Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 13, 1990)
Prison hasn’t extinguished fiery convictions “Orunmila ” Many of Mondo’s sculptures and paintings have been shown throughout the state. Aunt Ruthie by Wopashilwe Mondo Eyen we Langa the shutters on the window clatter the hail dash against the pane a spider do a funky butt dance on the sill while a cockeyed sparrow duck his head under one wing wishing the hail was rain the old sofa dip like a swayback horse years done wore away the flowers roses made out of thread rubbed down to the cotton stuffing and grease spots mark the places where many a folks laid their heads an old face squint toward the window a gnarled finger give the spider a tap send the spider trapezing ‘cross the glass it fall when the silk, rope snap photos of loved ones on the coffee table entombed beneath the spotless glass aunt ruthie can’t recall the names too good so many years gone past the teapot whistle in an otherwise silent place aunt ruthie's bones to tired to creak things aunt ruthie'd like to say her mouth is too tired to speak the door bell the telephone neither rings the mailbox stands empty outside its door dropped open like a sagging lip inside aunt ruthie shifts her aching body to ease the pain in her hip nightfalls the hail subsides aunt ruthie drops her face her lashes tangle in the dark to hurry sleep along as a mouse crouch down in front of the stove to listen to the teapot song. Mondo Continued from Page 3 “What we do is a reflection of our beliefs. We can’t keep that from happening.” Artists waste their time when they restrict themselves to subjects such as mud-covered leaves and little girls’ tennis shoes, he says. “There is value in talking about snow and wagon wheels and dust all over everything. There are things we need poets to interpret for us,” he says. “Butlcan’tconceivcofbeinga poet or a painter or another kind of writer and to actually ignore real things, real significant things that arc hap pening to people. “It’s rare to find in poetry coming out of Nebraska something about what is happening in Central America or what is happening with the homeless in this country or that addresses ra cism.” Artists have an important respon sibility, Mondo says, because a poem or a painting can touch people in a way nothing else can. “Art is something that penetrates into a person’s spirit and allows the person to feel,” he says. “So if you have this kind of power... art power ... then it seems to me that in a way, you’re betraying people by not mak ing some use of that power.” Mondo thinks someone who is both political and spiritual is all the better for the mix. a person wno is political out doesn’t have the artist’s vision can only go so far and then a wall grows up around the person,” he says. ‘‘The brain can only take you so far or so high, but the spirit can take you other places.” Art and radical politics are actu ally one and the same, he says. LAST CHANCE! V£ GOTTO) CALL TODAY! \ 1 DONt A/AMfl HI, ■ '\70BC5Tia<M . Sf (UNCOLNI J OATTOHA SUCH ^U29‘ SOUTH HORS SURD •129' STEAMBOAT ‘»Of' PORTLAUDSROALl -W HUTOM HEAD ISLAND *127 ‘ CORPUS CHRISTI/ MVSMKKUM W DON'T WAIT TIL ITS TOO LATA CALL TOLL FREE TODAY 1-800-321-5911 ! ‘Depending on break dates and lengtn of stay J———■ “Revolution automatically in volves two things, destruction and construction. It seems to me that an artist is involved in exactly the same process.” Dick Herman, editorial page edi tor of the Lincoln Journal, says Mondo gives readers the viewpoint of the “articulate,angry black American.” Some by Wopashitwe Mondo Eyen we Langa some africans in america born know african selves not no collar leash theyselves yes to white america hard and tight no can break, away like tiny dog not break away from big master with monkey grip these more pets than pets master confident to know he let leash go these ones move hot no but stand with timid eyes and feet stuck to concrete good move not'til master say they should second guess him sometime awhile fetch the slippers put eyes to ground 'til master smile by some magic they black faces blush and feet shuffle fast to rush to the white mayor they trust give them keys to the city unlocking nothing at all for us. “I think he provides a perspective that our readers wouldn’t gel any where else, couldn’t get anywhere else,” Herman says. Mondo doesn’t consider himsell an angry person, though. He says angei is like an acid that cats its container a* well as its target. “I’m just not that type of person.’ Mondo likes to tease and is quick with one-liners. His piercing dark eyes sparkle when he laughs. “I know peace,” he says. “I am a happy person in spite of this place.” State Sen. Ernie Chambers of Omaha has known Mondo for about 20 years. He says Mondo sees the world differently than most. “He is a visionary in the sense of being able to look beyond the present and see the big picture,” Chambers says. Mondo stil 1 wants his freedom, but on his terms. He says he seeks release on the basis of his innocence. As a result, he has neither tried to have his life sentence commuted nor sought a pardon. He is convinced he won’t spend the rest of his life in prison but won ders how he will fit into a world so different from the one he left. “I feel like a f-.dinosaur some times,” he says. In & way, he is a relic. Other radi cals from die 1960s and early 1970s went on to raise families and work full-time jobs. Along the way, many of them lost, or at least buried, their convictions. “There was a sense that we really could overcome,” he says. “Today it sounds so phony.” Yet he hasn’t lost hope that others will again find the fervor and passion that possessed them. Mondo says he feels a sense of urgency but doesn’t allow this emo tion to consume him. He could be compared to a hurricane. Inside the gyre lies an immense calm. “When you’re doing things you believe in and you’re true to yourself, , there’s a sense of peace -- regardless of how much turmoil is going on ’ around you.” ~ 1 1 ■' r—=jl THIS IS GREAT | 20 Positions i Available Immediately I We are looking for students with a sense of style and an energetic approach towards the opportunity of contacting Fortune 500 clients nationwide customer base. $5.50 /hr. 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