Author: Hannah Noble

The philosophy of Cornel Pewewardy, associate professor and director of the Indigenous Nations Study Program at Portland State, goes a little something like this:

“My life’s purpose is to continue a warrior tradition framed from the teachings of warrior-leaders, peace-chiefs/philosophers, warrior-professors, culturally responsive colleagues, students, and all the young people of all colors who will inherit the earth with the four-legged winged ones and water beings.”

When I finally found his office in the sadistic maze that is the fourth floor of Neuberger Hall, associate professor of English Paul Collins greeted me with a handshake and a warm smile. He had recently returned from an engagement and wasted no time before speaking with me.

“Let’s see, when did I start writing?” Collins asked himself, laughing. “I’ve been writing books since high school, but as far as actually getting paid to write, that really started later for me.”

Paul Collins is an accomplished author and has been an associate professor at Portland State since 2006. His seven novels have been translated into 10 languages, and he has written freelance articles for The New York Times, Slate and New Scientist. His work in creative nonfiction earned him the Guggenheim Fellowship for Nonfiction in 2009.

Portland State’s Japanese Student Society hosts its biggest event of the year, Japan Night, Tuesday, Nov. 22. The entirely student-run celebration of Japanese culture will include dinner and performances throughout the evening.

“Japan Night is a yearly event, and it’s the biggest event JSS puts on,” said Akira Hasegawa, one of the lead organizers of the celebration. “It brings the Japanese culture to the public and makes it more accessible.”

For 40 years, Portland’s own Northwest Film Center has been producing, promoting and showing films of all genres. On Friday, Nov. 11, they will be celebrating the past four decades with a birthday celebration and screening party, and preparing for their 40th anniversary season.

Northwest Film Center was founded in 1971 and incorporated into the Portland Art Museum in 1978. The center offers nearly 20 classes covering the fundamentals of film production and studies and hosts a number of film festivals annually. With an attendance of about 80,000 at various media arts offerings per year, the Film Center reaches one of the most diverse audiences in the community.

The new season kicks off with the opening of the 38th Northwest Filmmakers’ Festival and the Film Center’s 40th birthday party. The event commences the 2011–12 season of screenings and School of Film programs.

Tomorrow marks the opening of the Portland Opera’s latest production, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro.

The opera, based on a stage comedy written by Pierre Beaumarchais, is widely considered to be one of Mozart’s finest works and has been performed all over the world since its premiere in 1786.

Expect a witty combination of laughter and displays of tolerance at “An Evening of Laughs,” a stand-up comedy show co-sponsored by the PSU Middle East Studies Center and the Arab Persian Student Organization.

The event will feature two accomplished comedians: Arab-American Amer Zahr and Max Amini, who is of Iranian heritage.

“Art is like a seasoning when you cook; without it life is tasteless and boring,” said Yuji Hiratsuka, professor of fine arts at Oregon State University.

Hiratsuka currently has his work on display alongside artists such as Suzuki Harunobu and Katsushika Hokusai in the Portland Art Museum’s newest exhibit, The Artist’s Touch, The Craftsman’s Hand: Three Centuries of Japanese Prints, which opened to the public Saturday.