new poems published in katitikan

Two of my poems—“Cleaning the Attic” and “Sky Over Cairns”—are in the second issue of Katitikan, the Literary Journal of the Philippine South.

This latest edition, which is now live and can be viewed here, taps on the theme of “Space and Place.” Today’s Leap Day is not that bad after all.

58th silliman university national writers workshop fellows

Silliman University, together with the National Commission for the Culture and the Arts, presents the 58th edition of the Silliman University National Writers Workshop on April 29 to May 10 at the Rose Lamb Sobrepeña Writers Village in Camp Look-out, Valencia, Negros Oriental and the SU Campus. Here are the 10 writing fellows of Batch 2019:

Poetry
Arielle Abrigo (Antipolo City)
Alsteine Diapana (Cebu City)

Balak
Jefferson Del Rosario (Danao City)
Dave Pregoner (Lapu-Lapu City)

Fiction 
Kaisa Aquino (Quezon City)
Catherina Dario (Muntinlupa City)
Samuel Evardone (Metro Manila)

Creative Nonfiction
Donna Patricia Manio (Imus City)
Cavite Riddick Recoter (Metro Manila)
Maria Gliceria Valdez (Davao City)

Tara Eunice de Leon and Jhudiel Brigid Plando will join them as special fellows for fiction and nonfiction respectively. Two applicants have also been invited as special workshop mentees: Alter Hofileña (Misamis Occidental) and Geormie Yanoc (Mabinay, Negros Oriental).

The panel of writers/critics for this year includes Director-in-Residence Anthony Tan, resident writers Cesar Ruiz Aquino and Ian Rosales Casocot, as well as regular panelists Alfred Yuson and Marjorie Evasco. They will be joined by guest panelists Rica Bolipata-Santos, Simeon Dumdum Jr., Susan Lara, Grace Monte de Ramos, and National Artist for Literature Resil Mojares.

Beginning last year, the Workshop has been accepting manuscripts for Balak (poetry in Binisaya) with corresponding English translation. The inclusion of Balak has further enriched workshop discussion regarding the craft of poetry rendered in different languages and the cultural nuances that underpin such expression.

Founded in 1962 by S.E.A. Write Awardee Edilberto K. Tiempo and National Artist Edith L. Tiempo, the workshop is the oldest creative writing workshop of its kind in Asia. It was recently given the Tanging Parangal in the Gawad CCP Para sa Sining by the Cultural Center of the Philippines. The Silliman University National Writers Workshop continues the legacy of the Tiempos in giving value to literature and creative writing in the Philippines.

For more information about forthcoming events during the workshop, e-mail Workshop Coordinator Lady Flor Partosa at nww@su.edu.ph or call the Department of English and Literature at (035) 422-6002 loc. 350.  

[ article lifted from the Edilberto and Edith Tiempo Creative Writing Center Facebook page ]

19th iyas national writers workshop fellows

The IYAS National Writers’ Workshop of the University of St. La Salle, Bacolod City proudly announces the 12 Fellows for 2019.

Elizabeth Joy Serrano Quijano (Binisayang Sugilanon)
Maria Cristina I. Canson (Hiligaynon Binalaybay)
Nicole-Ann T. Lucas (Hiligaynon Sugilanon)
Isabella Kathrina S. Villarojo (Binisayang Dula)
Ryan Cezar O. Alcarde (Filipino Tula)
Alec Joshua B. Paradeza (Filipino Maikling Kuwento) 
March Anetonette S. Ortuoste (Filipino Dula)
Jefferson G. Del Rosario (Binisayang Balak)
Sigrid Marianne P. Gayangos (English Short Story)
King V. Llanza (English Poetry)
Jose Luis B. Pablo (English Poetry)
Edmark T. Tan (English Poetry)

Last year’s IYAS Writers Workshop had Dr. Marjorie Evasco as director and Ms. Grace Monte de Ramos-Arcellana, Ms. Susan S. Lara, Dr. Ronald Baytan, Mr. Em Mendez and Prof. John Iremil Teodoro as panelists. IYAS Project Director Atty. Raymundo Pandan, Jr. and workshop founder Dr. Elsie Coscolluela had also joined the panel.

The IYAS National Writers’ Workshop is co-sponsored by the University of St. La Salle, the Bienvenido N. Santos Creative Writing Center of De La Salle University, the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, and the Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities.

