WORDS THAT BURN Runs This Weekend at La Luna Nueva 2014

The history and perspectives of three World War II figures will come to life during Words That Burn, a powerful performance that blends poetry and monologue.

Produced by Portland Latino writers' collective Los Porteños in commemoration of the William Stafford Centennial, Hispanic Heritage Month, and the rescindment of Executive Order 9066 (Japanese-American internment), Words That Burn juxtaposes three perspectives in World War II:

· former Oregon Poet Laureate William Stafford, who was a conscientious objector and lived and worked in Civilian Public Service camps;
· former Oregon Poet Laureate Lawson Inada, who lived in Japanese internment camps as a young boy;
· Guy Gabaldón, an East L.A. Chicano Marine who earned the nickname "The Pied Piper of Saipan" for single-handedly capturing over a thousand Japanese soldiers and civilians.
The creator of Words That Burn, Cindy Williams Gutiérrez, conceived the idea for the production to initially explore the legacy of two Oregon Poets Laureate.

"This question kept emerging: What can we learn from the juxtaposition of Stafford and Inada who were in camps during "the good war"-one because of what he believed in, the other because of what others believed about him?" said Williams Gutiérrez. "What ensues when we bring the voice of East L.A. Chicano Marine Guy Gabaldón into the conversation is an even more powerful clash of wartime experiences."

The show is written in the words of the three historical figures. Actors will perform the poetry and prose of Stafford and Inada, and newspaper and documentary film interviews of Gabaldón.

According to Williams Gutiérrez, the intent of Words That Burn is reconciliation, to hold multiple points of view and generate community dialogue that spans politics, cultures, and generations. Each performance will be preceded or followed by a community event free and open to the public.

Words That Burn is part of Milagro's La Luna Nueva festival.

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