One World Many Voices for Japan Participants
A Fundraising and Healing Event for the People and Land of Japan
May 20, 2011
To purchase a One World Many Voices DVD, contact Marigold Fine at marigold@fullcirclevideo.com
Cost is $20 plus $3 for shipping and handling.
LINDA HOLIDAY – Introduction
Linda Holiday is the director and chief instructor of Aikido of Santa Cruz. She has been teaching Aikido for 35 years, beginning in 1976. Before then, she spent several years training in the remote mystical countryside of Japan, in the city of Shingu. Linda’s first year there, in 1973, started the long and vibrant Sister City relationship between Shingu and Santa Cruz. Her book on the spiritual philosophy of Aikido, titled The Floating Bridge of Heaven: Exploring the Heart of Aikido, will be published next year. It is a collaboration with her teacher Anno Sensei, the chief instructor in Shingu. Linda has been writing poetry since her son was born, twenty years ago.
Text of Linda Holiday’s Introduction.
EMILY BORDING – Bamboo Flute
Emily Bording was born in Staten Island New York. She has been playing Shakuhachi for over 25 years. She enjoys playing flute for poetry readings and ceremonies. Emily shares Japanese Ceremonial Tea and Haiku Poetry with Grades 1-8. She lives with her husband/musician- Ben and her daughter/artist- Bonnie.
KATE AVER AVRAHAM – Poetry
Kate Aver Avraham is a poet, children’s author and community volunteer. In 1968, she and her parents hosted a Japanese American Field Service student, Mariko, who lived with them for a year. Two years later, when she was 19 years old, Kate went to Japan, lived with Mariko’s family, the Koizumis, and traveled throughout the country. Over the years, the two families have exchanged visits and remained very close. “It has been a life transforming experience on every level,” Kate says. “Japan is the country of my soul.”
Text of Kate Aver Avraham’s Poems
LEA HARATANI – Poetry
Lea Haratani is a Sansei (third generation Japanese American). She writes about the people and places in life that she loves: her family, the ocean and what it means to be living here and now. Lea lived in Davenport for 20 years and has recently moved to the west side of Santa Cruz. She works for the Resource Conservation District of Santa Cruz County and Oceana. She advocates for woman cancer patients, ecosystem health, and the representation of underserved peoples and communities.
CHERYL ANDERSON WITH CABRILLO YOUTH CHORUS & IL DOLCE SUONO
The singers in this evening’s performance are members of the Cabrillo Youth Chorus Project: Allegria and Con Brio, plus singers from Cabrillo College Music Major Vocal Ensemble: Il Dolce Suono. These works were commissioned in 2006 by Cabrillo Youth Chorus Project from composer Stephen Tosh, and are a collection of Japanese Folk songs.
English translation of Japanese Folk Songs performed by the Cabrillo Youth Chorus
LEN ANDERSON – Poetry
Len Anderson is the author of Affection for the Unknowable, published by Hummingbird Press, and a chapbook, BEEP: A Version of the History of the Personal Computer. He is also a physicist and has done experimental research in elementary particle physics and developed sensors for the automation of paper manufacturing. He is a co-founder of Poetry Santa Cruz and serves as Secretary-Treasurer. He lives with his wife in Live Oak.
IKUYO CONANT – Japanese Classical Dance
Ikuyo Conant works as a composer and choreographer for Taiko based in Santa Cruz. She is the founding artistic director of Shinsho Mugen Daiko. She has been the artistic director of Watsonville Taiko since 1992. Ikuyo is a student of martial arts and Japanese classical dance. In 2000, Ikuyo received the Calabash Award from the Santa Cruz Ethnic Arts Network, and the following year she received the Gail Rich Award from the Cultural Council of Santa Cruz County. Ikuyo offers public performances that include dance, storytelling, song, and chanting.
Tonight, she performs a classical dance “Fuji”. This dance was choreographed by the tenth grandmaster, Bando Mitsugoro, in commemoration of the passing of his mother. It was his mother’s dream that the Bando School of dancing will become a powerful symbol, like Mount Fuji. A young boy describes the many views of Mount Fuji as seen by various people.
LINDA HOLIDAY — Poetry and Prayer Chant
LINDA HOLIDAY – Thank You Letters from Mayors of Natori and Shingu, Japan
JOAN ZIMMERMAN – Poetry
Joan Zimmerman was born in rural north-west Britain. She has written poems for fifty years. Shortly before she moved to Santa Cruz 30 years ago, she made her only visit to Japan, particularly Kyoto, the ancient capital. She is a student of the Japanese poetry forms of the haiku and the tanka. A haiku practitioner for 15 years, she started writing tanka 3 years ago, and has since had 77 tanka published. She has just begun to learn introductory Japanese through the excellent course at Cabrillo College.
PEGGY HEINRICH – Poetry
Peggy Heinrich has published six books of poetry and a non-fiction book about charcoal. Most of the haiku she will be reading this evening have appeared previously in haiku journals in Japan as well as the United States and are from her book, Peeling an Orange. A lover of Japanese forms, she is currently working on a collection of her tanka.
Text of Peggy Heinrich’s Poems
DANE CERVINE - Poetry
Dane Cervine’s poetry has appeared in a wide variety of publications, including The SUN Magazine, the Hudson Review, the Atlanta Review, and a number of anthologies. His poem The Jeweled Net of Indra was chosen by Adrienne Rich for the National Writers Union 2005 prize. Other poems have been finalists for the Wabash, Atlanta Review, and Caesura poetry prizes. His book The Jeweled Net of Indra was published by Plain View Press and is available tonight with proceeds going to tonight’s benefit. Dane is a local therapist, and serves as Chief of Children’s Mental Health for Santa Cruz County.
CAROLYN BRIGIT FLYNN – Poetry
Carolyn Brigit Flynn is writer dedicated to language as a pathway to soul and spirit. She is the editor of the popular anthology Sisters Singing: Blessings, Prayers, Art, Songs, Poetry and Sacred Stories by Women. Her poems and essays have appeared in literary journals and anthologies nationwide. As a poet and a writing teacher in Santa Cruz, she infuses her work with the intention to serve the spirits of healing for humanity and the earth. She is currently working on a new poetry collection, entitled Communion.
Text of Carolyn Brigit Flynn’s Poems
COLEEN DOUGLAS – Community Singing
Coleen Douglas has been singing in public in Santa Cruz since her first rock band in 1980. With a soulful voice steeped in blues and R&B, she has been a gospel soloist and song leader with the Inner Light Choir since 2005. Coleen loves music that connects us heart to heart, and encourages everyone to be a part of it. She says,“Let the power of community singing bring us together.”
Text of Coleen Douglas’s Song “We Are Called”