This year’s workshop—the 19th edition—will be held at the Balay Kalinungan Complex of the University of St. La Salle, Bacolod City, from March 31 to April 6, 2019.

[UPDATED 03/31/19]

last copies here

Out of 75 copies, I am down to my last seven copies of my poetry chapbook Weights & Cushions.

In June of this year, I made an initial print of 25 copies for Silliman University and DumAlt.Press’ LGBTQ Zine and Book Fest. Not much was sold during the festival, but friends and relatives here and from someplace else thought it was a good idea to buy and support my work. I am so grateful for these beautiful supportive souls. Apparently news reached New Zealand, Australia, Costa Rica, New York, California, etc etc. And I was running out of copies, so I made another print of 50 copies a week later. And today this is what’s left of it.

Five of these are actually going to Roxas City in the province of Capiz for VIVA ExCon 2018 this week—along with an art zine I’m still working on (something I call Philippine Roast and Other Drawings)— that means, technically, I’d only have two copies in my hand.

It’s mostly a solo effort, doing everything on your own, one that many would like to call a “vanity project,” but it is this very criticism why I am doing all of this in the first place. Keep ‘em coming. .

37th national book awards

Hello. I just want to share this happy news because I rarely get one these days. Two books that published my works are finalists—in the same category!—in the 37th National Book Awards of the National Book Development Board - Philippines and The Manila Critics Circle.

The publications The Bohol We Love, an anthology of memoir that is edited by Marjorie Evasco and one that includes my personal essay “A (Re)Collection of Stones”; and Sustaining the Archipelago, an anthology of ecopoetry from the Philippines that is edited by Rina Chua and one that includes my poem “Poetry as a Lesson in Botany” are both finalists for Best Book of Anthology in English, Literary Division.

Huge thanks to the people who make this happen. Also, books from several friends and mentors are nominated / finalists as well! Cheers and confetti, everyone! Yey!

You can see the complete list here or here.

 .

another new poem published in the sunday times magazine

Hello, hello! My poem “Poetry as a Lesson in Relativity” is published in The Sunday Times Magazine (1 July 2018), the same magazine supplement of The Manila Times newspaper that published my other poem “Market in Matakana” last March. Just a bit sad though that I was not able to get a copy of the paper. But overall I am happy though, knowing that the magazine editor still welcomes my works.

Here is a link to the poem in case you, like me, couldn’t get a copy of the paper.

new poem published in ecopoetry anthology

A few days ago, I finally received my (paid) copies of Sustaining the Archipelago: An Anthology of Philippine Ecopoetry, which is edited by Rina Garcia Chua, who includes my work "Poetry as a Lesson in Botany" in the collection.

I believe this is the first of its kind in the country; an anthology that attempts to meditate on our nation's concerns and priorities under the lens of ecological understanding. The result is nothing short of fantastic. I just wished the book's contributors though won't have to buy their own copies. Not all writers are, you know, blessed with disposable income. Writing the poem is already hard enough for us. Heh heh.

new poem in the sunday times magazine

Now here’s something to be happy about. My poem “Market in Matakana” is published in The Sunday Times Magazine (11 March 2018), the magazine supplement of The Manila Times newspaper. The piece is inspired from a long drive to the North Island town of Matakana in New Zealand. I hope I did it justice though. That place was just brimming with so much beauty.

Here is a link to the poem in case you can’t get a copy of the paper.

ang larawan: review and observation

The journey of Loy Arcenas’ award-winning film, Ang Larawan, to Bohol is one that parallels the difficulties of getting it made and seen by an audience in the first place. It was never shown in any of our malls during the entire run of the Metro Manila Film Festival 2017 last December and January. When it got the chance to be screened in Bohol, it was cancelled and moved to another date due to typhoon Basyang. But the fates are still good, the hardworking culture-bearers of Bohol better.

Continuing the activities of this year’s National Arts Month, and being part of a school tour that would also take the film to Cebu and Negros Oriental, Ang Larawan is finally shown with two screenings at the Bohol Cultural Center on February 19.

