'•«‘ ".V,-*
•■.i'-.;
1 *«. X
• .
1
UtorUanù ©bseruer
Focus
March 31, 1999
Page 7
Aster» H e rita g e M o n th
RHYTHM A N D LEGEND
ing voice of the taiko, or Japanese
o rtla n d T aiko, th e A sian
drum , has called the com m unity to­
American drum performance en­
gether
in cerem ony and celebration.
semble, will present its family show of
T
h
e
taiko
was used in religious cer­
the spring, “Rhythm and Legend,” on
em onies, folk festivals and theater.
Friday, April 23 and Saturday, April
T he distance from which the com ­
24 at the World Trade Center Audito­
munity taiko could be heard was said
rium in Portland. This year, Portland
P
to define the boundaries of villages
in ancient Japan. Portland Taiko ech­
oes that tradition while taking Asian
American music into unexplored ter­
ritory w ith its innovative and p ro­
vocative creations.
A dvance tick ets ($12, $6 chil-
d ren u n d er 12) are available at both
A n zen Im p o rte r s sto res (736 N E
M L K Jr. Blvd., P ortland or 4021 SW
117,h Ave., B eaverton - no service
charge) an d all Fred M eyer Fastixx
o u tle ts (at F re d M ey er sto re s o r
charge by p h o n e 224-B499) - subject
Taiko will be joined on stage by the
nationally-acclaimed storytellers of San
Francisco-based Eth-Noh-Tec.
“ R hythm and L eg en d ” will b e
a lively p erfo rm an ce id eal for all
ages, weaving together high-energy
taiko p erfo rm an ce w ith th e in c a n ­
d escen t sto ry te llin g o f E th-N oh-
Tec. T h e co n cert will featu re e n ­
g ag in g A sian sto ries an d m yths,
e x h ila ra tin g taik o c o m p o s itio n s
an d a rra n g em en ts, and playful in ­
teractions betw een perform ers and
aud ien ce m em bers.
H eralded as one of P o rtla n d ’s
m ost electrifying p erfo rm in g arts
groups, Portland Taiko is a sixteen-
mem ber Asian American drum m ing
group that has delighted audiences
at festivals, theaters, colleges and
schools since 1994. Portland Taiko’s
in te r p r e ta tio n o f th e J a p a n e s e
a rtfo rm of taiko co m b in es sh eer
physicality, ex u b eran t m ovem ent,
and innovative sounds.
For thousands of years, the boom-
to service charge). Tickets at the door
will be $14, $8 children under 12.
My environment is
important to me...
That’s why I listen
to Afternoon Jazz
on 89.1 with
commuter traffic
reports...it’s the
right thing to do
Monday through
Thursday
4 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Photo by Allen Nomura
Nancy Wang and Robert Kikuchi-Yngojo of Eth-Noh-Tec.
Asian-American Women Warrior Poets
Merle Woo
M erle Woo is a C hinese-K orean
American, socialist-feminist, and survi­
vor of cancer. She was thrust into m ain­
stream activism when she was term i­
nated from the Asian-American Stud­
ies D epartm ent at the University of
C alifornia Berkeley in 1 982. Woo’s dis­
missal was supported by one faculty
m em ber who asserted, “It is inappro­
priate for a lesbian to represent Asian-
American Studies.” Woo soon found
herself in the media spotlight when she
filed suit, charging four separate areas
of discrimination: race, sex, sexuality,
and political ideology. H er radical out­
spokenness outraged university offi­
cials, especially when she exposed their
violation of UCB’s own affirmative ac­
tion policies. Although the university
employed a plethora of defense attor­
neys, Woo won an out-of-court settle­
m ent, and was reinstated in 1984.
Yellow W oman Speaks
Shadow become rtakfollower become leader.
Mouse turned sorcerer -
/ » t red sky, a darker beast ties waiting,
Her teeth. m a hidden. now unthealhed
Our beauties, our mothers:
Thare young Chinese whom on disphn in barracoons.
The domestics in soiled aprons,
The miners, loggers, railroad workers
Holed up in Truckee in winters
/ w ill create armies o f their descendants
I w ill expose the ties and ridicule
The impotence o f those who hare called us
Chink
Yellow-livered
Exotic
In order to abuse and exploit us
A n d / w ill destroy them ’
Abrasive teacher, incisive comedian.
Tainted Lade, dark domestic
Sweep mind: attics, burnish our senses.
Keep house, make love, wreak vengeance
Nellie Wong
Nellie W ong’s ex u b eran t poem s
reveal the working life of a woman, the
pleasure she takes in food, music and
movies, her roots in Chinese-Am eri­
can culture and her deep com m itm ent
to justice everywhere. T hey move en­
ergetically and unselfconsciously be­
tw een th e p e rs o n a l a n d p o litic s.
“I ’m...a revolutionary fem inist who
w orks, w rites an d organizes in the
movem ents for radical social change.”
Lice or maggots or ticks or wbatever species
Might prefer to congregate on a man's balding bead
7bat they were lice in bu bead'"’
/'hen it seemed impossible that I saw lice
On the beggar jr scalp Ibe imagining o f lice loomed
I said I didn't know but only imagined that it was
In my own bead, o f course Since then I've wondered
I f I should actually see things with my own eves before
KMHD 89.1
Mt. Hood Community College Gresham
/w r ite them down
The 10th annual Rainbow Coalition_________
INNER CITY BLUES FESTIVAL
Saturday, April 10, 1999, 6:30 - 12:30
Crystal Ballroom, 14th Avenue at West Burnside
it
S w inging T he B lues
■i
Lily Wilde and Her Jumpin' Jubilee Orchestra
Norman Sylvester Band with LaRhonda Johnson,
Renato Caranto, and Sonny Hess.
Bill Rhoades and Alan Hagar
JHBh
The Jim Mesi Band with Mel Solomon
The Linda Hornbuckle Band
,
The Lloyd Jones Struggle
Shoehorn
I.illiH.IJIJIlJl.HLH.H.lJl.JI
Tickets: $12.00 advance - $13 door
Restaurant Snack Bar - Full-Service Bar - 21 k over
Tickets at Music Millsniumm. Geneva a. House of Sound, Reflections, Crystal Ballroom Box Office
Im agining Lice
B y N ellie W onk
Yellow woman. a revolutionary ¡peaks
On the Zoealo in Mexico City. I described the man
As flicking lice from bis bead And though / said
Isa w the man from a distance, actually across
Ibe street myprofessor asked “flo w could you see
O ita in a class I wrote about a beggar squatting
"I to i l render our shames andpenise them.
ne m an
A benefit for the Portland Rainbow Coalition, co-sponaored by the Cascade Blues Association
CBA m em ber* receive t l d iscou n t