Nathan E. Lewis

Taylor Mali’s poem, “Typography,” is a brilliant analysis of our present language and culture. Should any of us take his advice, then we would be counter-culture. Apparently, a student of Mali, Ronnie Bruce created the animated version and posted it without Mali’s permission. Mali’s response was to post it at his own web site, recognizing its value. Bruce’s work will introduce more people to the beauty and relevance of poetry. His animated version exposes Bruce’s command of language and his grasp of his teacher’s poem.

Silber Media recently interviewed Oregon Indie musician, Matthew Kendall, leader of Rogue Motel asking him: Do you think being a father or a musician has a greater impact on your community?
Matt – Father for sure. I’m directly responsible for two little souls that are going to enter the community at large & be a part of it. Most people in my community don’t know my music.… Ha! (read the whole interview)
Actually more of us are discovering Matt’s music and you can hear Rogue Motel at the Buffalo Gap in Portland and access music at www.roguemotel.com/

The finest poem I have enjoyed this Passion week is “The Coming,” by R.S. Thomas. One of my fathers in the faith told me of it as he found it in “Divine Inspirations: The Life of Jesus in World Poetry,”. I have been holding out my thin arms but tomorrow morning strengthened by the surety of the resurrection I will raise them a bit higher and longer in praise of the One who said, “Let me go there.”

THE COMING

And God held in his hand
a small globe.  Look, he said,
the son looked.  Far off,
as through water, he saw
a scorched land of fierce
color.  The light burned
there: crusted buildings
cast their shadows; a bright
serpent, a river
uncoiled itself, radiant
with slime.

On a bare
hill a bare tree saddened
the sky.  Many people
held out their thin arms
to it, as though waiting
for a vanished April
to return to its crossed
boughs.  The son watched
them.  Let me go there, he said.

For more on R.S. Thomas and his writing, go to his site.

From Holly's Art

From Holly's Art Holly Armstrong has given me permission to show her pen and ink, a blast from the 60’s hippie-esque. Groovy doodling! How does she do it? She is much too young to remember these days, but her Mom, who is also an artist, was alive and well at the height of the movement. Holly, along with her husband and three little girls, are members of Evergreen, the congregation I serve in Beaverton, Oregon. That’s the connection: Here, in Oregon, we flower children are still rockin.

Post a comment telling me what you are doing in this present economic crisis to save costs and do with less. Continue reading »

From gutierrez art

Matt and Brielle Deppe’s friend, Sam Gutierrez, does print work with wood. Some of his prints are commentaries on Bible stories. An effective artist can display for us an insight or an idea, that has never popped into our heads prior to viewing his art and reading the title. Sam is one such artist. To view five of his prints along with my brief comments, double click on the print above to access the slide show. To view a larger selection of his art, go to the Green Elephant Art Studio.

(Miguel Hidalgo, Mexican Revolutionary Immortalized in the murals of Jose Clemente Orozco)

Powerfully controversial and painfully prophetic, Jose Clemente Orozco’s murals in the center of Guadalajara champion freedom, the common man, truth, and courage. When we take mission teams to Guadalajara to support the gospel through relief for the poor, children’s programs and relationship building with our Mexican friends, we reserve several hours to view the murals of Jose Clemente Orozco. Continue reading »

What is the five letter word Brooks Haxton refers to in the following poem?

The wedge sank five times into the clay,
and a word, which had been spoken in a breath,
lay still until the gods’ names were forgotten.
Then, when strangers took the tile in hand,
while stars sailed into the dark
beyond the world, the dead tongue
in the clay began to speak.

My son, Everett James has completed 15 pen and ink drawings of women and his art teacher, Kathy DeArmond Mier has arranged for them to show at Kettlemen’s Bagels in Southeast Portland through April 30. Everett is fourteen years old, a talented musician and budding artist. I am proud of his work and give glory to God for his skills and love of art. Kathy Mier, along with her husband, Gary, own and operate Gallery 7126 in the Pearl District. Visit their gallery sometime soon and several times a year to appreciate their rotation of local artists. Encourage Everett by dropping by Kettleman’s on Friday, March 7, between 6:00 and 9:00 p.m.

The faces of the actors gaze upward searching for God in the midst of their sufferings, offering in the middle of an expertly and artistically directed and produced film a credible presentation and answer to the problem of pain and suffering in the world. Director of “Mother of Mine,” Klaus Haro, along with the screenwriters open the film with first time actor, Topi Majamiemi, 10 years old, looking up at the stars. He portrays the life of Eero, one of 70,000 Finnish children who were evacuated from Helsinki during the Russian invasion during WWII. Swedish families opened their homes to the children. Eero’s father died in the war and so his mother consented to send her only child, Eero to Sweden. The story reveals tragic personal life upheavals caused by war that many of us who have lived during times of peace would never imagine. Eero’s gaze is drawn to the sky several times as bombers fly over his home. In these scenes, Eero looks skyward with the normal curiosity and fears of a child during wartime. Director Haro’s insightful contribution is to add strategically placed scenes in which Eero and others looks upward in hope. Continue reading »