Before the 7:30PM screening, the Loboc Children’s Choir performed a suite of pop musical pieces. Actors and producers Celeste Legaspi and Rachel Alejandro also sung in a cappella, after joining Loy Arcenas and producer Alemberg Ang for a symposium. The four of them fielded questions from the audience that touched on characterization, how commercialism could coexist with art, and the need for micro-theaters (or cinematheques) in provinces like Bohol that could readily accommodate unconventional, non-mainstream works and provide movie consumption diversity.

And how lucky these students and teachers were, these culture and art enthusiasts, these regular moviegoers, to finally experience Ang Larawan. Rarely do Boholanos see a Filipino musical of this pedigree. It is not just different for diversity’s sake; it is a landmark in Filipino artistry. This movie is based on a stage musical with translation and lyrics by National Artist for Theater and Literature Rolando Tinio and music by Ryan Cayabyab, which is also an adaptation of the play A Portrait of the Artist as Filipino by National Artist for Literature Nick Joaquin.

Ang Larawan is set in 1940s Intramuros, before World War II, and focuses on two spinster sisters, Candida and Paula Marasigan, who live in a cavernous house with their artist father Don Lorenzo—the man who painted the titular larawan and who kept to himself inside his room for a year and counting after a mysterious tragedy. The once glorious household, where the alta sociedad frequently mingled, now relies on financial support provided by their siblings Manolo and Pepang, who both agree it is better to sell the property than to hold on to it like dead weight. But all this could not hold up to the daily expenses; Candida even considers her rat-catching talent and Paula’s fluent Spanish as lucrative jobs, but both eventually acknowledge this is not true. Thanks to Tony, a charming vaudeville piano player and male boarder who the two sisters have to take in, the idea of selling the last Marasigan painting for $20,000 to an American collector is put on the table. This sets Candida and Paula in a head spin and moves the story forward to situations no one would ever expect (unless you have seen or read the original play).

The movie is so lovingly made, as evidenced from the very first frame down to the last melody of a song. It is the type of movie that grows on you even as it confronts you with difficult, conflicting ideologies—principle or practicality, heritage or commercialism. Even if it brims with the gilded beauty of the past, it is not afraid to remind everyone that everything can be preserved as much as it could be ravished by the consequences of a decision or force that is beyond anyone’s control. Very much like a representation of how the culture and the arts in this country often balance on a precarious tightrope. The movie does not explicitly take sides, but any logical viewer can instantly decide where one must lean on. In fact, Joanna Ampil’s tremendous portrayal of Candida drives home the message.

The only hitch in this near-perfect production is that its movements stick closely to the structure of theater, that sometimes the pacing feels lumbering and too deliberate for a movie. There is no questioning the genius of Rolando Tinio’s libretto and Ryan Cayabyab’s compositions (whose score breezes through bombastic jazz and zarzuela), but the musical exposition it employs is in the vein of a Stephen Sondheim musical; the songs can be hard to sing along with.

It is easy to brush off this movie as another passion project that’s weighed down by its own ambitions, which makes it dismissible by an audience contented with slapstick humor and cheap thrills, but the movie’s mere presence in this time and age, let alone in Bohol, should be enough indication that we do have something great and important in our hands, that something even more precious could arrive someday. Has anyone heard of the movie Smaller and Smaller Circles by Raya Martin that features a host of Boholano talent but is unfortunately never shown in our cinemas in 2017?

It is no simple task, to remind everyone of this when people are getting used to with what they usually get (read: horror, romantic comedy, Vice Ganda), but last Monday’s audience turnout, with the help of both the local government body and private sector, suggests that a cultural renaissance is indeed possible. These are all concerns and ideas that have yet to meet a solid, committed prioritization in Bohol, but for now, let us at least revel at the thought that, at long last, the portrait is finally unveiled to Boholanos. To echo one of the movie’s cries, contra mundum!


[ article previously published in The Bohol Chronicle, 25 February 2018 ]

balut beer ug balak 2018 : the heart is in the words

February is practically baptized by many as the Love Month. But last February 11 at the CPG Heritage House Open Grounds, the evening professed a different kind of love that goes beyond flowers, chocolates, and candlelit dinners.

In celebration of this year’s National Arts Month, Kaliwat ni Karyapa (KaKa) Writers Collective, with the support of the Center for Culture and Arts Development (CCAD) and the Office of the Governor of the Province of Bohol, opened the seventh iteration of Balut Beer ug Balak (which is concisely hashtagged on social media as #BBB2018).

