July 13, 2022 The Skanner Portland & Seattle Page 7
Arts & Entertainment
Ewaso Vilage: Poems, Stories,
and Photography From Laikipia
County, Kenya
The Maasai people of East Africa comprise one of
the most intriguing and resourceful cultures on
Earth.
and Rubinger Fellow, Da-
sha Kelly Hamilton, who
described it as “eloquent
and frank, braiding cul-
ture and commentary,
justice and joy, imagery
and intimate impact. The
collection of these pieces
“
Enriched with hauntingly
beautiful photographs and
poetic stories
traveled me, not as a va-
pid tourist, but as a hu-
man.”
“Enriched with haunt-
ingly beautiful photo-
graphs and poetic sto-
ries, Ewaso Village
provides a richly de-
tailed portrait of a no-
madic society known
for their centuries-old
rituals and dazzling
ornamentation, but
a culture mostly hid-
den from outsiders,”
National Geographic
filmmaker and author
Kevin McCarey stated.
“In this thoroughly
engaging book, Dun-
can captures the heart
and soul of the Maas-
ai – an African tribal
people grappling with
the challenges of polit-
ical strife and climate
change.”
A lifelong Midwest-
erner and native of
western Iowa, Duncan
By Stacy M. Brown
NNPA Newswire Senior
National Correspondent
@StacyBrownMedia
A
cclaimed filmmak-
er, photojournal-
ist, writer, poet,
and humanitarian
Chip Duncan takes read-
ers on a tour of Laikipia
County, Kenya, in his
new release, “Ewaso Vil-
lage: Poems and Stories.”
The SelectBooks, Inc.,
offering
provides
a
birds-eye view of Ewaso
Village in a unique pub-
lication that incorpo-
rates stunning full-color
images – the product of
Duncan’s experience as a
veteran photojournalist
– and his poignant liter-
ary sensibilities as a poet
and memoirist.
“All of this is focused
on a community in south-
ern Kenya, Ewaso Vil-
lage, which has become
an important place of
spiritual connection for
the author over the years
of his travels,” according
to a news release.
The book’s publishers
noted that the Maasai
people of East Africa
comprise one of the most
intriguing and resource-
ful cultures on Earth.
“For more than a thou-
sand years, the Maas-
ai and their Samburu
neighbors have survived
and thrived as pastoral-
ists on the savannah near
Mt. Kenya and the Maa-
sai Mara borderlands of
Kenya and Tanzania,” the
publishers wrote.
“Chip Duncan exuber-
antly combines prose,
poetry, and photogra-
phy to celebrate the sto-
ries, songs, rituals, and
dreams of people who
live in this magical place
called Ewaso Village.”
Further, those who
speak of Ewaso Village
with admiration include
Wisconsin Poet Laureate
Gresham Arts Festival Returns
for Its Twentieth Year
The Skanner News
GRESHAM, Ore. –
The 20th regionally ac-
claimed Gresham Arts
Festival will be held on
Saturday, July 16 from 9
am – 5 pm at the Gresh-
am Arts Plaza. The re-
gionally renowned event
is back after a year break
in 2020 due to COVID-19
and a smaller scale event
in 2021.
The Gresham Arts
Plaza will be filled with
more than 120 artists
from all over the region,
including a few out of
state artisans. The Kids
Village presented by US
World Class Taekwondo
returns with more free
family fun including a
visit from the Reptile
Man, bounce house and
a petting zoo. Live music
will fill the plaza with
tunes from a variety of
artists including the Ore-
gon Koto Kai, Pearl of the
Pacific, Gresham rock-
er Dalton Huxley, Nate
Botsford, Chervona, and
more.
The City of Gresham
has partnered with Pa-
tron of the Arts Sponsor
Gresham Ford, as Bess
Wills and her team plan
to collect jars of peanut
butter for local non-prof-
it SnowCap Community
Charities.
For more information
including a complete
list of artists, vendors,
sponsors and activi-
ties happening around
downtown on Saturday,
July 16, visit: http://www.
GreshamOregon.gov/
Gresham-Arts-Festival.
has produced more than
fifty non-fiction films for
international broadcast
and distribution.
His work as a photogra-
pher and filmmaker has
taken him to ice fields,
war zones, slums, ship-
yards, museums, palac-
es, vineyards, beaches,
deserts, rainforests, sa-
vannahs, and farmlands.
Duncan’s
previous
books include the short
Emmies
Laughing
Matter?
Dave
Chappelle’s
2021 special “The Clos-
er”
which
included
anti-transgender com-
ments, was nominated
for best variety special
and directing for a vari-
ety special.
Netflix ran into a buzz-
saw of criticism not only
with the special but in
how internal memos
responded to employ-
ees’ concerns. Netflix
employees at one point
walked out in protest.
But co-CEO Ted Saran-
story collection Half
A Reason to Die (Se-
lectBooks, NYC, 2017),
photographic
collec-
tions Inspiring Change
(Thunder House Press,
Milwaukee, 2019) and
Enough to Go Around
(SelectBooks, NYC, 2009).
Duncan also speaks
publicly on the impact of
climate change as part of
The Three Tenors of Cli-
mate Change.
Ewaso Village is Dun-
can’s first book featuring
his poetry, and the first
in a trilogy featuring in-
digenous cultures from
around the world.
dos wrote that Netflix
doesn’t allow titles that
are “designed to incite
hate or violence, and we
don’t believe ‘The Closer’
crosses that line.”
Critics said that while
the streaming service of-
fers positive fare for the
LGBTQ community, Net-
flix is having it both ways
by also offering a show
like Chappelle’s that in-
cludes disparaging com-
ments about trans women.
Louis C.K.’s “Sorry”
in 2021 was his second
self-released
special
since his career slowed
down after admitting to
sexual misconduct. It did
not move Emmy voters.