{"id":44,"date":"2009-10-26T20:44:24","date_gmt":"2009-10-26T20:44:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/pbk\/index-6\/mac_gimse\/"},"modified":"2013-06-25T14:59:17","modified_gmt":"2013-06-25T19:59:17","slug":"mac_gimse","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/pbk\/speeches\/mac_gimse\/","title":{"rendered":"Mac Gimse"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n
\n <\/p>\n
FROM FUGITIVES TO REFUGEES –

\nWALKING THE WORLD WITH COURAGE.

\nPrepared for the Delta Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa at St. Olaf College. April 21, 2006

\nMac Gimse, Professor Emeritus of Art. <\/p>\n


\n1. Thank you, President Lennox, for a chance to address the smartest audience I will ever have, including parents who are present to see their children inducted into Phi Beta Kappa. I am happy to speak at the initiation banquet honoring our top scholars. In fact, I am ecstatic to be able to share with you the passions which led me to St. Olaf in 1970, then sent me around the world many times with students, all the while challenging me to absorb new fields of knowledge and adapt to new styles of teaching. I am here tonight to present sculpture and poetry which are the result of my creative experience at St. Olaf. This place gave me my destiny as an artist and professor. It gave me the chance to fulfill my dream of teaching in a liberal arts curriculum set in theological dialogue, which was constantly inspired by many students and esteemed colleagues. <\/p>\n


\n2. First I will pass around small versions of the bronze sculpture pieces, BEARING THE BURDEN OF PEACE and ROOTS AND WINGS, but be careful, they are heavy. It is important that you touch them because I made them in clay with my fingers. You will experience them better if you touch them, too. <\/p>\n


\n3. President Thomforde startled me when he said at his first St. Olaf commencement that ALUMNA\/ALUMNUS is like becoming an ALIEN – someone who no longer belongs or does not feel part of a particular group or society. Alumna\/alumnus also means FOSTER CHILD, a pupil who graduates. I should point out that at the moment of our birth, each of us is a FUGITIVE from our mother’s womb, because we cannot return to our place of origin.

\na. That’s right, a FUGITIVE is not allowed to return. After that, you and I become REFUGEES from the protected environments of our family, then from our school, then from college, and finally we move into society in general. In a sense, we are EXILED from each in succession and we cannot return to an earlier time. We are always some kind of FUGITIVE. But we prefer to be REFUGEES who may be EXILED from each stage of life. However we can still go back, although never under the same conditions as when we left. In the case of St. Olaf, you will be welcomed back, possibly as staff or faculty, but certainly for reunions and other events. OK what am I saying? Well, at first you will feel strange when you come back on campus, but please come to see us. You will always and forever carry a part of your St. Olaf experience with you. Whenever possible, renew something of that experience, because after awhile you won’t feel so strange, and you will in fact enjoy being here with some of us who will remain familiar, although aging slightly…

\nb. Let’s look at it another way. Maybe you remember the innocence and beauty of your idealized childhood. You loved life, not because it was perfect, but because you were embraced by family and surrounded by friends. You most likely were taught determination by your teachers, compassion by clergy and sympathy by counselors, a moral point of view by your parents, and an ethical compass to guide you in the world by philosophers and theologians. In the sense of these values, you are neither a FUGITIVE nor a REFUGEE, but about to become a college graduate with a MISSION, formed by many people in your past, to engage in the work of the world. <\/p>\n


\n4. Yes, in six weeks you will graduate, and although it is not possible to come back with the same status you have now, you have made a lasting impression on your advisers, your teachers and the staff of the college. As a member of the Delta Chapter Members-in-course Committee, I had a chance to look over many of your dossiers and they are impressive, with everything from helping to rebuild after KATRINA, to reading to ALZHEIMER’S patients! This is important for us to know about you! These are the attributes that round out your education at St. Olaf and prepare you to be a citizen in a community. For all of you today – a world citizen:

\na. As I was growing up, I knew that the goal of education was to take “learning into life.”

\nb. In college, I figured out that the purpose of a liberal arts education was to take a “love of learning into life.”