Lutgardo "Gardy" Labad introduces Kontra-GaPi and Kasing Sining

What started as a struggle to get the literary arts recognized in the province’s many festivities is now an event that justly merits the praise and attention it received last Sunday night. Back in the old days, there was significant support for all forms of Boholano art—except for the literary. There were budget and regular gatherings for music, dance, painting exhibitions! Unfortunately, there was none whatsoever for poetry and other writing affairs. If there was one, only little was heard of it, the fanfare muted like a cold grave shrug.

Kontra-GaPi dazzles the audience with a rallying ethnic music (source: CCAD)

As a rebellion and as a need to balance the field, considering that our nation has a writer hordes cherish as their national hero (Jose Rizal) and once had a prolific Boholano writer-lawyer as a president (Carlos P. Garcia), like-minded individuals united and pushed for an activity that celebrated the letters. They put emphasis on poetry, our very own balak, because it does not only encapsulate the yearnings of the Boholano heart but also humanity’s soul. KaKa, the writers collective whose rich history demands a separate article, was at the forefront of this endeavor.

Theater arts group Kasing Sining performs an excerpt of the musical 'Dagon sa Hoyohoy' (source: CCAD)

So for Sandugo 2004, the balak was brought to the public space. Since it was first held at the formerly scenic city pier, a combination of balut and a glass of beer was unanimously deemed the most felicitous reward for (non-minor) readers and performers. No pressure from anyone to present; it was simply done for the joy of this groundbreaking occasion.

An obligatory photo of me trying to drive home the message while presenting my piece

Thus, Balut Beer ug Balak was born. The singular dream to have Bohol’s varied literary voices heard is now a reality. For its latest appearance, BBB has even become more than its namesake. With Lutgardo Labad’s considerable generosity, the event last Sunday was graced by UP Diliman’s Kontemporaryong Gamelan Pilipino (or better known as Kontra-GaPi), and our very own theater arts group, Kasing Sining, who presented an excerpt of the Boholano musical folk-epic Dagon sa Hoyohoy.

Becky Demetillo-Abraham of Inang Laya performs with Butch de Juan

And like most events, BBB was not spared of how things could never go as planned. It was unanticipated, the number of mambabalak and volunteer readers was high, and the programme lasted longer than it should be. There were several presenters who read their original works that touched on emotions that may be too big for them to grasp, like young singers straining for the celestial notes, while some disconcertingly tackled delicate issues with humor, which could have been handled with more sensitivity and thought, especially for impressionable minds. It’s a common misconception that spoken word poetry must always traverse the territory of crass and shock.

Some of the guests, performers, and readers of BBB 2018 (source: CCAD)

But in the end, creativity requires influence, and an occasion such as Balut Beer ug Balak provided the perfect avenue for this much-needed enlightenment, as seafarers to a fortified parola. We are each other’s guides. Possibly and hopefully, in its next iterations, BBB could be not only a regular gathering to celebrate the literary arts but also as an occasion for everyone to better map the landscape of our current realities and to better maneuver the terrains of the Boholano imagination and emotion.

See you next time!

Because poetry is confirmation. It sparks in you what you knew all along. It is the language of the heart and the soul and their attendant nuances—love and rage, celebration and loss, resistance and surrender—and all this makes the entirety of literature even more transcendent, beautiful.



[ the article is previously published in The Bohol Chronicle, 18 February 2018 ]

wherever

Just got wonderful news. Three of my works—“Paulit-ulit”, “Paano Maglakbay Papuntang Kalawakan at Iwasang Bumalik”, and “Mula Enero”—are published in the collection of dagli or flash fiction, Saanman: Mga Kuwento Mula sa Biyahe, Bagahe, at Balikbayan Box, edited by Jack Alvarez. I hardly write in Filipino, and these three pieces are just a result of exorcising the demons of a tumultuous 2012-2013, so this is a real surprise. Well, this is a great way of greeting the last few days of our country’s National Arts Month.

A copy of the book can be purchased via the following links below:

Amazon
Lazada
Shopee 

new poem up in quarterly literary review singapore

My poem “Habits” is published in the latest issue of Quarterly Literary Review Singapore, along with works by fellow Filipino authors such as Rodrigo Dela Peña Jr., who is one of the contemporary poets I look up to.

