ARTS Thursday, October 12,1989 The Michigan Daily Page 7 Corridors tells untold stories BY DONNA IADIPAOLO ---------------------------------------- NOT everyone reads book reviews. Not everyone reads a lot of books. Then again, not everyone can read. But one community has surpassed this warped stereotype which often plagues urban areas like Detroit. For some 30 fifth through seventh grade inner city Detroit Public School students, reading and writing has gone further then diagramming sentences and Red Badge of Courage book reports. Corridors: Stories from Inner-City Detroit is a nationally and statewide. Like Corridors, similar books in New York and Chicago as well as within Michigan (The Bridge, a compilation from Saginaw high school students, and From Our Perspective, written by Detroit high school students) have showcased readings and continue to gain public awareness. In essence, these books' philosophy of writing for the writer's sake is taking the form of a new literary movement. Alice Walker once said, "If art doesn't make us better then what on earth is it for?" This is literary art, and it indeed makes us feel better. But perhaps what is so remarkable about these books is their vitality. While we may be accustomed to intellectuals and academics routinely speaking and writing in terms of complicated abstractions, these young writers confront the concrete. Through their pens, prose and protagonists, these writers enhance their day- to-day descriptions and thoughts to a compelling level. The authors of Corridors, for instance, embrace rich metaphors and parables, shaping the English language into something very tangible and real for themselves. Through the poems' densely weighted words as well as through the short stories' character dialogue, these young authors profoundly define themselves and their community. "Miss Rose Bell," a short story by Julie Porter, begins, "Stepping outside of that taxi cab, I finally realized. This was real. This baby inside of me is real. The fact that my mamma threw me out is real." Porter works within the framework of her own language to communicate complex problems even though her vocabulary is perhaps unready to directly translate the images. The words she uses are uncomplicated, yet her story is not by any stretch of the imagination "a simple work." Woven with multiple voices and anecdotes, Porter, like many of the other writers in Corridors, writes to preserve the voices through which she tells her story. She writes about a young woman who becomes pregnant during high school, she writes about life in the projects, she writes so that others close to her may hear these stories and understand: "It was dark when I got to the Jeffries and very late. I didn't want to disturb anybody but I wasn't about to wander around the projects as night. I knew from experience that that could be dangerous. Sometimes fatal. But, even in the dark, I could see how clean and beautiful these projects were: There were colorful flowers and a sign on the lawn that said, NO WORK: NO EAT. I decided to knock on the door that the sign was in front of since that's where the eats probably were and I was more than willing to work." Without question Corridors, as well as the other youth compilation books, are filled with innocence and experience. From the verses of 6th- grader Ifeoma Okafor, "I am kitty with a purring sound/ I am a slanted highway to heaven/ I am fabric soft as silk..." to "My Rap" by Hayat M. Ali, "My name is Hayat/ I am on the mike/ I am one M.C./ You're gonna like..." we are forced to regard these works as something more then cute phrases haphazardly juxtaposed. Rather, their writing forces each of us to accept their inherent trustworthiness and blatant honesty. Lacking cynicism, these authors hold ideals that we should aspire to. Each has a sincere artistic voice, even though they are seldom heard. These voices ring loud through forums like Corridors. CORRIDORS is available at Borders and Shaman Drum bookstores. compilation of poems, short stories, and essays written by shining new writers involved in the Dewey Center Community Writing Project of Detroit. Their works are simply beautiful. Through their writings the reader is exposed to the rarely seen vim of youth and candid expression within great literature. And very special writers they are. The writings in Corridors took place at the west end of the Cass Corridor, an injured, recovering, and somewhat notorious neighborhood in Detroit. Many of the works deal with individual day to day existence as well as the history of their community as a whole. Nowhere else can such inspirational and earnest prose be found but through these students' own writing. And people are taking notice. Youth compilation writing is being given a second glance as an up-and-coming art form, both Corridors, an anthology of Detroit students' poems and prose, is representative of new kind of writers' forum being used across the country. The Daily's Fred Zinn created the book's cover, above. Upstart Atlanta Symphony arrives J BY SHERRILL BENNETT IT was only a matter of time: the time it took to transform a fledgling youth symphony into a professional orchestra capable of exuberant musical heights. The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra made this transformation during their short 44-year history. De- spite their quick maturation, the orchestra has gained prominence unmatched by other symphonies of similar age. Just in the past decade, ASO has completed their first European tour, earned 11 Grammy awards, and made their debut on both radio and television. Witnessing the rise to fame of a professional orchestra is a rare opportunity, considering that most major orchestras have been established for decades and are al- ready on their umpteenth music director. ASO has only had two conductors, each serving ambi- tious 20-year tenures. That's quite a legacy to latch onto, one that competent new music director Yoel Levi can definitely handle. This former resident conductor of the Cleveland Orchestra has trav- eled extensively, guest conducting major orchestras in both the U.S and in Europe. He brings to the ASO a broad repertoire and a tran- scendent style all his own. "The best thing about Yoel Levi is that he seems a completely natural musician, without affectation, and on a direct line of communication with the music, and spinning it out through the orchestra to the audience," says the Boston Globe. What more to ask from a conduc- tor? For tonight's performance at Hill Auditorium, Levi will lead two orchestral suites: Tchai- kovsky's Suite No. 3 and a suite from The Miraculous Mandarine of Bela Bart6k. ASO and Levi team up with the poised young violinist Joshua Bell tonight. At the tender age of 22, Bell has under his belt per- formances all over the world with prestigious orchestras, eminent conductors, and on top of that, an exclusive recording contract with London Records (so much for the image of the starving musician). Bell will take on the passionate Violin Concerto by Sibelius, a piece demanding both technical prowess and artistic sensitivity. T71E ATLANTA SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA with violinist JOSHUA BELL will perform tonight at 8 p.m. in Hill Audito- rium. The Visiting Writers Series, sponsored by the English Depart- ment is featuring a poetry reading by Forrest Gander and C.D. Wright. Wright, author of Further Adven- tures With You, and Gander, whose latest book is titled Rush to the Lake, will read today at 5 p.m. in the Rackham West Conference Room. Judging from the quality of the Series' previous presentations, this reading should be worth looking into. ?)ad 74cm C4 qEC4 it n..NH U MI Thursday Pitcher Party Night - 94ducedpitcherprices Frid Greek Night *9"p cover for Greeks Pizza " Subs Salads Fresh-faced and strong-chinned Joshua Bell will take that violin out of its case tonight at Hill. Sun-Fri 3pm-2 am Sat 12-2 am 994-6500 310 Maynard : ,____r.,.. ,.__._._______. ._ GE . __- T ITI __. . . _ ....,i 1 I Zabc l rcdrgan 8arlp Weekend MAGAZINE I I a The Personal Column MICHIGAN DALY CLASSIFIED ADS PRELAW* DAY. A IN If you are a gra * Engineering, C or Science, Loc S Company of Si invites you to at Date: Thu Time: 6:0( Location: EEC Those individua Guidance andC SPECIAL VITATION .. 'N .4r ' Visit with admissions officers and deans from U.S. law schools. Information on admission requirements, prelaw courses, career opportunities and more. duating senior with a degree in omputer Science, Mathematics ckheed Missiles & Space unnyvale, California, cordially tend a reception. rsday, October 19, 1989 0 p.m.-8:00 p.m. CS Building, Room 1003 ls interested in the area of Control are especially encour- I 1 1\ll/I 3, 1 I 1 f V f" 1/ l4 l11 1 11 LJA-d ! X V 1!1 1 I