The Michigan Daily - Thursday, November 14, 1996 - 13A Seattle poet to read at Shaman Drum Writer combines Biblical stories, Jewish folklore to create vivid, moving works of poetry By Erin Schwartz For the Daily Seattle-based poet Emily Warn weaves a series of complex themes asso- ciated with Jewish history, as well as uni- versal truths about history, faith, God and language in her new book, "The Novice Insomniac" (Copper Canyon Press). Warn will read at Shaman Drum at 8 o'clock this evening. Born in San Francisco but raised in Michigan, Warn attended both Kalamazoo College and the University of Washington. She also held a Stegner Fellowship at Stanford University, and she has published three previous collec- tions of poetry. Her latest collection features many Jewish images concerned with female roles. They are a refreshing contrast to traditional stories based on New Testament tales. In particular, a heroine of Jewish history, Queen Esther, takes on a role of great importance and defi- ance. Also, Warn illustrates the overall theme of crossing boundaries between the self and God. "The Novice Insomniac" is divided into seven sections - "On the Insomniac's Watch," Kaddish,' "The House of Esther," "Highway Suite," "Starvation Hill," "Bravura" and "Solitary Date Orchard." Each section leaves the reader with a new sense of truth as Warn sculpts her words and images into the poetic narratives and histories of P her characters. In the poem: "Moving," which Re initiates the col- Drum Boo lection, the per- sona discusses the act of giving a speech, "delivering a funeral oration / or a lecture about rain." The image of rain as sharp and haz- ardous emerges throughout the poem: "Outside, rain drills its pointers / into the ground." This coupling of the rain with images of death permeate the beginning of the collection, but eventu- ally goes through drastic changes as the poems progress. Surreal images abound in the title poem. The female persona claims to "hold night inside a box." Because she cannot sleep, she feels as if all the night ad )ksh belongs to her. The insomniac counts hour by hour. Eventually, it becomes the insomniac's job to pick garbage up off the street. A stranger, "The Novice Insomniac;' enters the poem, dumping garbage back onto the street. Frustrated because he cannot sleep, he begs for EV I E W someone to understand his Emily Warn behavior: "Please, ing tonight at Shaman I cannot sleep." op at 8 o'clock. Free. The collection closes with the poem, "Tower of Babel," in which the rains have finally ceased. "After days, the torrential rains / stop." The poem then continues, exploring the mysterious history of lan- guage: "I find a pine with a step ladder branches. / From the top rung I hear / wind scattering original language." It was because of the Tower of Babel that languages were born, and people from different lands could no longer under- stand each other. In this poem, Warn writes: "When God hid their words / in the wind's voices, limiting / their pitch to whispers of leaves" The character Esther reemerges through "The Novice insomniac." Historically, Queen Esther saved the Jews from persecution in Persia. The historical Esther is brought into con- temporary literature here, and her strength carries over into the '90s. The modern Esther does not adhere to strict traditions of Jewish law. The speaker in the following excerpt, from "Trouble," has much admiration for the brave queen. Warn poses Esther as a religious prophet who rivals God in her mind. She uses the ceremonious Kiddish as a means to celebrate her rebellion: Without hiding her.face, she stared into the Shabbas flame, tossed the Kiddish wine into her mouth, celebrating her rebel ways. And God, she said, didn't blink. Then 1 knew she was great as God. Emily Warn captures many profound emotions and ideas like those above in "The Novice Insomniac"; her poems find a balance between details and voice which lead to the stunning con- tent of her poetry. attie poet Emily Warn reads tonight at Shaman Drum. ... ......s pike & Mike ryan Lark Arts Writer ck in the kids, leave grandma at home and check your inhibitions at the coat room - the notorious answal celebration of sex, violence and bad taste, "Spike & Mike's Sick & Twisted Festival of Animation," has steamrolled into the Michigan Theater. Occasionally offensive, fre- quently unwatchable# often R1 pornographic, sometimes hilari- ou-and always shocking, Craig ke" Decker and the late MiceGribble return to theaters triunphantly with the intense, humorous 1996 offering of 28 ofte best of the morally worst examples of anima- tio.This work is part of a 20-year tradition that has launched the careers of Nick Park and Mike Judge, among others. Adhering to classical sick and twisted precedents, the component cartoons of various animation styles (pencil drawings, claymation, etc.) featured in "Sick Twisted" certainly do live up to their collective name. The "Sick" is provid- ed by, for . , :instance, wide- Sl eyed, talking excrement, and the "Twisted" is created by, for example, the funny rantings of e Happy Moose" is featured a discarded, ike & Mike's Sick & whining condom Twisted Animation Festival." who feels "used." Opening the disorderly 1996 show is the relatively virtuous "No Neck Joe," in which a dim-witted head with arms and.