Page B6
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November 13, 2002
WINNER! 4 T O N Y IK
e m e tin e
Poets create
atmosphere of
openness, honesty
by D avid P lechl
T he P ortland O bserver
Sam uel Irving has been w riting poetry
since he w as five years old, after the death Above Emotions poet Marquis Stoudamire embraces an audience member after his
o f a close friend prom pted an array o f em o reading at Sweetwaters. Below, a spoken word artist Turiya Atry performs an origional
work. Poets meet every other Wednesday for an evening o f entertainment and food.
tio n s.
“For years I ju st kept it to m yself," he said.
“1 was afraid to let anyone inside.”
All that changed when Irving met som e
one in high school that challenged his iso
lation.
M arquis Stoudam ire w rote poetry as well
and intuitively the tw o understood each
other. They shared w ork and encouraged
one an o th er’s aspirations.
“W e’ve been friends ev er since,” said
Stoudamire.
—excerpt from a poem <
Now that friendship has blossom ed into a
by Marquis Stoudamire. |
collaborative literary project called A bstract
V isionz. The tw o poets w ill produce their
own books and c d ’s and are hosting Em o He feels comfortable performing in the atmo his son is doing.
“It’s a very expressive art form ,” he said.
tions, a tw ice-m onthly poetry and spoken sphere Irving and Stoudamire have created.
“It’s
a com bination o f love, scrutiny, and
“You
can
talk
about
race
in
this
en
v
iro
n
w ord night, at Sw eetw aters in Southeast
Portland. C over is ten dollars and includes a m ent," he said. “ I ju st enjoy being able to get problem solving. I’m really im pressed by
th is.”
it out.”
hearty meal.
The cast of friends know s there may not be
Themes o f expression range from life and
Irving said the poetry and spoken word
a
lot
o f money in the art they pursue, th e y ’re
scene in Portland was in need o f some new death, to sex and relationships, but beneath it all
ju
st
doing
w hat feels right - and telling it like
there
is
an
awareness
of
a
higher
meaning
and
a
blood.
it
is.
search
for
truth.
Here,
you
don’t
have
to
worry
“Poetry w asn ’t being represented,” he
“ I really d o n ’t know how I ’m surviving,
said. “W e w anted to bring som e light to it.” about saying the wrong thing you just say
, ’m ju st doing w hat I love to d o ,” Stoudam ire
The light shed by Irving and his closest w hat’s on your mind.
“We w ant everyone to ju st be them selves,” said. “T his is my passion. Its all about h o n
friends is unfiltered, unstaged and all to
gether elegant. On the first W ednesday of Stoudam ire said. “ You got to have a sense o f e s ty .”
A bstract V isionz and other spoken w ord
E m otions a talented handful o f artists cam e b elonging.”
and
poetry guest artists w ill m eet for E m o
Irv
in
g
’s
father,
also
called
Sam
uel,
was
out to rhym e and rap to the truest rhythm s of
tions
again on W ednesday, Nov. 20 at 7 p.m.
listening
in
last
W
ednesday
night.
As
a
p
rac
the heart.
Usman Ally is a student at Lewis and Clar^. ticing ja zz m usician he appreciates the w ork at Sw eetw aters, 3350 SE M orrison.
Your love was
refreshing like the
cold side o f a pillow
on a hot summer’s
night, constantly
/lipping it over every
five minutes.
KOGNITO’S
twcmb
UPCOMING EVENTS
F R ID A Y , N O V E M B E R 2 2 N D
@ lls O Ô P M
OCEAN S03 BIND
Doug Woy Paintings; til Nov. 30
1 ’ I 1 A A I
North Portland artist Doug Woy pre
sents a new solo collection of mixed media
pieces at Needful Things, 325 NW 6lh Ave. With
a vision beyond his 22 years, Woy utilizes texture,
complex layering techniques and found objects to create social com m en
tary about poverty, domestic violence and other troubles found in blue-
collar American life.
of 27,h and Highland, For more infor
mation call. 503-280-8614.
GLIDE
A C A D IA N B A L L R O O M
I B S , N t A lb e r ta
c a v e r *1 .0 0
F O M M O R K IN F O L O C O N T O
W W W .tO lS T K P P E llS .C O M
V.S.O.P.
