Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

Singer Holly Near to Lecture at PCC Cascade

Photos and story by James Hill

CASCADE CAMPUS – Holly Near, singer, actor, author, and activist, will present a lecture and discussion on "Singing for our Lives"at 1:30 p.m. on Friday, March 15, in Terrell Hall, Room 122 of the Portland Community College Cascade Campus, 705 N. Killingsworth. Near’s presentation will address politics, power and personal experiences. She will introduce the audience to the places she has traveled, the people she has met and the lessons she has learned. She will invite listeners to go on the journey with her and, in doing so, recognize their own life work. Near will share her experiences from Viet Nam to El Salvador, from truck beds to Carnegie Hall, from work as a film and television actor to work as an ambassador of peace. She will use her experiences to recall the last 30 years of political activism, how people and events have inspired her songs and how music changed the world. She brings the discussion to topics of race, class, gender, sexuality, disability and the international perspective.Her professional career began with performances in such films and television shows as "Slaughterhouse Five,""Minnie and Moskowitz,""All in the Family,"and "The Mod Squad."She also appeared in "Hair"on Broadway. She has collaborated with such artists as Pete Seeger, Arlo Guthrie, Bonnie Raitt, Mercedes Sosa, and Ronnie Gilbert. To date, she has released 20 recordings, including "HARP: A Time to Sing,""This Train Still Runs!,""With a Song in My Heart,"and "Simply Love: The Women’s Music Collection."In 1972, Near founded Redwood Records, a major force in alternative music for nearly 20 years. Through this company, Near helped support the work of artists from Nicaragua, Chile, Australia, Canada, England, Argentina, Cuba, Uruguay, Viet Nam, El Salvador, Mexico and the United States.