The Behrend College
Collegian
W her 3,1994 Erie, Pa16563~V0l XUIJ, No. 8
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Thursday,
ovem,
A question of fairness
Photo by Stephanie Payne
Robert Knight
‘What it was ’
Poet Greg Kuzma
reads at Behrend
by R. Carl Campbell 111
CoilegitutSlaff
Greg Kuzma, poet md
professor of creative writing at
the University of Nebraska, read
selections of his poetry in the
Studio Theater last Thursday,
Oct. 28.
He was the first speaker in a
series sponsored by die creative
writing program and the Clarence
A. Smith and Eugenie Baumann
Smith Endowment Fund.
Kuzma said of his readings, “I
don’t go into a reading knowing
what I’m going to talk about
One time I got too involved in
reading a grieving poem about
my brother and most of the
audience left. There was no
happy moments. I tend to get
Knight and Rubenstein
debate gay rights in front
of Erie Hall crowd
by Laura Borawski
News Editor
Robert Knight, director of
cultural studies within the
Family Research Council, and
William B. Rubenstein, director
of gay and lesbian rights and
AIDS projects for the American
Civil Liberties Union (ACLU),
debated gay rights last evening in
Eric Hall
Knight focused on the Boy
Scouts of America throughout
obsessive sometimes.”
Kuzma continued, “For this
reading (at Behrend) I tried to mix
some humorous things in with
things that people didn’t want to
hear about”
Kuzma then talked about life in
the nineties. He spoke of how
children go out into the world and
then come back again. This led
into an anecdote about a student
who left the University of
Nebraska only to return later, and
assisted in establishing what
Kuzma defines as the “what it
was” school of poetry.
“What it was” poetry, as
Kuzma said, “eliminates all the
extraneous material from an
object in order to set it free. It
places a poem at the mercy of the
language.”
the debate as a reference to private
groups under attack of the gay
rights movement He believes
that "the movement" is a
detriment to society.
Rubenstein, responsible for
nationwide coordination of the
ACLLTs efforts to put an end to
discrimination against lesbians
and gays, firmly believes that
people should be judged according
to content of character and not to
their sexuality.
Using himself as a primary
The next poem he read began
to describe the concepts of “what
it was” poetry then told a story of
going to see “Woodstock” with
his grandmother.
The final two poems he read
were another “what it was” poem
titled “Spider on the
Windowsill,” and a poem about
his grandmother.
None of the poems Kuzma read
are published. He attributes this
to their “unorthodox style.”
At a reception in the Memorial
Room of the Glenhill
Farmhouse, Kuzma signed bodes
and talked with students and
faculty. He said that he loves
Behrend and would like to work
here with the creative writing
program.
source of information,
Rubenstein said,"l hope this will
be a continuing dialogue (here on
campus)."
"There's an enormous amount
of discrimination of gays in the
U. 5.," he said. Others treat
people “according to labels."
The central argument of his
presentation was the "simple
point that people should be
judged by their abilities."
In response to Rubenstein's
convictions, Knight believes that
the gay rights movement is a
"cutting edge issue" in society
today.
He is worried that if action is
not taken against the gay
movement, then moral standards
will deteriorate and an "iron fist"
will fall down on society.
He refuted that the gay
movement is an "imposition of
other people's values onto people
who don't agree with them."
Native
poetry
by Loretta Olson
CoUefiait Staff
Native American poet Joy
Haijo will be presenting a poetry
reading in the Reed Lecture Hall
tonight at 7:30 as a part of the
Penn State-Behrend Speaker
Series.
Harjo is a professor in the
creative writing program at the
University of New Mexico and
has published four books of
poetry including "She Had Some
Hoses," and "In Mad Love and
War."
Coordinator of the Speaker
Series, Dr. Diana Hume George,
professor of English and women's
studies said, "We're delighted to
William Rubenstein
Regarding the issues of
parenting and gay rights Knight
said, "Homosexuality is very
destructive behavior. I don’t
want my son taught that it’s
normal.”
Rubenstein refuted Knight’s
point by stating that a person’s
sexuality is not a relevant quality
when regarding parenting.
SEE PAGE 2
have Joy Harjo coming to
Behrend as a guest speaker."
George said, "I heard her in
Arizona last April... and she
mesmerized an audience of
hundreds of people with the
beauty and power of her words."
Harjo was bom in Tulsa, Okla.
and is a member of the Muscoge
Creek tribe. She attended the
Anthropology Film Center in
Santa Fe and graduated from the
University of lowa.
A reception which will include
a book signing and sale will be
held immediately following
Haijo's reading.
The reading and reception is
free and open to the public.