In Defense of the Poetry Slam: Understanding Bend’s fascination with iambic pentameter

Posted inCulture

In Defense of the Poetry Slam: Understanding Bend’s fascination with iambic pentameter

Suzanne Burns

Noted literary critic Harold Bloom calls spoken word poetry, "the death
of art" but I prefer comparing the monthly Bend Poetry Slam with an
Andy Warhol quote: "Art is what you can get away with."

The academic
community has criticized poetry slams since their inception in the
mid-80s because they challenge what is literary merit, though the same
devices of repetition, alliteration and rhyme, beloved by classic
poets, are shunned by critics when used in a slam setting.
Poetry
began as a way for ancient societies to record history. Over time,
iambic pentameter became the most common meter in the English language.
Think Shakespeare's sonnets. Think of this line, "to swell the ground
and plump the hazel shells" by Keats. Then how about, "complacency is
not the common place to cultivate the seeds of resurrection" mirroring
this poetic construction, from a poem by Jason Graham, who performs and
regularly places in the top three at the slam as Mosley Wotta?

Posted inOutside

The Late, Great Ed Park: Owl pranks with an old friend

Jim Anderson

Ed Park doing what he liked best in the "Good Old Days." Photo by Jim AndersonEd Park, Central Oregon's best outdoor writer, cross-country skier,
runner, and wildlife photographer has gone out among the stars.

Ed
was a gem and an Oregonian through-and-through. He was a graduate of
the grand old "Cow College" (OSU) over in Corvallis, and a student of
Oregon's wildlife treasures. He lived with, studied and wrote a superb
book on our elusive and fun-filled, Northern River Otter, Lontra
canadensis; and for years, was the guts and feathers of the Outdoor
Writers Association of America. As such, he was a prodigious writer for
several outdoor magazines that spanned a time warp from the mid-50s
into this century. Moreover, from the early '90s to when he left us, he
did it with one finger, the result of a terrible stroke in 1991.(Go to
www.owaa.org/legends/legendEdPark.htm, and read the delightful
interview Ed gave not too long ago.)

Posted inOutside

Singin’ the “No Snow Blues?”: Finding a silver lining in the snow drought

Pam Stevenson

Who needs a lift ticket anyway?Mount Bachelor may be under new management, but Mother Nature is in
charge. To the dismay of Thanksgiving vacationers and local ski buffs,
not to mention Powdr Corp execs, Mt. Bachelor lacked enough snow to
open during the Thanksgiving weekend and I'm willing to bet that
continues to be the case when this issue hits print. I've lived in Bend
nearly nine years, and this is the latest start to ski season I
remember.

Posted inOpinion

Don’t Settle for Retreads

Eric Flowers

This week's Letter of the Week comes from regular writer Matt Orr who urges fellow citizens to hold Obama accountable even as he stacks his administration with Clinton-era appointees, including his former opponent Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State. Thanks for the letter Matt, you can pick up your top secret prize at the Source headquarters, 704 NW Georgia.
No doubt if you were stranded beside the road with four flat tires and the vultures circling you would be grateful to the man who came by and offered you a tow and tire change. You might even shed a tear of renewed hope as the kind man tightened down the last lug nut and pocketed your payment. It would be hard, however, not to harbor a certain disappointment-the kind that could easily turn to anger or resentment-when, at the first rest stop, you noticed a suspicious seam encircling the new tires. Retreads!

Posted inOpinion

Don’t Pre-Judge Incoming Councilors

Eric Flowers

As a regular reader of The Weekly Source, (sic) I was disappointed with the editor's suggestion (November 20, 2008) that Central Oregon Builder's Association (COBA) and Central Oregon Association of Realtors (COAR) essentially bought the election of the Bend City Council and are therefore expecting payback. While the true reasons voters voted as they did may never be factually known, the major reason may have been the incumbent councilors were incredibly poor stewards of public money.
During the past eight years our city population increased by 55%. During this time the city council increased general fund expenditures 110%, and increased the general fund debt 280%! The city council also authorized borrowing by their newly created urban renewal districts, which would have AGAIN more than doubled the general fund debt, without the vote of the people. Just last spring Mayor Abernethy noted that the council had added or beefed up 23 different programs and Councilor Friedman said he'd known about some of the underlying problems with the city's budget for at least a year. While it seems reasonable, he shared his concern with other councilors, corrective action was not taken.
The most highly visible financial failures of the pre-election city council are:

Posted inCulture

Change Your Fuel, Change Your World: Fuel brings biodiesel to the forefront

Rachel Purcell

Smoke on the water. Winner of the Sundance Audience Choice Award and now being considered for an Academy Award nomination, Fuel is an amazing resource for those wishing to know more about the hottest issue of our time, energy independence. Not as sensational as a Michael Moore production (there is no equivalent to standing on a boat outside of Guantánamo Bay with a bullhorn demanding healthcare), it is far more practical and the main themes are knowledge and action.
Fuel is a comprehensive look at energy in America. A history of where we have been, our present predicament and a solution to our dependence on foreign oil, given an effort by the American people and our government. The film flows seamlessly through scientific data, facts, history and personal narrative and is never dull or overwhelming. Quite the opposite in fact, there is intrigue, conspiracy, murder, and greed, which is made all the more infuriating because this is not fiction.

Posted inOpinion

Keep Up the Good Work, Jim

Eric Flowers

Hi Mr. Anderson,
Recently during the ideal weather period of mid October I had a visit from long time friends who were actually college buddies and later biology teachers like myself. As we took advantage of the beautiful waterfalls and scenery of the area, we talked about how much of today's teaching of the subject seems to emphasize the microscopic, even the molecular nature of the plant/animal world much to the neglect of the total organisms.
With that comment in mind I shared some of your recent articles from The Source, and a thought occurred to all of us.

Posted inCulture

Off The Deep End: Surrealistic masterpiece creates the ultimate existential dilemma

Mike Bookey

Been waitin' for the bus all day. Knowing writer Charlie Kaufman's (Being John Malkovich/Adaptation) warped sense of humor, I figured the misspelling of Schenectady, New York was a setup for a cool in-joke. Turns out "synecdoche" is a real word, which according to Webster's means, "a figure of speech by which a part is put for the whole (as society for high society).

And Synecdoche New York is set in Schenectady. This movie is a surreal mess, mesmerizing in its complexities, perfectly depicting depressing beauty with stunning diatribes of madness, loneliness and despair. It's also a hilariously dark comedy.
Directing for the first time, Kaufman delivers what seems a straightforward story, but after a few minutes things start to twist. The first few hints involve the misinterpretation and mispronunciation of words. Kaufman then begins to fill the screen with images and ideas at a rapid pace. Soon we figure out that it's not going to do us any good to try and make sense of this journey. Just sit back and enjoy the circus.

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