\nc. When I arrived on the St. Olaf campus to teach in 1970, I quickly discovered that the commitment of a Christian Liberal Arts education is to take “learning to love into life.” <\/p>\n


\n5. Each day I saw examples of this happening among OLES. The late Harold Ditmanson, a much respected Professor of Religion, for whom a wing of the library is named, told me when I was 35 years old in my first year here, “Mac, you must love those whom you would teach.” That was a challenge, because more than 6,000 students passed through my classes over the next 35 years. No record, of course, but I remember them as colleagues in the process of learning. I asked all of them to let me know when something significant happened to them. For them it was a postcard. Now I will ask you to do the same, except please send me an email at: gimse@stolaf.edu when you have a chance. <\/p>\n


\n6. I knew many graduates who took “learning to love into life,” because they never forgot the education they received here and the people who guided them. However successful they were, they remembered that new students needed their help. This is not a plea for funds, it is an admonition for you to set examples of COURAGE, GENEROSITY, HUMANITY and INTEGRITY. We will watch as you grow into your careers, stand tall in your convictions, and grow deeper in your spiritual lives. You will never stop “learning to love.” And we want you to come back to share your life experiences with those of us still on the hill. <\/p>\n


\n7. Adam Zagajewski, a Polish poet born in 1945 wrote “…TRY TO PRAISE THE MUTILATED WORLD,” because he saw human conflict raging in the wake of 9\/11. The MUTILATED WORLD gives us resonance because by recognizing the presence of those who live on the fringe, we learn to appreciate our blessings and develop compassion. My poetry is written to acknowledge the mutilated among us and everywhere. The world of immigrants continues to be MUTILATED as they desperately try to enter the USA. Some among you may be able to influence public policy on this issue. You will meet the mutilated early and often. Try to praise them for their determination to survive and their courage in the face of mortal danger. There are many challenges of this sort waiting for you, because so much of the world is not beautiful and contented. Spiritual beings find a divine light shining everywhere. <\/p>\n


\n8. I want to share with you the poetry I wrote when I saw and heard the MEMORIAL CHIME TOWER, when was dedicated in September, 2003, after you arrived on campus. There are 118 chimes with names of students who died while attending St. Olaf. I personally knew 32 of them, and in a mystical way, the tower brings them back to campus, at least to my consciousness. I listen to the six notes from BEAUTIFUL SAVIOR and I can see their faces and hear their voices. It’s magical because at first I was moved to tears and later to joy for a sense of their presence here with me again.

\na. You will not be given a chime with your name on it when you graduate, even though you may be dying to get out of here. But I assure you that you will be remembered because of the resonance you gave us in and beyond your academic achievements. So you depart with continued affection from your professors and friends.

\nb. When I sit down under the chimes, I find myself remembering students who are still alive, but are no longer on the hill. They are lingering memories of triumph in the classroom, spiritual awakening, giving time and energy to community activities, and becoming responsible adults in a challenging world. When you return to campus, walk through the chime tower and know you are remembered. Now I will share the poetry. Please respond on cue with the words …EVERY LIFE MATTERS. <\/p>\n


\nCome to this peaceful pavilion

\nto absorb its presence.

\nLet the warmth of the wood,

\nthe stretch of its beams

\nand a roof of split-stones

\nremind you of the dreams you had

\nwhen you first arrived at this place,

\nthis vast experiment with living

\naway from the familiar.

\n…EVERY LIFE MATTERS. <\/p>\n


\nHow can this monument draw you

\ninto its tranquil and symbolic center?

\nWhen you hear the singing chimes,

\nlet the sounds you remember

\nof those never-to-be-forgotten,

\nring through your quiet recollections.

\nAs you think on separated histories

\nof spirit-friends, winds of urgency

\nwill carry through these bright(ly) bells

\nyour thanks for long-away joys.

\n…EVERY LIFE MATTERS. <\/p>\n


\nWhen snow mounds cover benches

\nand gardens disappear,

\nhow can you attach

\nyour soul in this wintry scape

\nto those who call briskly

\nfrom their lofty chill?

\nSettle for a moment into the warmth

\nof your inner hearth

\nand hum a response to God

\nand to those above who linger still,

\nthen declare your love

\nfor someone near.

\n,,,EVERY LIFE MATTERS. <\/p>\n


\nInside the hollows of our last remorse,

\nwe gather fragrance from flowers

\nwe once sought to inhale

\nbetween each new remembering.

\nThose who have vanished,

\nbut will always be cherished,

\nare released to fly again

\ninto our consciousness

\nof what it is we need to know

\nabout life in the future.

