg^draws attention to the challenges facing the planet hr Sigh lecture, film and Earth-friendly events. All events are free and open to the public. They will take )lac«in the college’s McLoughlin Auditorium, unless oth- rwise noted in the schedule that follows. Tomorrow: Speaker: Dr. Mark Hixon, professor, depart- nent of zoology, Oregon State University. “Ocean Warm- ng: threats to the Pacific Northwest. ”11 a.m. to 1 p.m. al n i Wednesday, May 14: Speaker: Dr. Kirsten Sheeran, conomics professor, St. Mary’s College of Maryland, on ffects of planetary warming on the economy. 7 to 8:30 >.m. L I Thursday, May 15: Speaker: Vai McQuaid, CCC li- >raritn emeritus. “Germany’s World Leadership in Green rech^ology.” Noon to 1 p.m. Thursday, May 15: Speaker: Dr. Ceiridwen Terrill, writer, naturalist, professor at Concordia University in "ortland, author of “Unnatural Landscapes: Tracking In- ) asive Species.” 3 to 4 p.m., Roger Rook 220. le Emily Walters Clackamas Print Charles Goodrich gestures flamboyantly with his arms as he reads a selection from his poetry and prose works. Emily Walters or more information, contact Jim Grabill at m^c lackamas.edu. »• • •»•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• i The Alexander Gallery's new exhibit by Los Angeles- artist Max Lesser, which features a series of new paint- ing ^opened May 2. Gallery hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday thn Igh Friday. It is called "Between here and there is better thfe (neither here nor there," and will be open until June 13. 1 ip BAY: The foreign language department and the college's 1Ä] wage clubs host the annual International Day Celebration iO hich students, staff and community members participate. P« Irmances will take place Jin the Community Center from 1® in. to 2 p.m. and include music, dancing and plays. Admis^ sior is free and open to the public. For more information, con- tact the foreign language department at ext. 2381 or ext. 2813. ! Ji ■ Ma 15 to May 30: The .Student Art Exhibitioh f or 2008 will be pt inthe Pauling Gallery. Faculty will select the work for j the ihow 3 nd several awards and scholarships will be hand- ed I pt after being judged by an off-campus Curator. Student prk is now being accepted in the Art Center Lobby until ly from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day. Art must have been com- pl in conjuction with an art department class within the rear. " Arts & Culture Editor Lit only by rare bright sun beams flowing through the win dows in the high ceiling, room 220 inside Roger Rook Hall com fortably seated 18 audience mem bers in swirling purple armchairs Thursday, May 1. Attendees came to listen to a self-described “life time gardener.” From 11 a.m. to approximately 12:30 p.m., creative writer Charles Goodrich shared pieces from his written works, all inspired by his avid pursuit of gardening. Goodrich is currently a leader of the Spring Creek Project at Oregon State University, which he said seeks to “bring together creative writers and scientists” to explore nature. Over his many years of working as a gardener - or simply doing.it as a stress-relieving pastime that also happened to. provide him with fresh produce - he has found that his very perception of life has been altered. “You begin to see the world through that lens,” he said. “I would get materials for my writ ing.” Goodrich started off by reading from a short selection of poems that he titled “Dispatches from the Garden. Animatedly waving his arms, he first perused “Black Tomato,” which described his relief at the frost killing off his dwindling gar den and sparing him from eating vegetables that had ceased to taste fresh. He followed it with “The Boss,” a piece of a similar sub ject. “Erosion” was inspired by a realization Goodrich experienced while in his garden one day: a - correlation between his plants and his brother’s then-recent surgery. Perhaps the ’ most interesting poem was the last .one he read, in which he relayed how he took to the garden after hearing about the planes hitting the Twin Towers on September 11.. He channeled his anguish into destroying weeds and overgrown plants. Goodrich then took a 20-minute hiatus from his personal work so that two students from Clackamas could present a few of their own poems concerning nature. Nate Qourtney went first, read ing three pieces. The subject matter was the “spirituality of nature,” and the poetry seemed to be a little too far removed from sustainability of the' planet, focusing more on animal rights than “green” matters; Rose Lefebvre stepped up to the podium next, with five poems for her sampling of work. The subjects ranged from the ocean to dancing in the rain with her son. Goodrich finally retook his place to commence the readings with a bit of prose written about his community’s land-use battle with developers who wanted to expand a fiberglass factory down the street on which he lived. Some of his published works may be found in the books “Insects of South Corvallis,” “The Practice of Home” and his most recent, “In the Blast Zone,” a- collaboration with a few other members of the Spring Creek Project that is set to launch at Powell’s, in Portland, on May 18. Additional information regard ing the Spring Creek Project may be found at http://springcreek.ore- gonstate.edu.
