Free program:  Spoken word presentation + quilt display.

http://www.oregonlive.com/argus/index.ssf/2011/01/spoken_word_series_features_po.html

The Walters Cultural Arts Center will host poet Margaret Chula and quilt artist Cathy Erickson for a presentation of their artistic collaboration, “What Remains: Japanese Americans in Internment Camps,” in a Spoken Word presentation at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 18.

In their seven-year collaborative project, Chula and Erickson combined poetry and quilts to focus on the Japanese American World War II internment experience. There will be readings of the poetry and displays of the quilt art.

In the 1940’s, over 120,000 Japanese Americans were imprisoned in internment camps. From the newborn baby to the aging grandfather, all their lives were changed dramatically. Now only photos, stories and rock rubble remain of the time. For seven years, internationally known poet Chula collaborated with Erickson to try to capture the spirit of what remains more than 60 years later. The quilts and poems offer visual and poetic insight into this period in history. Each poem speaks in the voice of a Japanese American imprisoned during the war, and details their lives through poems inspired by readings, archival photographs and interviews. The quilts echo the emotions and experiences of Japanese Americans through color, design and texture.

For information, contact Glenn and Viola Walters Cultural Arts Center at 503-615-3485 or go towww.ci.hillsboro.or.us/arts/wcac.