Who is YOUR Mockingbird?

Hello Fishtrap Friends,

The Big Read is about half over, and I think most folks would agree that it has been a wonderful series of events so far. Other, that is, than one misguided attempt to show the film Blood in the Face while downloading it in real time over the Internet, amply demonstrating the inadequacy of Fishtrap’s connection speed as the film re-buffered. But it also gave moviegoers a chance to discuss, every 10 minutes, each scene from the film.

I was especially pleased with our recent group discussion, led by Katie Boyd, Angie Lunde, Don Harker, and Colleen Dunne-Cascio, entitled “Who Is YOUR Mockingbird?” It was an invitation to examine our own prejudices and privilege, and the audience participation was vigorous. Thanks to all for helping to make The Big Read a two-way street.

Monday night, February 8, we’ll be showing the 2008 film Prom Night in Mississippi. It’s a true story. “It may amaze many viewers that in this day and age, an American high school would retain separate proms for black and white students,” says Dennis Harvey at variety.com. “But such is the reality of Prom Night in Mississippi, which scrutinizes a pint-sized town’s travails when the school board finally consents to ‘try out’ a first-ever colorblind fete. An upbeat portrait of youth anxious to shed their elders’ prejudices.” Show time is 7 pm at Mutiny Brewing, Fishtrap, and the Wallowa Public Library.

But come an hour early, because on the 8th we’ll also be hosting discussion groups to share thoughts and responses to the book To Kill a Mockingbird. Each discussion will be hosted by a Fishtrap representative with a few starter questions to get the ball rolling at 6 pm.

And remember that on Wednesday, February 10, at 7 pm, Portland lawyer and activist Steven Goldberg will “take the stand” at the Wallowa County Courthouse to talk about unpopular legal causes and social change. You may want to read two relevant New Yorker articles beforehand. Links are available at www.fishtrap.org/tbr.shtml.

“How the work of lawyers relates to broader social movements is a very different perspective on the law than the one presented in To Kill A Mockingbird,” notes Goldberg. “The work Atticus did reflected his moral beliefs, but was related only temporally to the broader changes wrought by the civil rights movement. Of course we’ve always valued the strong moral stands taken by individual lawyers; many of the judges in the South took unbelievable risks in issuing decisions upholding equality under the law. But the question is whether lawyers and judges who see their work as a part of broader social movements are more instrumental in creating social change.”

If you’d like to hear To Kill a Mockingbird read in an authentic Southern female voice, tune in to KPBX radio on Monday through Thursday evenings at 6:30, when Susan Creed reads on The Bookshelf program through February.

Fellowship apps closed, but SCHOLARSHIP apps OPEN

The Fellowship deadline has passed, but not before we received over 130 submissions for Summer Fishtrap. Results will be announced by March 20. Up to five winners will get a free ride to a workshop and the Gathering.

On the other hand, applications are still open for several scholarships that Fishtrap offers to Summer Fishtrap. The application deadline is March 15. The Sally Bowerman Scholarship is for working women. The Bryn Lunde and Frank Conley scholarships are for people under 30 years old. Download complete scholarship info at www.fishtrap.org/scholarships.shtml.

Info on Summer Fishtrap will be posted at our website by February 11.

FISHTRAP FRIENDS

Poet Penelope Schott will be giving a number of readings in February and March. Among them are appearances at Broadway Books with Henry Hughes on 2/16, Looking Glass Books with Peter Sears on 2/25 (both in Portland), and the Cloud and Leaf Bookstore in Manzanita on 3/13. Penelope says, “I promise not to be boring or obscure.”

A worthy promise.

Until later,

Rick Bombaci
Executive Director