-legs happens upon two bullies who are selling cany for a quarter. Just as Joe buys the candy with his-nly 25 cents, he sees another sign selling necks for quarter; the bullies run away laughing and Joe is lift to cry, jhe gets his revenge in a later episode - he is rid- i9in a car with the bullies when the three are involved in an accident, giving the bullies a nasty case a shoot into Michigan Theater E Sp At of whiplash which, in turn, gives No Neck Joe a rea- son to smile. Another comparatively light point of the show is the hilarious fairy tale, "The Happy Moose." Narrated by raging bull Jake LaMotta to a trio of cynical street kids, this is no ordinary fairy tale - it begins with, "Once upon a time there was this fuckin' moose who lived in cardboard box over in Jersey." VIEW WWhat follows that delightfully lewd introduction is a side- pike & Mike splitting story featuring enchanted weasels that is a refreshingly light-hearted alter- the Michigan Theater native to several other featured cartoons. One such alternatively abhorrent cartoon is the ser- ial "Lloyd's Lunchbox," which nauseatingly depicts the stupid Lloyd experimenting with various bodily destruction. I suggest not eating during the Lloyd episodes, especially the one titled "Three Course Butt- Cheese Platter." Not all of the sickening thrills are relegated to superfluous displays of violence, however. In "Safe Sex" one man's lascivious struggle with a wily con- traceptive device is depicted. Bill Plympton's "How To Make Love To A Woman" is a brutal step-by-step guide for men that gives new meaning to the term "nipple piercing." And "Marylou" features a carnal prom night fan- tasy about a woman who, through her vagi- na, transports a boy to Oz - where he kills the Wicked Witch, causing the resident Munchkins to worship his penis. Don't ask, just watch. Nicely lining up with those new per- verse, detestable animated shorts are new episodes of old Spike & Mike staples, like promiscu- ous Valley Girls, Summer and Tiffany in "Hut Sluts," septic specialist Rick the Dick, and dog-in-heat Horndog. The latest produces the most laughs of the festival as Horndog humps everything from a Barbie doll to a Thanksgiving turkey. For those who are unfamiliar with any of Spike & Mike's past endeavors, included in this year's festival is a flashback to 1992, with Mike Judge's original short featuring Beavis and Butthead, in "Frog Baseball." If this "Sick & T w i s t e d Festival" were actually a judged film fes- tival, undoubt- edly the highest , , praise would be -_ _ _ _ bestowed upon the funny faux Spike & Mike present "Hut c o m m e r c i a I Sluts" (above) and "Big Dumb "Tasty Beef." In Fat Stupid Baby" (below, cutout). this short, - - - - - spokesperson Tasty the Cow gladly sacrifices pieces of himself for three carnivorous kids. Also likely to be lauded is "Ah, UAmour," a bitter, vio- lent little film about a masochistic stick-figure man who has no luck with women. (He says, "Hiya, Jill. Nice shoes." She screams, "I need some space," and literally bites his head off. He says "Hello," to another woman; that woman exclaims "No means no!" And proceeds to stab him in each eye.) Yet another winner would be the wonderful "Genres." This depicts the torture and humiliation of a reluctant cartoon bunny at the hand of his creator, who places the rabbit in scenarios like "The Romantic Movie " "The Foreign Abstract Western Movie" and, most memorably, "The Porno Disaster Movie." For sall its perversion and detesta- tion, "Spike & Mike's Sick & Twisted Festival of Animation," is nothing more than an enjoy- able adult regression into the normally juvenile world of cartoonishly violent and innocently perverted ani- mated fun. That is, if your juvenile years were filled with blood, semen, tears of laughter and other bodily fluids. rfi . Univi al( am 1k \L totall Club 4, s /r ovie -S y iursda )vember4rlr )Opm. ~~00t ....................... chigan Union Th Nc f4(Z wommm"A Free Stuff? Receive a free Bush poster with purch2 "Razorblade Suitcase" (while supplies I a Trip? Enter to win a trip for two to London L~ ++ [ fi 'HC~z U + _ti~ + --+ te- a rp, .v-we4nf .+ v -u. < ss .