\n…EVERY LIFE MATTERS. <\/p>\n


\nWe move among our visions of yesterday,

\nsinging through chimes of sadness

\nand dancing on cords of endless trust,

\nthat will keep us always close

\nto this towering heartbeat

\nof chance,

\nof risk,

\nof caring.

\n…EVERY LIFE MATTERS. <\/p>\n


\nby Mac Gimse ’58

\nSeptember, 2003 <\/p>\n


\n7. Tell about the sculpture and recite the poem: ROOTS AND WINGS, by Mac Gimse, Professor Emeritus of Art, presented at the Nobel Peace Prize Forum, St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minnesota, February, 2004. Given to Jimmy Carter, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate 2002.

\na. The cycle of life includes birth, childhood, youth, partnering, family, setting roots, flying from the nest and dying. One\u00d5s struggle for freedom is between planting roots and taking wing. The sculpture envisions this process using a variety of human forms and ethnic types. The bronze ROOTS AND WINGS is heavy, but it can be lifted by one person. It is easier if two or three share the burden (of life). Pick up ROOTS AND WINGS and pass it to someone along with your blessing of peace.

\nb. One WING has pre-natal forms following an umbilical cord (umbilicus mundi ) into birth. This is the beginning of human existence, and once set free from the womb, one will never return. On the opposite side children climb a rope (axis mundi) upward into community and along the way they learn, especially through play, to develop friendships and help each other.

\nc. A second WING is to remind us of the interdependence of family. On one side a woman embraces a child who remains dependent on her mother. From the other side a male figure reaches around to the woman and child in a gesture of family unity. Clinging to his leg is a passion-inspiring child (Putto ) whose presence signals love.

\nd. A third WING has a young couple flying from opposite ends into partnership in the center where they begin their life of love and childbearing. The other side carries the ROOTS AND WINGS theme. A figure looking downward, stands on a shelter (Habitat for Humanity), while roots grow up around him, a reference to non-violence (ahimsa) espoused by Mahavira in Jain religion. The female figure standing on his shoulders looks upward and sprouts Pegasus-like wings. Her crescent-shaped hooves tap a spring that waters plants whose fragrance deprives snakes of their poisonous venom. We can all participate in the process of peace from where we stand or anywhere along the path to peace. <\/p>\n


\nSTRIVING FOR PEACE: ROOTS AND WINGS

\nOur place for throwing sower’s seeds

\nis fenced on soils to stand

\nwhere toils of feet are planted

\nbending life to living land. <\/p>\n


\nThe harmony of humans is heard

\nas discord against the sound of kisses

\nboldly on our cheek from newborn fugitives

\nwaking with their loud(ly) cries for freedom. <\/p>\n


\nIn childhood our deepest need is kinship,

\nhowever dear or distant, to fine-tune covenants

\nof decency that shape and savor

\nthe fruits of all our labor. <\/p>\n


\nMothers cradle child on child,

\nand fathers search the fresh of earth,

\nto pass their hands of nurturing

\nthrough the springtime of our birth. <\/p>\n


\nWe come to plant the sowing seed,

\nstab fields through summer fires;

\nfeel roots deep digging downward,

\nwatching shoots loft into spires. <\/p>\n


\nRubbing is the true feel of poverty,

\nbruising into community refugees

\nwithout shelter whose die-threads weave

\nour gift of life into their plea for solidarity. <\/p>\n


\nWe stay to reap the planted seed

\nstride wing to wing in creation’s dance

\nto harvest all that nature knows

\nis given by God’s own chance. <\/p>\n


\nSo stand, flesh-on-bones,

\nwake now you and all humanity,

\nto speak our single-throated story

\nthat beyond the stones which hold our walls,

\nwe are cradled, all and only, by the sea. <\/p>\n


\n8. Ask the audience for permission to share this recent poetry for the first time:

