Culture Shock and Xenophobic Bores

2006-02-01T18:05:00.000-08:00

A Cultural Journey For Our Times

Ian C. Dawkins Moore

Travels Through

The Heart Of Europe,
Back To Africa,
And Into America;
Brings Us
Culture Shock News

Mr Moore is a man

on a mission. He

says, "I have set out

on one of the most interesting

challenges of my life: Changing

the world through poetry and

artistic expression, one poet at a time."

Ian C. Dawkins Moore, writer, teacher, engineer, and video producer, was born in London, England, of Jamaican and English parents.

His youth, as he expresses in one of his poems, was spent fleeing xenophobic bores [“My Bio-Sphere,” Culture Shock Essays by I. C. Moore, Jukebox Press, Oakland, CA, 1999].

After graduating in 1970 with a degree in civil engineering, Ian traveled throughout Europe, working various jobs. In 1974, he decided to dedicate himself to the teaching profession and traveled to West Africa.

For two years, he crossed the Sahara desert and journeyed through Algeria, Mali (visiting Timbuktu), Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso), Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, teaching English and working as a graphic designer, sales executive, and diamond miner.

Mr Moore’s African odyssey had a “profound effect” on his “early manhood” [“The Road to Ramadan,” Culture Shock Essays, p. 51] as he became aware of his real African connection.

It was also during this journey that he became a Muslim.

On his conversion to Islam, Mr Moore reflects in "The Road to Ramadan":

"Through faith and compassion my understanding of the world and its different peoples was greatly enhanced. Above all, the search for truth through constant inquiry and self-examination has persisted throughout these many years since I found myself on the road to Ramadan.”

In 1976, he again returned to England and worked on an oil rig in the North Sea as a roustabout, and as a planning engineer for an oil company in Aberdeen, Scotland. He also played saxophone in various bands at local establishments and was involved in a number of theatrical productions.

Then in 1981, Mr. Moore moved to the United States. He established himself as a freelance writer, graphic artist, and award winning video producer.

He currently produces a weekly cable show called Culture Shock News, which explores the contributions of all the cultures that make up the American family—including its confrontations. [Culture Shock News website: http://www.cultureshocknews.com]

Taking the term Culture Shock from Alvin Toffler's 1970 book, Future Shock, Mr Moore has developed his unique focus on:

". . . the experience of people who share at least one thing in common. They are all people who have left their native confines, by choice or coercion, and challenged themselves in another environment. In that respect America is becoming a culture shocked society!"

Reporting on Culture Shock News, Anneli Rufus makes this interesting observation in East Bay Express [August 10, 2005]:

“If it's turning into a blurry-bordered, polyglot Blade Runner world, the folks who created Oakland-based Culture Shock News—a weekly video cable show that airs in Berkeley, Richmond, and Oakland on Channel 26 at 10:30 on Tuesday nights; Fremont and Newark on Channel 27 at 11 p.m. Tuesdays—aim to make that transition all the more thrilling, if a bit self-conscious. . . . Blending performance and commentary, the cable show reaches nearly a million Bay Area households . . .”

[Culture Shock News is also available in Hayward on Channel 26 at 10:30 Tuesday nights, and in Fremont and Newark on Channel 29 at 11 PM on Tuesdays , Livermore at 5:30 PM Fridays, and Walnut Creek 9:00 PM on Thursdays.]

Based in Oakland, California, since 1981, Ian lives with his wife Bridgette and daughter Jazmine.

Mr Moore reads "a book a week on average." According to him, "They all have an influence on me."

In his autobiographical poem, “My Bio-Sphere,” [Culture Shock Essays, p. 110], he writes:

I read like a fish who swims in the night
I spend more on books than I have such a right
I meditate, cool out, and stay un-tight.

My dreams are to learn the heart of the word
My hopes are to chase that winged bird
My endeavors, I pray, are to teach and be heard.
© Ian C. D. Moore, 1999]

This avid book reader begins his own book tour through Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas, in October.

He is currently preparing for publication in November a book of "short shorties" called: Zen and the Art of Construction.

Both in his vision and its execution, Mr Moore has much to offer all those who are interested in the vigor and vibrancy of the multi-cultural world we are making and remaking daily.

Michael Chacko Daniels, Editor & Publisher,
New River Free Press International

Ian Moore Data Bank

High School
Fortescuse House School,
Twickenham, Middlesex, England

College
West London College
Hammersmith, England

Other Schools
Laney College, Oakland, CA
Chabot College, Hayward, CA

Teacher that influenced Ian Moore the most
"Seth 'Tank' Edwards. he would not accept that I
content myself with being a sports jock.
He acknowledged and encouraged my academic talent.
I've spent the rest of my life thanking
him by educating myself constantly.

Books that influenced Ian Moore
Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness
Joseph Conrad's travel stories
Rumi's poetry
Alexander Pushkin's prose & poetry
James Baldwin's Another Country
The Autobiography of Malcolm X
Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov
Friedrich Nietzsche's Beyond Good & Evil
William Shakespeare's works

Favorite Philosopher
Bertrand Russell

Favorite Singer
Sam Cooke

Favorite Quotation
Happy the man and happy he alone,
He who can call this day his own,
He who secure within can say:
Tomorrow, show me your worst!
For I have lived today.
--Henry Fielding

Ian Moore's Publications
He writes in Culture Shock Essays [page 1]:
"I am the child of the fifties and sixties, the first generation perhaps, to give voice to the multicultural reality of the modern world."

