Awards were given to artist Betty LaDuke, linguist Señora Chela and poet Lawson Inada. Inada taught at SOU from 1966 until 2002. He has published four collections of poetry and has won the Oregon Book Award and the American Book Award. He is also Oregon's former poet laureate. JPR’s Jane Vaughan recently spoke with Inada about the President’s Medal and his poetry.
Jane Vaughan: Last week you were awarded Southern Oregon University's President's Medal. How do you feel about that?
Lawson Inada: I thought it was a wonderful honor. I can't say that well, all the years I spent since 1966 after university, I spent [thinking] 'well, one of these days, I'm going to be getting a presidential medal of honor.' But it was a wonderful surprise. And I really appreciated my time working here on campus.
JV: I understand you were a bass player and a jazz lover, and you had sort of considered a career in music. Why did you turn to poetry instead?
LI: I took up bass late, when I was in college. And then after a while, I realized, I've been writing since day one as a kid. And so I just realized that for me to be really proficient on the bass and to try to become a true professional and artist about it, boy, it would take me years to show my respect to the great artists who are musicians. It's not anything that you take up and in the next couple of years, there you are. With poetry, though, it's something I could do. Because poetry is something that you do. It's maybe like being a painter or a ballet dancer, you do it because you do it. For the love of it, for expression.
JV: You and I have lived in a lot of the same places, in Maine and Oregon, and I lived in New Hampshire, you worked in New Hampshire. I notice that a lot in your poetry, and I'm wondering how you're using your poetry to sort of define a sense of place or a sense of home as you're moving to a new location.
LI: Poetry is something where you're a free agent. It is like being a painter in the way in which, when the moment strikes you, then that's what you do. And so I've used poetry to express many, many things in different ways what comes to me. And yeah, I can share a poem. For those who are, they may be at home listening or they're driving around. As far as a poem goes, I thought I'd share something fairly simple, or short and sweet. This is also by way of tribute to this university because in the 80s a speaker came to the university and gave a talk and he was a Tibetan Buddhist teacher. He gave a talk and I met him that night, and I've since become his student. His name is Chhoje Rinpoche. I wrote this poem after meeting him, learning from him, from that talk. And so this is a poem called "In The Stillness."
Lightning arises
In the stillness
A wave arises
In the stillness
A snake unwinds
In the stillness
The fountain freezes
In the stillness
The fountain flows
In the stillness
Dogs are warm
In the stillness
Form is emptiness
In the stillness
Emptiness is form
In the stillness
Watchful awareness
In the stillness
Realize the essence
In the stillness
In the stillness
In the stillness
JV: It's wonderful. Thank you for sharing that.
LI: We can do all fancy schmancy with poetry, we can do all kinds of - do you write poetry?
JV: Not really, no. I did when I was younger, but not anymore. I keep a journal.
LI: Okay, keep a journal or get some Post It notes because we're being struck by these thoughts all the time while we're living in the stillness, so to speak. Things happen, and you get these flashbacks and it's all very, very important because we tend to live very busy lives, but who knows what's going on inside, inside ourselves?
JV: Thank you so much for speaking with me today.
LI: Thank you for having me.