Early lines of this piece first came up in 2012, and through the years the poem took several phases of (re)formations. I dedicate this poem particularly to Lyde, Marianne, and Mars for being with me that one August night.

Okay, thank you for your time. You can check out the poems through the link here.

67th carlos palanca memorial awards for literature winners

In the Philippines, September usually heralds the special announcement of a select group of people who will be receiving some special recognition. This is the Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature, and as celebrated yesterday evening, at the Manila Peninsula Makati, it is on its 67th year.

And what a wonderful night of literature and like minds, especially to my friends who won! Shout out to Jesus and Glenn, and to my batch-mates in the Silliman Writers Workshop (47th batch, Katsubongs represent!)—Dustin, Noelle, Tokwa, and Igor! I was supposed to submit my manuscript but I forgot the deadline. Petty excuse, I know. Next time, I will make sure I have set my alarm. Here are the winners:

***

KABATAAN DIVISION

KABATAAN SANAYSAY
1st Prize: NO WINNER
2nd Prize: Carmel Joy F. Vergara, Patlang
3rd Prize: Robyn Therese V. Jocom, Sungkitin Pabalik ang Nakalipas

KABATAAN ESSAY
1st Prize: Alpheus Matthew D. Llantero, The Adventure of an Alien and the Matalino Kid
2nd Prize: Pauline Sherice Wee, Culture Redefined
3rd Prize: Marielle Fatima B. Tuazon, The Pursuit of Lucidity

***

FILIPINO DIVISION 

MAIKLING KUWENTO
1st Prize: Andrian M. Legaspi, Sa Pagitan ng Sabaw ng Chaolong at Hilab ng Tiyan
2nd Prize: Valentine Dula, Patintero
3rd Prize: Nicko M. de Guzman, Troll

MAIKLING KUWENTONG PAMBATA
1st Prize: Maryrose Jairene Cruz-Eusebio, Ang Patay-gutom
2nd Prize: Josel Luigi F. Creencia, Lato't Ginto
3rd Prize: Cheeno Marlo M. Sayuno, Si Tiya Salome

SANAYSAY
1st Prize: Eugene Y. Evasco, Ang Mapa ng Taglagas sa Aking Maleta
2nd Prize: Will P. Ortiz, Sisid
3rd Prize: Mubarak M. Tahir, Aden Bon Besen Uyag-Uyag (May Buhay Pa Pala)

TULA
1st Prize: Christian R. Vallez, Sa Pagitan ng Banal at Karnal
2nd Prize: Jason G. Tabinas, Na Inyong Ikinalulunod
3rd Prize: Rogelio Dela Rosa Jr, Tanghod at iba pang Paghihintay

TULA PARA SA MGA BATA
1st Prize: John Vincent J. Bucal, Muwang ng Musmos
2nd Prize: Errol A. Merquita, Tagulilong: Ang mga Nawawala
3rd Prize: Paterno B. Baloloy, Jr, Agam-Agam ng Langgam

DULANG MAY ISANG YUGTO
1st Prize: Eljay Castro Deldoc, Pilipinas Kong Mahal With All the Overcoat
2nd Prize: Rodolfo Carlos Vera, Indigo Child
3rd Prize: Dominique Beatrice T. La Victoria, Ang Bata Sa Drum

DULANG GANAP ANG HABA
1st Prize: Dustin Edward D. Celestino, Ang Pangahas na si Pepe Rodriguez
2nd Prize: Joshua L. Lim So, Araw-araw, Gabi-gabi
3rd Prize: Vincent A. De Jesus, Changing Partners

DULANG PAMPELIKULA
1st Prize: Rodolfo Carlos Vera, Ang Aking Juan Luna
2nd Prize: Kristian Sendon Cordero, Kulto ni Santiago
3rd Prize: Avelino Mark C. Balmes Jr, Pablo Ocampo Extension


***

REGIONAL DIVISION

SHORT STORY – CEBUANO
1st Prize: Jondy M. Arpilleda, Bunok
2nd Prize: Manuel M. Avenido, Jr, Panagtigi
3rd Prize: Errol A. Merquita, Aninipot


SHORT STORY – HILIGAYNON
1st Prize: Jesus C. Insilada EdD, Tinuom
2nd Prize: Peter Solis Nery, Ang Milagro sa Ermita
3rd Prize: Leonard Francis M. Alcoran, Ang Itlog nga wala Nagabalibad

