ARTS i_ Page 6 Friday, October 31, 1980 The Michigan Daily ON THE ROAD WITH EDDORN " A literary journey to Alaska . a By CAROL WIERZBICKI Launching his Thursday night reading at Benzinger Library with the following excerpt, Colorado poet and short story-writer Ed Dorn gave his listeners a sampling of Juneau in June, his forthcoming Alaska travel book. As he read in a self-assured manner from scribblings of various shapes and sizes, an ironic mixture of world-weariness and disbelief at life's situations began to emerge: "Oversold tickets, aggressive duplicates, fixed or dwindling seat numbers are the gems strung around the neck of the airline business, and what a neck they've got! Waiting on the ground at Stapleton there were some hot customers, or should we say hot sausages, wishing they could lift off the grill. Even the stewardesses, those bastions of the dry forehead, were winking the salt out of their eyes. A boy in Juneau later told me you shouldn't call them stewardesses, the new thing he said was to call them Stewardii, as in Waitrii and so on. But that's in the future.'" CLAUSTROPHOBIC crowds of people, intimidating computers, and an airline seat like a "sarcophagys", are all part of what Dorn sees as the tragicomic helplessness of human beings in a bureaucratic world. The author's cynicism was not as prevalent in his "novelized diary"', Alaska Loca. This work seemed to be more of a lyrical and intricate portrait of Alaska, in which Dorn wove together flora and fauna, history and geology, into one anthropomorphic blob. Another strange place that seemed to hold his fascination was La Jolla, which he described as "awesome, like an elephant graveyard." ome of his poems were cryptic rhymes that read like carefree Dada nonsense: "The sky for sure/ is soup du jour." Others dealt with the farce of recycling waste,,and the mechanics of torture. His threat to scientists began: "I'm going to grow you in a petri dish . . ." In true Ann Arbor spirit, Dorn ended the reading by giving us an exam: "Question: Why did Sen. Eugene McCarthy want to be the Sam- my Davis Jr. of the 1980 election year?" ED DORN'S forceful intellectual style of writing depicts the unbearable flakiness of the plastic culture we live in. One could compare him thematically with Joan Didion, but unlike Didion's somewhat journalistic distancing from her subject, Dorn doesn't hesitate to jump right into situations emotionally, to become part of the sweating crankiness of that frustrated crowd. There's a kind of bouyancy to his cynicism, though; one can tell that he takes a great joy in language, and listening to him, you gdt an image of one of those discontented statesmen of the 18th century. i *l Performa.nce guide ,; ' Y s' This week's performance guide was compiled by Arts staffers Mark Coleman, Dennis Harvey and Anne Gadon. MUSIC East Quad Halloween Party-Traditionally a showcase for local music, this year's bash features Sailcatz, an Ann Arbor band with a southern bent, and the Lyman Woodard Organization, a respectable electric jazz group from Detroit. New Wave rockers Teenage Rage and the Frustrations will kick things off at 8:00 p.m. Friday, E.Q. South Cafeteria Ellen McIlwaine-A rough and ready blues singer and guitarist with a warm, knowing wit that compliments the toughness of her delivery. Comparisons? How about Bonnie Raitt with brains and integrity. Rick's, 611 Church, Monday, music should start by 10 p.m. Academy of St. Martin in the Fields-One; of the most established and accomplished Baroque ensembles currently performing, the Academy is a must see for fans of that musical era-even without Neville Mariner. Monday, 8:00 p.m., Rackham Auditorium. FILMS, Carrie-Brian De Palma's scary, touching, ingeniously cruel horror film about what went wong at the senior prom. Sissy Spacek plays the put-upon Cinderella heroine magically en- dowed to exact a spectacular revenge when her evil surrogate step-sisters spoil her moment of Truth Romance with the local jock Prince Charming (William Katt). As in- ventive, funny and gloriously cheesy as any horror fantasy ever made. Friday, October 1, MLB 3, 7:30and 9:30. Five Thousand Fingers of Dr. T.-A wild, little-screened 1953 film considered by some to be the best children's fantasy ever made. Bizarre, styjized stuff about a boy who has bad dreams about being imprisoned by Dr. T., a fearsome piano teacher who forces helpless boys and girls to practice en- dlessly in his baroque castle. Friday, October 31, Michigan Theatre, 6:30. The Night of the Hunter-A typicol Halloween thriller in the form of Robert Mitchem as mad preacher. Harry Powell, the horrofic villan of Charles Laughton's only diectorial attem- pt, an almost surrealistic odyssey into religious fervor twisted to the point of psychopathy. Mitchum chases two, terrified children through the southern backwoods; Lillian Gish and Shelley Winters get in his way. Written by James Agee, this one-of-a-kind film is "as scary as any movie ever made" (Christopher Potter). Friday, October 31, Michigan Theatre, 9:15 and 11:30. The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad--SEE. Sinbad battle brillo-r pad monsters (well, almost) and worse.in the miracle of Dynarama! GAG! at the insipid plottings that allow Sinbad to tussle with a dozen Play-Doh fantasy creatures and several well-stacked slave girls! Saturday, November 1, Aud. A, 8:40. Evening of American Avant-Garde Films-Not one-tenth as educational as a night at the 16mm or 8 mm Festivals, but an okay crossection of experimental works from the last two decades. The eight selections range from pure visual ab- stration to home-movie jokery (in the form of an aimable barnyard ssatire of West Side Story), with Kenneth Anger's Scorpio Rising the most overrated-it's inept gleaming- leather homoerotic imagery looks remarkable tame, legend or no legend. Wednesday, October 5, Lorch Hall, 7:00 and 9:05. THEATRE Action-A one-act play by Sam Shephard, winner of the 1979 Pulitzer Prize for drama. This premier production by'the It's All One Players deals with four social dropouts confined to a wilderness cabin and their struggle with the reason for their existence. At Canterbury Loft, 332 S. State (over Music Mart), October 31 and November 1 at 8 p.m., and 10 p.m. and November 2 at 4 p.m. We Can't Pay, We Won't Pay-A hilarious political comedy by radical Italian playwright Dario Fo. Detroit auto workers get mad at high prices and decide not to take it anymore. At the Residential College Auditorium in East Quad. October 31 and November 1 at 8 p.m. with a Sunday matinee at 2:30 p.m. i ;, ,- eclpse PHiLiP GLASS ENSEMBLE friday, november 7 8pm rackham auditorium paw ._ C : px, sanb s 0,jjo lsucl ss - p~rs a. at Wou s{ oagti jaipnfl w41Uojj suoli paizajj a,, S)NJOm 4100J (J00Ut2 -)u1utioS uwsa I ppjWi~4sIturJo pliptds stex )00JJa a41 )jsom s~SSl9 NEW ItWI-Z - Tickets $7.50 reserved ,' :.' 4' 'i tj V Ii :1 e Tickets on sale now at The ,a fMichigan Union Box Office, -u Al m',Schoolkids' 41 0le and at all CTC out- u4' ;a ss lets. For more information !nuW. 1 call 763-2071. TOt 1 a~ o h ,a:3, ~0014a,,, JO 'S010LcdS 1411 alqg- u o'oi ur A lush. mesmeric blend ofclassical elements and electronic sound The structure's the thing, says Philip Glass ssIJ9d!z~!qJ dS{S ',YJui l td Js, adfloflds ay ---W IL AL MAJOR EVENTS presents ... i I~AVIE I N C O N C E R T November 4 Hill Aud 8 pm ii ' .4 i. S I N CONO NOV 22 OPH _1