PSU Magazine Summer 1990

II Rhythms of Barbados DREAMER , by Primus Sr. John, PSU English professor (Carnegie Mellon Un iversity Press, 1990, $8.95) P oetry can be a stream of the poet's consciousness, deep and debris– fi lled , which only the determined can ford . Primus St. John is a humane poet, in th at much of hi s meaning is access ible to the reader; yet there are fo rces which rise up slowly to amaze and haunt us. Dreamer is the third book of poetry written by St. John . The result of a journey to Barbados, Dreamer gives Black hi story bone and blood , some of it the author's own, as though St. John is affirn1in g, "This, too, is what I am made of." Hi s language is rich and rhythmic , perhaps best savored by reading aloud. African and Barbad ian terms will be fo re ign to many readers, but aids are furni shed in the bac k of the book. And if one can surrender to the rhythms, the inti mations can be fe lt and understood. The fi rst section is a series of poems (which build on one another) voiced by prisoners of a slave ship. Strangers and tribal enemies, these passengers to hell develop a kinship of blood , pain and seducti ve memory. The poems prese nt unimagi nable oppression j uxtaposed against pasts of graceful pride, joy and sensuality. Each poem is prefaced by a quotation in academic voice critiquing the Black ex perience. This dry, di stant voice robs the ex perience of its life blood , but the poems put it back again . The second part of the book is a rendering of the life of John Newton, a slave ship captain who eventually became an Anglican priest and an abo litionist. The poem's narrati ve voice, accompanied by first person consc iousness, reveals hi storical fac ts and the personal road such a man had to trave l. The indi vidual poems of Dreamer 's th ird section vary in voice from Barbadian to other island dialects, and like all the poetry, come across strong, moody and mov ing . PS PSU 12 I BOOKS Cartoonist exposed DON'T WORRY, HE WON'T GET FAR ON FOOT, by John Callahan (William Morrow and Company, Inc., 1989; Vintage Books, 1990, $8.95) M any Portlanders recogni ze cartooni st John Callahan when they see him downtown. Hi s picture has appeared in local papers, and the man stands out in a crowd with hi s red hair, piercing blue eyes , and electric wheelchair. But once you have read hi s new autobiog– raphy, Don 't Worry, He Won't Ger Far on Foot, he isn't just the author of irreverent cartoons wheeling by, but someone you know, intimately in fac t. And you' ll probabl y like him. Readers learn first of hi s alcoho l addiction , which shaped hi s life more than the auto accident that left him a quadriplegic at age 2 1. But it isn't a self-pitying account. The book is strewn with funny remarks, comic drawings and also some real pain . Callahan grew up in The Dalles , Ore., the adopted son of an Iri sh catho lic family. The serious feelings of loss and anger an adopted child can fee l are present in the book, along with the comic aspects of a parochi al school upbring ing. Most of the autobiography deals with life fo llowing paralysis. Readers meet the nurses, fe llow patients, attendants and girlfriends in Callahan's life , and see the road to self-actuali zation and sobriety that Alcoho lics Anonymous gave him. A 1983 Portl and State graduate, Callahan doesn't say fl attering things about the Uni versity, but the reader senses that attending PSU was an important part of hi s life. It is Ca ll ahan's cartoons that bring him fulfillment and notoriety. Hi s characters, often drawn from the ranks of the disabled , express hi s macabre humor. "I enjoy drawing the tough world and the desperation with which most people face it ," writes Call ahan. Notoriety is corning fast and furi ous these days . The new autobiography generated an interview on the "Today Show" and a mention in People magazine. F ilm star William Hurt has bought fi lm rights to the book. Ca ll ahan is also the author of a new collection of cartoons titled , Do Not Disturb Any Furthe1; and is currently at work on what he describes as a spoof on self-help books, "'Digesting the Child Within ." KK Oregon's children THE OREGON BOOK OF JUVENILE ISSUES, by Gerald G . Johnson and John C. Wolfe (PSU's Continuing Education Press, 1989, $15. 00) ''K ids have rights," says author Gerald Johnson , a coordinator of policy rules and grants for the state Children's Services Division. He and CSD soc ial service specialist John Wolfe, have written a convenient guide to the legal rights and restrictions affecting Oregon's children in The Oregon Book of Ju venile Issues. Over 80 subjects concerning minors are di scussed , including adoption, discipline in public chools , termination of parental ri ghts, marriage , abortion , drugs , emancipa– tion, law enforcement , sex education and child abuse. Some interesting facts from the book: parents may rescind their minor child's right to a dri ver's license; students have the right to wear just about anything to school, (Continued on page 18)