Columbia Gorge News

Middle Eastern Medley

2007 Spring Humanities Series Broadens Cultural Horizons

By Tomi Owens, 4-04-07

above: Dr. John Damis accepts an award. below: Director/screenwriter Ladan Yalzadeh. lower left: Abstract art by Israeli painter and poet Yael Zahavy-Mittelman titled Mask3. lower right: An Oil on canvas by Lebanese painter, writer and illustrator Linda Dalal Sawaya titled Earthquake Angel #4

Each Wednesday evening between April 11 and May 2, 2007 Columbia Gorge Community College and Gorge Literacy present an informal Writer-to-Writer or Artist-to-Artist Chat that will precede a public reading or visual presentation and discussion. The events are split evenly between The Dalles and Hood River, Oregon. Hood River events (April 11 and 25) will be held at the Columbia Center for the Arts, 215 Cascade Street. In The Dalles, presentations will be held at The Mint – Erin Glenn Winery, 710 E. Second Street (April 18 and May 2.)

Conflict, Crisis, Chaos—these words are tossed around casually by the media when referring to the Middle East and it is all too easy to dismiss the region (and the people) as something of a lost cause. This, however, would be a grave mistake. Our nation’s future is intricately linked to the ultimate fate of that dynamic, culturally diverse land and the more we know about it the better prepared we will be for any eventuality. Even for peace.

Columbia Gorge Community College and Gorge Literacy organized this year’s Spring Humanities Series as an opportunity for Gorge Residents to participate in an exploration and open forum discussion of Middle Eastern culture, society and politics. The four featured speakers all have visceral ties to that region and each will bring a unique perspective and cultural context to the table.

On April 18, Dr. John Damis, Director of the Middle East Studies Center at Portland State University, will speak on the historical relationship between the peoples of Israel and Palestine. 

To address the culture and to see the human face of the Middle East and its people, the series includes presenters of Middle Eastern descent who work in the fields of writing and visual arts:

Ladan Yalzadeh (April 11) Iranian screenwriter and filmmaker;
Yael Zahavy-Mittelman (April 25) Israeli painter and poet;
Linda Dalal Sawaya (May 2) Lebanese painter, writer, and illustrator.

Spring Lecture coordinator Susan Lewis of GCGG says “it is our goal to put a human face on the Middle East and its people by bringing scholars of Middle Eastern descent who work in the fields of writing and visual arts. In order to foster better human relationships, it is important that we see the entirety of a people and not just a one-dimensional cardboard cutout. Poetry, painting, novels, and sculpture take us beyond the mind and into the heart where, hopefully, we can better connect as people of the world.”

Here in the Columbia Gorge our lives revolve gently around orchards and forests, two snow covered mountains and the slow, windy river. In our isolation we are a privileged land, protected from the turmoil and upheaval that currently engulfs the Middle East. But sometimes strife can cultivate a deeper understanding of the human condition. There is much to be learned from those individuals who have been exposed to life’s harsher realities and still derive meaning and art from their experiences.

Public evening presentation schedule:
6:30 – 7:15 p.m. Writer-to-Writer or Artist-to-Artist Chat
7:15 – 7:30 p.m. Hors d’oeuvres and mingling
7:30 – 8:45 p.m. Presentation/Reading and Discussion

In addition to these public presentations, the visiting scholars will also meet with students on the CGCC campus during the day.

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