SHORT STORY – ILOKANO
1st Prize: Ronelyn Ramones, Ti Lubong ni Anastasia
2nd Prize: Lilia Quindoza Santiago PhD, Siak Ti Interpreteryo
3rd Prize: Ariel Sotelo Tabag, Dado


***

ENGLISH DIVISION

SHORT STORY
1st Prize: John Bengan, Disguise
2nd Prize: Katrina Guiang Gomez, Misericordia
3rd Prize: Joe Bert Lazarte, Don't Blink

ESSAY
1st Prize: Michelle Josephine G. Rivera, In My Father's Kitchen
2nd Prize: Paul Gideon D. Lasco, The Art of "Hugot" in our Republic of "Sawi"
3rd Prize: Jade Mark B. Capiñanes, A Portrait of a Young Man as a Banak

POETRY
1st Prize: Noelle Leslie dela Cruz, Sisyphus on the Penrose Stairs: Meta-Reveries
2nd Prize: Rodrigo V. Dela Peña Jr, Blood Compact
3rd Prize: Hurjay Medilo, Elegy for a Dying World

POETRY WRITTEN FOR CHILDREN
1st Prize: Cynthia Baculi-Condez, From Dawn to Dusk
2nd Prize: Patricia Celina A. Ngo, Magical Mall of Mysteries
3rd Prize: Ma. Amparo N. Warren, Animal Songs/Just So Poems

ONE-ACT PLAY
1st Prize: NO WINNER
2nd Prize: NO WINNER
3rd Prize: Joshua L. Lim So, Sa Syquia, Malate, Kabanata II: Letting The Days Go By

FULL-LENGTH PLAY
1st Prize: Dustin Edward D. Celestino, The Story of This Father
2nd Prize: Joachim Emilio B. Antonio, exesanonymous.com
3rd Prize: NO WINNER


***

GRAND PRIZES

NOBELA
Grand Prize: Eros S. Atalia, Ang Ikatlong Anti-Kristo

NOVEL
Grand Prize: Glenn L. Diaz, The Quiet Ones.

remember

Last Saturday morning, October 15, at around 8AM, my mother told me that sirens wailed and bells rang all over the city in Bohol, breaking the stillness that usually welcome the weekends in the province. I wondered why. And then I realized these served as a remembrance of an event in 2013. October 15 was the day Bohol was struck by a 7.2 magnitude earthquake at around 8:12 in the morning three years ago. It was a massive heartbreaking period of loss and devastation. Fast forward to this day, Bohol and its people have not forgotten but have carried on, returning to a normalcy that is communally worked on through the years. Padayon lang.

That is why I find it so timely I’ve just recently received a snapshot of my essay titled "A (Re)Collection of Stones" in proofread print, which would soon appear in the anthology The Bohol We Love, a book edited by an award-winning, talented Boholana Ms. Marjorie Evasco, and to be published by Anvil. In a few days, this proofread copy will be sent to the printers. In here, I’ve dedicated a section of my non-fiction work to a story about the earthquake’s aftermath in Loon, one of the hardest hit towns. Seeing this photo and seeing the stunning day outside the window at the same time make my heart swell with joy. I cannot wait for the book launching on December. It’s just one of those few things to look forward to in these dire times.

the anniversary

I was about to post something on my blog, when I thought of checking out my archives. Lo and behold, I just discovered last August 26 was the 10th year anniversary of this personal blog. I mean, who would’ve thought that a simple challenge and hobby among college friends back in 2006—which became an online repository of early attempts at literature, rants and opinions, humor and melodrama, and all things sundry—will last this long? 10 years. Imagine that. In this little corner on the internet, I see how my writing has evolved, and it gives me goosebumps stumbling upon old entries. Yucks. Because of this realization, I began checking out the blogs of my college friends too. Unfortunately, all of them have tended other distractions and priorities, and most of their last posts have been published in the mid-2000s. I don’t know what to whip up for this milestone. Perhaps Top 10 of this and that? Maybe. For now, I will have to settle with sprucing it up a bit, give the banner picture a new look.

buwan ng mga akdang pinoy: ani 39

My work “Poetry as a Lesson in Zoology” will be included in the 39th edition of ANI, the official literary journal of the Cultural Center of the Philippines. What a heartwarming way to end this month. Good news: that’s one dream finally ticked off the bucket list. Bad news: I won’t be able to attend the book launching on September 23 at the CCP Silangan Hall, 5PM, with the same event also serving as a celebration for the 47th anniversary of CPP. Sayang.

