St Olaf College - Viking Yearbook (Northfield, MN)

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DEDICAT ION V DR. IVAR IVASK By dedicafing fhis yearbook lo Professor Ivar lvask, we w'an'r lo acknowledge his challenge lo us. He comcronls us like a knighl of The academic Jrournameni, a champion who is piiied againsl all Thai is dull and awkward in us. Professor lvask is engaging in a dialogue vwilh us sludenlsgy rodding us +o a sense of awareness: piercing 'rhrough us when wc-were careless andilazy in our Jrhinkingrand always challenging us +o explore our poienlial for a full life in The encoun- ler wilh his viial scholarship. We are young and love bo+h life and learning: we fear Jrhe dry ro'r of a narrow academicism. Herr lvask is our champion againsl' know'leidgeHrha+ is notlearningzr againsl' opinionysywhich are nol 'rhinkingg againsl' senlimenf which is noi 'Feel- ing. He comfronlrs us again and again wilh hisllslabbing forefinqer. a book lhrusl ou+ before us. Ah hal He challenges. Here you see . . . and we see. We are learning, M

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Cenier lounge Chapel dafel W. Carlsirom, P. Berg X Winfer

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When did l sTarT wriTing? IT was back in l943. in my homeTown oT Riga, The old l'lanseaTic porT. Then occu- pied by The advancing Troops oT l-liTler's Germany. A good poem is as swiTT and as well-aimed as an arrow, if iT lingers in The air, someThing is wrong wiTh eiTher The arrow. The bow or The archer. Perhaps he has noT shoT The arrow aT all?! lT a poem is- good. The acTion is swiTT and The one who is hiT is you, The reader. The lisTener. IT you have noT yeT experienced This, you eiTher have read The wrong poeTs or you have perhaps noT read Them properly. Prose may ex- Band and linger, drama may build up To The climax. uT poeTry usually soars and sings righT away or iT never does. I believeyThaT we are TlaTTering ourselves inTo hopelessness. meaninglessness. priding ourselves wiTh our uniqueness. when mosT oT us are really suTTering Trom a loss oT nerve courage and selT-discipline. The human condiTion was never an easy one. ls iTs diTTiculTy enough oT a reason To wriTe loose poems. smear absTracT ideograms oT meaninglessness or TOT ouTer space. consTrucT boring paraybles insfread oT inTeresT- y ing novels? And all oT This is being done wiTh The excuse oT The very. very special diTFiculTies Taced by modern man .... lT is a sad specTacle. CommuniTy can be eiTher commonness or communion. Commonness oT purpose. shar- ing class, race, TaiTh, eTc., or CommuniTy builT on communion, dialogue, encounTer be- Tween dissimilar individuals, independenT personaliTies. The process oT selT-realizaTion, oT individ- ualizaTion is noT only direcTed Towards The TuTure, buT iusT as much Towards The pasT. Yes, Tl-TE PAST. The Greek poeT Pindar says in one oT his poems: 'Become who you are.' ExciTing words! So The voyage oT1selT-discoy-T ery is noT only To The ouTside buT aT The same Time one ThaT should go deep inTo The inner selT. l believe ThaT The goal oT selT-realizaTion, oT educaTion is CREATIVITY: An individual liTe is a creaTive life. This cannoT be sTressed enough. T INSTANT IVASK