1. Culture Shock Essays

[Jukebox Press, Oakland, CA, 1999; $13; ISBN 0-932693-04-0]

It describes his travels in essays entitled: ‘Coming to America’; ‘See London and Die’; ‘The Road to Ramadan’ (about his conversion to Islam); ‘China: 6,000 years in 6 days’; ‘The Promised Land’ (his sojourn in Palestine); ‘Jamaica-No Problem’ (his experience during Hurricane Gilbert in 1988); and ‘Nice Chap’ (an essay about his relationship with his father).

Career Visions' Review Notes All of these essays are enlivened by Mr Moore's unique point of view. He says what's on his mind, a mind alive to the multi-cultural possibilities and contributions of our times, as well its confusions.

2. The Color of Jazz (Poetry)

Quilombo Enterprises ICM
Oakland, California

Career Visions' Review Notes These poems, which record observations and memorable moments in Mr Moore's life, each written with a person in mind--including poets, musicians, politicians, himself, and family, were published in 2001 under the name 'Kweku Dawkins, writer, poet, raconteur.' The one I found interesting was a poem for the poet by the poet that reflects an essential aspect of himself, both as poet and person, that he wishes to celebrate and acknowledge:

IT'S NOT WITH EYES OF TEARS (For Kweku D.)

It's not with eyes of tears
That I greet the new season's dawning.
Nor do I chase like a butterfly the
Threads of a half-forgotten tapestry.
I sing no song of pain to raise my muse,
For she calls to me in every mood,
A spirit fixed to my inner soul
----I have only to listen.

©2001 Ian C. D. Moore (Kweku Dawkins)

3. Do You Know What It Means To Be Free (Poetry)

4. America-Cry Freedom:
Culture Shock Essays II (2005).

5. Afromuse: The Evolution of Afro-American Music (2004)

6. Black Innovators and the Problem Solving Process (2003)

Q_______________________

New River Free Press International:

Tell us about yourself.

What makes you who you are?
________________________

IanMoore I'm a product of an English mother and a Jamaican Father neither of whom raised me. Consequently, I had many surrogate parents and families, who taught me to love those who give love. From my late teens, I began traveling around England and Europe.

I have a gift for meeting people, and, encouraging their creative spirit.

During my twenties I traveled in West Africa and discovered the African side of my nature. In my thirties I moved to California, where I've worked in the construction industry, and began producing a cultural cable show in 1992.

I've written four books, about culture and education, and two books of poetry.

Q________________________

New River Free Press International:

What was your vision

of society that brought you

to the work you do?
________________________

IanMoore My experiences have shown me that when people listen to each other, each gains positive feedback.

Human societies have scaled fantastic heights in technological achievements. However, the parallel development of social interaction, intergration, and inclusion has not kept pace.

Human societies are at war with each other and themselves because they do not accept the need to treat each other like they would wish to be treated themselves.

Q________________________

New River Free Press International:

What do you think we

should remember as we remake

the world through the work we do?
________________________

IanMoore We should remember that everyone has a gift to offer the particular and the general world in which we live.

We should all remember to listen for the gift that each is offering to us.

Q____________________

New River Free Press International:

Has your vision

changed as you have

participated in the

remaking of the world?
____________________

IanMoore Yes, I believe that radical change of any particular society is only feasible and practical when individuals, groups, and nations take total responsibility for all their thoughts and actions.

Each individual must free themselves, and that can best be done by opening up to their creative spirit.

Q________________________

New River Free Press International:

What challenges do you

perceive in achieving your

vision of society?
_________________________

IanMoore Time, opportunity and execution. Every one I meet is a potential creative force that can change the nature of their lives and those around them.

By concentrating on one person at a time, I'm encouraged by the potential for change there is for the future.

As the Christians say: If I can help somebody on their road of life, then my life will not have been in vain.

Q_______________________

New River Free Press International:

What needs to be done

to overcome these challenges?
________________________

IanMoore Getting up every morning with a positive attitude and infecting the world with wonder and mystery.

Q______________________________

New River Free Press International:

What pointers would you give

young people of the 9/11 generation

as they work in public service assignments?
_______________________________

IanMoore Don't do public service in your early years.

Go into the world, work, create something, then return with experience and purpose to serve the public.

____ * ___

About the Editor: San Franciscan Michael Chacko Daniels, formerly a community worker and clown, and now a re-emerging writer and editor, grew up in Bombay. Books: Writers Workshop, Kolkata: Split in Two (1971, 2004), Anything Out of Place Is Dirt (1971, 2004), and That Damn Romantic Fool (1972, 2005). Read all about his Indian and American journey at http://indiawritingstation.com/community-service-calls/.

All views expressed in the interview are those of the interviewee

and not those of the editor or this website.

Ian Moore on Dec. 23, 2005:

"Culture Shock News Show

can now be seen 24/7

around the world

on my web page:

www.cultureshocknews.com

Click on the icon

Culture Shock News Program,

and you can see a complete show

broadcast in flash video format."

NOTE: THIS INTERVIEW FORMAT IS THE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OF MICHAEL CHACKO DANIELS AND HIS ELECTRONIC PUBLICATIONS: NEW RIVER FREE PRESS INTERNATIONAL: US-INDIA WRITING STATION AND CAREER VISIONS FOR A SMALL PLANET.

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____________________________

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____________________________

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_____________________________