This particular edition takes on the theme “Kahayupan: The Animal Kingdom,” and it is touted to be the thickest issue of ANI yet. It has the cover art by Neil Doloricon, and the published works are written in various languages like Filipino, Ilokano, Akeanon, Bikol, Bikol-Naga, Chavacano, Kinaray-a, and English. The ninety-one writers (from across the nation and across the globe) featured in this literary journal are the following:

Jose Marte A. Abueg
Jim Pascual Agustin
Vijae O. Alquisola
Jenalyn J. Aman
Mark Angeles
Rebecca T. Añonuevo
Genevieve Mae Aquino
Mark Joseph Z. Arisgado
Mark Anthony B. Austria
Elbert O. Baeta
Gil S. Beltran
Herminio S. Beltran
April Mae M. Berza
Julius D. Bulahan
Anabelle Calleja
Ernesto Carandang
F. Jordan Carnice
Dexter Cayanes
Jose Jason L. Chancoco
Melchor F. Cichon
Jasmine Cruz
M. Protacio de Guzman
Rodrigo dela Peña, Jr.
Francis Gallano Delgado
Charlie Anne I. Espiritu
Martin G. Genodepa
Joel Jacob
Sabina Marites Lañada
Marra PL. Lanot
Ireneo Jr. Lit
Nestor L. Lucena
Francis C. Macansantos
Priscilla Supnet Macansantos
Shur C. Mangilaya
Noahlyn Maranan
Vim Nadera
Ben D. Nillo
Richard P. Nollen
Allen Lenard Ocampo
Aldrin Pentero
Padmapani L. Perez
Honesto M. Pesimo, Jr.
Allan Popa
Frank Rivera
Glen A. Sales
Louie Jon A. Sanchez
E. San Juan, Jr.
John Patrick Solano
Ariel Tabag
John Iremil Teodoro
Glenn Ford B. Tolentino
Oswald A. Valente
Hope Sabanpan Yu
Jeffrey R. Ancheta
Ma. Rita Aranda
Emmanuel T. Barrameda
Ludwig Jan Batuigas
Janet Batuigas
Lorna A. Billones
Rina Garcia Chua
Joey Chua
Efren J. Domingo
U Z. Eliserio
Susan Lara
Andrian Legaspi
Perry Mangilaya
Eilyn L. Nidea
Ian Kenneth L. Orasa
Wilhelmina Orozco
Chuckberry J. Pascual
Ma. Angelica Edralyn R. Tuazon
Raul Esquillo Asis
Ana Maria Cuevas-Oliveros
Eugene Y. Evasco
Shur C. Mangilaya
Marilyn Marquez Mercado
Jasmin Tresvalles
Adelle Villarey
Christine S. Bellen
Emerson Bengco
Joshene Bersales
Grace D. Chong
Francis Gallano Delgado
Zarah C. Gagatiga
Luis P. Gatmaitan
Ferdinand Pisigan Jarin
Christine F. Godinez Ortega
Carla M. Pacis
Rosales S. Pagnamitan
Flor Salanga
Herbel Santiago.

[ image and information borrowed from this site ]

buwan ng mga akdang pinoy

Yesterday I received a little surprise from the mail man. I got this book. And published in this book is my short fiction piece “The Forgiving.” I have genuinely forgotten I have written this piece. How timely it is to receive this on August, which is considered to be our country’s Buwan ng mga Akdang Pinoy. Ubod, which literally means “bamboo shoots,” is a product of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts’ (NCCA) goal to showcase emerging voices in Philippine literature from across the archipelago. I am surprised and humbled to be part of this collection, to be one of the few featured writers from Central Visayas, considering what I have contributed to this anthology is a product of a genre writing challenge sometime in 2011 to 2012, during the productive years of LitCritters Dumaguete. I have not written much like in those days, especially fiction, with my routines and habits these days almost bursting to the seams already. But I guess this is a sign to get back into it. I am still mastering this craft, and I hope I can contribute more and better works through the years, to do my part as a practicing writer.

