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About the performances
T here m usical tales of the history
and survival of the G ullah people fol­
low th e ir re m a rk a b le sto ry fro m
West A frican origins and diaspora,
to enslavem ent on Sea Island p lan ­
ta tio n s , to lib e ra tio n a n d life in
G ullah co m m u n ities today. H isto­
ria n /
“ a r t - tv i s t” ,
M a r q u e tta
G oodw ine weaves traditioanl G ullah
language, story, song and hum o r into
a lively and captivating perform ance
th at reveals th e A frican roots and
A m erican history of a u niq u e, yet
en dangered, culture. T h e shows will
begin w ith life in the villages of the
W inw ard an d R ice C o ast o f West
A frican and then take the audience
on a jo u rn e y th ro u g h the M iddle
Passage to the Sea Islands.
Vocal and percussion accom pa­
n im en t by “A sha’s B aba” b rin g s the
a u d ie n c e in to th e rh y th m o f th e
tales, inviting p a rticip atio n in the
call-an d -resp o n se, h a n d c la p p in g
an d im p ro v isa tio n ty p ic a l o f th e
West A frican m usic th at influ en ced
the spirituals and “shouts’ o f G ullah
p rayer m eetings.
T h e G u llah , or G eechee, people
are d e scen d an ts of A frican slaves
who w orked th e Sea Island p la n ta ­
tions off the coast of S outh C aro-
April 14, 1999
f&rirtgs &vllah Culture T® Portland
lina a n d G eorgia. B ecause th ese is­
la n d s w ere so is o la te d fro m th e
m a in la n d , th e G u lla h p e o p le re ­
tain ed m ore of th eir A frican cu ltu re
an d custom s they any o th er African-
A m ericans.
About Marquetta Goodwine
Ms. G oodw ine was b o rn in New
York C ity , b u t w as ra ise d in th e
G ullah trad itio n , spending m uch of
h er youth in the South C aro lin a Sea
Islands. A fter excelling at Fordham
a n d C o lu m b ia U n iv e rs itie s, Ms.
G o o d w in e ’s in te r e s t in A fric a n
A m erican history, h eritag e and cul­
ture rem ained strong. She also serves
as R eg io n al C o o rd in a to r for th e
S m ith s o n ia n I n s tit u te ’s “A fric a n
A m e ric a n R u ra l E x p e r ie n c e ”
project. She feels th a t all of h er work
is connected because h er focus is “to
c o n tin u e to e d u c a te a n d u p lif t
people of A frican descent th ro u g h ­
o u t the diasp o ra.”
Ms. Goodwine first perform ed at
the IFC C last season as a part of a cel­
eb ratio n of G ullah cu ltu re th at in ­
clu d ed an e x h ib itio n of J o n a th a n
G reen’s paintings. H er powerful per­
formances captivated audiences of all
ages so completely th at we invited her
back for an extended stay!
Please put caption here
T h e Interstate Firehouse C ultural
C e n te r is a co m m u n ity -b ased p er­
form ing and visual arts cen ter with
an em phasis on m u lticu ltu ral issues
and perspectives.
National Poetry Awareness Month
GULLAH TALES: Sea Island Stories
and Rhythms
Sunday, April 25 @ 2 PM and 7:30
PM , tickets $10/general & $6/students
Friday and Saturday, April 16'and
17 @ 7:30 PM and
Sunday, A pril 18 @ 2 PM and 7:30
PM, tickets $10/general & $6/students
Holdin de Culcha - Origins Lecture
Series
Survival Songs
Friday and Saturday, April 23 and
Tk following poems are fro« PoetSpeak Portfand. The PoetSpeak Series is »forum for Northwest poets, and aim to bring
sn-xtiM* useful and enjoyable poetry into everyday lives. Meetings are every first Sunday of each quarterly month, from 3-5 PM..
in the Great Hall at PSU’s Koinonia House, 633 S ¥ Montgomery. A gala performance of Poetspeak Vancouver will be at
Huckleberry's on July 11. Call Kurt Kristensen at 503/697-9833.
Twenty Bed Foxes
t fJ.Q u iE m s
Wee horns of the w^tt before the New Year
Twenty little red foxes came from woods
Wanted to use my backyard for a dance
I t a l y fade red fans ail in line
If jowaxdd torn sen, ¡ m would hone hem shodwd
I t a l y red fa ts doing the Bunny lop
E n d wore a white apron and vms grinning
GrimuogBu possums with white teeth showmg
Soon they oB found the Bunny Bop boring
Next they did the Charieston: that was a si^ t
Twenty red baes doing the Charleston
Then they switched music to some hot jn a
Twenty red foxes doing the JittertHig
Finally, they grew tired, took their aprons off
Qwdt ¿ow ing H t possums, then danced home
Down the garden path to a slow fox tret
Page 11
To sing
B r lh c jT m
There is a legend of a bird
who sings just once in her He.
From the moment
she leaves the nest
she searches for a thorn tree,
smging
among dte branches
she « p a les herself
upon the longest spine
dying
she rises above her own agony
to sing one superlative song.
AO of nature stills to listen
and the goddess smiles.
Chicken Soup
lljr B art Kristensen
Comfort
older than childhood,
mothers of eons
smiling gently
in the shimmer
of the cap.
Animal magic,
wisdom crawling
out of oceans,
hands so patient
hurt and aches
meh away,
leaving dreams
of endless safety.
Liquid heat,
globules of basic fat.
pieces of goodness
distilled
tetn b n m y
H hurts.
Wednesday, April 21 @ 8 PM, tick­
ets $10/general.
For m ore inform ation, call 503/
823-IFCC
24 @ 7:30 PM and
P —— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
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