ITchKunGl and Culture Jam, Friday, Nov. 15
PRESENTS:
I lilt, SOCC II 2 my pockets records & Hig Dubva 's
a I 11r (J a v
i g lil b o n 1
ITchKunG! is an artist collective, experimental percussion and theatre
troupe comprised of musicians, fire workers, performance artists, martial
artists, welders, painters, sculptors, graphic designers, videographers,
activists and clowns. Culture Jam has all of these elements plus some
speakers, poets, comedians, architects, alchemists and raving lunatics.
This avant-guard show with an ‘extremely special guest’ is either at Plan
B, 315 SE 3rd Ave, or at The Medicine Hat, 1834 NE Alberta, or at both.
Tickets are $8.99 at the door. For more misinformation, call 503-231 -0039
or 503-231-0039, or both.
Children of a Lesser God; Nov. 14 through Nov. 23
November 23„ 2002
Location: Airport
• L i \
mc
9pm until
Sheraton
Soul Iroin the 70 s SO S & 9 0 S
( ¡nest A ppearance by BIG D U B YA
Free CD's to the first 50 people
t ree DVD Player to the 500th person
Advance at all Fasttixx outlets 503 224-8499
Dress Code'. Impressive
A V.S.O.P Production 503.358.0562
America Graphics 503.358.2160
The Portland Community College Theater Department presents Mark
M edoff s deeply moving, beautifully written play about the romance and
marriage of a spirited deaf girl and the devoted young teacher she meets
at the school for the deaf. Show times are at 7:30 p.m. Thursday through
Saturday, Nov. 14 through Nov. 23. Tickets are $5 for students and $7 for
general admission. For more information, call 503-977-4323.
On the Verge; Nov. 15,16 and 17
Concordia University Theater presents Eric Overmyer’s com edy, On the
Verge: Or the Geography of yearning, a zany tale about three adventur
ous Victorian ladies who set out on a journey in 1888 and end up traveling
forward to 1955. Described as a cross between Jack Kerouac and Oscar
Wilde, Overm yer’s script leads these ladies through their discovery of
twentieth century gadgets, catch phrases and cliches - all seen through
the eyes of Victorian anthropologists. On Friday and Saturday showtime
is7:30p.m .,onSundaythereisa2p.m . matinee. The Concordia University
Fine Arts Building is located two blocks north of Ainsworth on the com er
Jungle Book;
Friday, Nov. 15 through Dec. 1
Tears o f Joy Puppet T heater Fam ily Series presents Jungle
Book, featuring the adventures o f M ow gli as he tries to discover
w hether he is a m onkey, a w olf or a man. Show tim es at the PCPA
D olores W inningstad T heatre, 1111 SW B roadw ay, are F ridays, at
7:30 p.m ., S aturdays, at 11 a.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m . For
information, call 503-284-0557.
Compania Nacional De Danza, Tuesday, Nov. 19
Led by w orld fam ous artistic d irecto r and choreographer, N acho
D uato, S p ain ’s prem ier dance com pany m akes a one night ap p e ar
ance at the Keller A uditorium, SW 3rd and Clay, at 7:30 p.m. Com pania
will perform ‘Bach: M ultiplicity, Form s o fS ilen ce and E m ptiness,’ a
full evening o f w ork inspired by the life and m usic o f Johann
Sebastian Bach. T ickets are $ 18 to $39 and can be found at the PCPA
Box O ffic e on SW B roadw ay an d M ain, T ic k e t C e n tra l at
P ioneer Square and at all T ick etm aster locations or by calling 503-
224-4400.
Derrick Bell reading, Tuesday, Nov 19
Derrick Bell, an internationally recognized legal scholar, civil rights
activist and author of E thical A m bition: L ivin g a L ife o f M ea n in g a n d
W orth, will host a discussion, reading and book signing at Powells Books
nn U a ir n c i a t ”7 • TO F> m
American Idol; Tuesday, Nov. 19
G et a chance to see the A m erican idol finalists live in concert at the
Rose Garden. See Kelly Clarkson, Justin G aurini, Nikki M cKibbin and
oth er top finishers as they perform songs from the television show
and from the soon to be released CD. The event will be at the Rose
Garden on Tuesday, Nov. 19,7:30 p.m. Call 503-224-4400 or go online
to w w w .rosequarter.com or w w w .ticketm aster.com .
Happy Birthday Shay Washington— fro m y o u r fa m ily
B il l y R e e d ’ s
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(503) 493-8127
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