With that in mind, I am thankful for the writers Shane Carreon for giving me the heads up just a few days ago that I am actually published in this book, Haidee Palapar for calling my attention about the deadline for submissions almost four years ago, Hope Sabanpan-Yu and Lolita Go for relaying me to the editor on how to get my complimentary copy, and ultimately, NCCA, Juliet Mallari, Alex Dacanay, and Victor Sugbo for including me in this anthology. And also, Edgar Samar for pushing the celebration Buwan ng mga Akdang Pinoy forward into national discourse. We need more of this.

for our country, for our planet

After enduring the Climate Walk last week, a 99-kilometer journey on foot (more on to that in another post), I’ve received news that made all the effort even sweeter. My poem “Poetry as a Lesson in Botany” will be published in the landmark book, Sustaining the Archipelago: An Anthology of Philippine Ecopoetry, to be edited by Rina Garcia Chua. My piece will be in the company of many others from here and abroad, and the anthology's foreword will be written by Dr. Greg Garrard of the University of British Columbia, author of books such as The Ecocriticism Reader and The Oxford Handbook of Ecocriticism. Thank you, universe! There are those who question and criticize what I do and what I love to do in relation to my choices, passion, and advocacy, but here’s the thing: This is not only for me. Although a piece of literature is but a clump of words, it is the message that I hope would transcend all forms of constraint, either from the page or from a narrow mind. Carry on, guys!

give thanks

It is common knowledge that a person has to be thankful every single day, as if each is a gift you now or will deserve. I usually don’t feel that kind of day. Maybe I’m just not the type of person. But today is one of those rare episodes in life that I can genuinely say I am thankful for how one moment to another assembled into a glorious, fascinating whole. It is not only a day that reminds you there’s a lot to be done, but it is also a day that tells you there’s a lot you can actually do. Such as, among many other things: to be more honest, to be kinder, to try harder. To my friends, to my family, to nature, and to whatever divine being that works the gears of the entire cosmos, my heart is filled with gratitude. Thank you.

the first filipino poem in history

Just kidding. I was tasked to write a Filipino poem last week and I took the challenge right away. I believe this is only the second time that I have written a poem in Tagalog, with the first one written in high school. Yeah, it was a long time ago.

The images and metaphors are undeniably all over the place, but I am proud of this. I find it timely, too, since August is our country’s Buwan ng Wika. As a nation liberated by one man’s works of literature (see Jose Rizal, if you’ve forgotten), I think it should be second nature and not just a responsibility to read and appreciate Philippine literature. For the love of the Philippines, and to honor this celebration, here is my little contribution.

*

Panukala

Kailangan bang may ulan sa iyong paglisan kahapon?
Maaari bang ulap na lamang, at wala nang pagbuhos
Ng pangamba? Higit sa lahat, mayroon pa bang
Pagkakataong maibalik mo sa akin
Ang mayaman mong sulyap?
Saglit lang, huwag ka munang sumagot.
Huwag mong dungisan ang marilag mong mga labi
Ng mga salitang hindi mo nais masabi at marinig.
Hayaan mong ako na lamang ang putik
Sa iyong marmol. Pakinggan mo ako.
Mangyaring tandaan ang mga sumusunod:
Ang katotohanan ay isang regalo
Para sa mga nais tumanggap nito,
At ang kamalian ay karamutang hindi pansin.
Gayunpaman, ang mga pilikmata mo’y
Mga pahina ng nobelang uulit-ulitin kong basahin.
Uulit-ulitin. Waring walang mali sa obra mong ganap.
Tingnan mo ngayon ang langit sa likod ng mga bundok
Sa Loon. Maaaring dito nagsimula ang lahat ng pagbuo
At paghati. Paglikha at pagkawasak: Dito namumukadkad
Ang araw, at sa kabilang dako naman kumukupas,
Nagbibigay-daan sa mga munting matang nagmamasid
Sa pagtulog natin: nananahimik, namamanatag, nananatili.
Ito marahil ang lagi’t laging kahihinatnan ng katotohanan:
Tulad ng dasal, nasa atin lamang ang kagustuhan,
Nasa atin lamang ang pananampalataya.
Tila wala na ang mga panukalang nakapaskil
Sa mga pader ng ating budhi; ang makakapagbago
Sa desisyong tumagos na sa kaluluwa.