\nWEAVING DREAMS INTO LIFE by Mac Gimse <\/p>\n


\nGod of beauty in life and creative laughter,

\nof dancing arms and dazzling color fragments,

\ntwirl us onto heights of dreaming

\nthat our future is still ahead to hold. <\/p>\n


\nGod of spritely winds and vastly skies,

\nfrom melting polarscapes to the shifting sands of time,

\nreach along the endless shores of global warming,

\nthen stretch us into common earthly caring. <\/p>\n


\nGod of truth in every breath and heartbeat,

\nmolder of our righteous deeds,

\npour us into shields of justice to triumph

\nover all who would be holier than Thou. <\/p>\n


\nGod of soaring spirits and redeeming actions,

\nof smoothing down and churning up,

\npound human malice into submission

\nthen nudge our good intentions to completion. <\/p>\n


\nCloud of God, in seamless gathering of sky,

\nspin the bulging wheel of centering that will

\npush us to the very edge of our horizons

\nthen hurl us to our farthest measure. <\/p>\n


\nGod of dwelling in the loveliest and the lonely,

\nwhere beauty’s palette meets its master of disguise,

\nfill our lens with images of mercy

\ntoo precious to explain. <\/p>\n


\nGod of coursing through our veins of darkness,

\nstream compassion from our lips and fingers,

\nto weave our words and deeds of kindness

\ninto simple human terms. <\/p>\n


\nWe share our feast of peace today with all humanity

\nwhere we are ready to devour one another

\nin quiet curiosity, and find what we truly know

\nis a heart of love in each of us. <\/p>\n


\n9. Explain the sculpture and recite the poem, BEARING THE BURDEN OF PEACE: Sculpture and poetry by Mac Gimse, given to Nobel Co-laureates David Trimble and John Hume, Ireland, and the Nobel Institute in Oslo. St. Olaf College Nobel Peace Prize Forum, February, 2000.

\na. The delicate transition between conception and birth is the beginning of BEARING THE BURDEN OF PEACE. One side of this bronze shows a woman holding the heavy burden of her pregnant stomach, anticipating childbirth. Mothers feel deep despair when they lose a child anywhere from the pre-natal state to maturity. The woman imagines her labor complete and her dream fulfilled as the child emerges from her head. Viewed from the other side a young man holds up the child and it becomes vulnerable to the outside world, to war, famine, poverty and abuse. Every country in the world faces the need to provide its children with nutrition, stability, and community, which are our continuing burdens of peace. BEARING THE BURDEN OF PEACE is meant to be touched and passed from person to person so that everyone will see the image, feel the forms and experience the weight of passing the burden of peace.

\nb. The poetry:

\nIf peace is a form of ultimate human understanding,

\nbefore I pass into the heart of God’s surrounding,

\nI want to plunge my head into the seas of language

\nand drink from every tongue only the words of kindness.

\nThen with the taste of love in my mouth

\nI want to whisper silence on wars of shouting

\nat children of abuse, on races from hatred,

\nbetween embittered genders,

\nwithin unholy religions, and by angered nations. <\/p>\n


\nIf peace is death, as in rest in peace,

\nbefore I lie down underground – to cease,

\nI want to swaddle myself in unfamiliar clothing

\nand nestle into the smell of fresh-dug earth

\nnext to the stones and bones of forgotten peoples.

\nThen I want to run my fingers through the silt of their sorrows

\nand quench their mourning thirst for those innocents

\nwho were shed on never-again fields for letting blood. <\/p>\n


\nIf peace is kindled in children, our progeny,

\nbefore I garland my soul in bouquets of eternity,

\nI want to spill my seeds of final begetting

\ninto the roots of the mercy tree, from which hangs

\nthe last unChristly corpse of human harm.

\nAnd, for the yet unborn, I want to feel their blood

\nflowing through my flanks that soak tomorrow

\nin the deep red, ages past of all our origins. <\/p>\n


\nIf peace is tradition-passing,

\nbefore I give up my most prized possessions

\nof hair and teeth, of flesh and breath,

\nbefore I let go of hoards of family and hugs of friends,

\nI want to squeeze my soul through the martyr’s throat

\nto feel words of compassion as spoken by the lips of mercy:

\nIf I “love my neighbor as myself,” there may be peace on earth.

\nThen I want to flood the world with the sweet sounds

\nof bearing the burdens of peace

\nusing YOUR impressions not just my own,

\nof how and why we live. <\/p>\n


\nWalk the world with courage –

\n“Peace be with you” “And also with you.” <\/p>\n


\nPictures of the two sculpture pieces are on my website: www.stolaf.edu\/people\/gimse <\/div>\n

\n <\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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