To the Pamiyabe Fellows 2011

Hi guys and gals! Here is a funny poem by the American poet laureate Billy Collins. Hope you have a laugh or two, as well as some insights why some metaphors work and others don't, why some lines sing without trying too hard to do so. Hope you have learned the basics in spinning tales (for the fictionists) and conjuring images(for the poets). Remember always the Three Rs necessary to become a wordsmith: Reading, Writing (the initial consonant is silent, right?), and Rewriting... Feel free to post comments or ask questions regarding specific aspects of the writer's craft.



Workshop
by Billy Collins

I might as well begin by saying how much I like the title.
It gets me right away because I’m in a workshop now
so immediately the poem has my attention,
like the Ancient Mariner grabbing me by the sleeve.

And I like the first couple of stanzas,
the way they establish this mode of self-pointing
that runs through the whole poem
and tells us that words are food thrown down
on the ground for other words to eat.
I can almost taste the tail of the snake
in its own mouth,
if you know what I mean.

But what I’m not sure about is the voice,
which sounds in places very casual, very blue jeans,
but other times seems standoffish,
professorial in the worst sense of the word
like the poem is blowing pipe smoke in my face.
But maybe that’s just what it wants to do.

What I did find engaging were the middle stanzas,
especially the fourth one.
I like the image of clouds flying like lozenges
which gives me a very clear picture.
And I really like how this drawbridge operator
just appears out of the blue
with his feet up on the iron railing
and his fishing pole jigging—I like jigging—
a hook in the slow industrial canal below.
I love slow industrial canal below. All those l’s.

Maybe it’s just me,
but the next stanza is where I start to have a problem.
I mean how can the evening bump into the stars?
And what’s an obbligato of snow?
Also, I roam the decaffeinated streets.
At that point I’m lost. I need help.

The other thing that throws me off,
and maybe this is just me,
is the way the scene keeps shifting around.
First, we’re in this big aerodrome
and the speaker is inspecting a row of dirigibles,
which makes me think this could be a dream.
Then he takes us into his garden,
the part with the dahlias and the coiling hose,
though that’s nice, the coiling hose,
but then I’m not sure where we’re supposed to be.
The rain and the mint green light,
that makes it feel outdoors, but what about this wallpaper?
Or is it a kind of indoor cemetery?
There’s something about death going on here.

In fact, I start to wonder if what we have here
is really two poems, or three, or four,
or possibly none.

But then there’s that last stanza, my favorite.
This is where the poem wins me back,
especially the lines spoken in the voice of the mouse.
I mean we’ve all seen these images in cartoons before,
but I still love the details he uses
when he’s describing where he lives.
The perfect little arch of an entrance in the baseboard,
the bed made out of a curled-back sardine can,
the spool of thread for a table.
I start thinking about how hard the mouse had to work
night after night collecting all these things
while the people in the house were fast asleep,
and that gives me a very strong feeling,
a very powerful sense of something.
But I don’t know if anyone else was feeling that.
Maybe that was just me.
Maybe that’s just the way I read it.

Paalam Ophelia Alcantara Dimalanta...

Tanawing Walang Hadlang

Dahil nasunog ang aking kamalig
Wala nang humahadlang sa tanawin
Ng pinakamaliwanag na buwan.

-Masahide

oo, kitang-kita ko na ngayon
ang pangkalahatan ng kalangitan;
walang mga punong umuusbong,
walang nagtataasang hadlang
na pumipigil sa pagdaloy nito.

ang lahat inaangkin ko, gaya ng
pag-angkin nito ng buo kong pagkatao,
malinaw ang mata at walang abala.

parang bang tinitingnan ko ang mundo
sa kagandahan ng kanyang kawalan,
gamit mga bagong mata, bagong kaluluwa.
lahat ng mga linggal at mga pagbabawal
ng mga nakaraan kong buhay nalipol,
kasing linis ng kumot na kinula.

wala nang natira pa.

tila isa akong tabula rasa,
walang balakid na nakatingala
sa langit na hindi kumikinang,
ang buwan di natitigatig, buong-buo,
walang palawit kaya walang
sabit... bukod-tanging nag-iisa,
at ako na walang buhay na nakaraan;
at ang bukas ko ay kailangan pang
isulat muli para sa bagong pagkabuhay.

walang kapansin-pansin na mga palatandaan
ng dating ako dito habang nakatingala
sa isang malayang dumadaloy na langit
at sa nag-iisang buwang walang palamuti,
ngayon ako’y magsisimula muli sa pagtatag
ng mga kawing, makisama, tumutok,
habang kinakatha ko sa gabing ito ang akda
ng mga bagong araw na paparating, dito
mula sa isang tanawing walang hadlang.


(Salin ni Ralph Semino Galan ng tula ni Ophelia A. Dimalanta na pinamagatang "An Unobstructed View" from the poetry collection Lady Polyester: Poems Past and Present)

2010 GAWAD BUHAY! Second Quarter Citations

PHILSTAGE bares second quarter citations for 2010 Gawad Buhay!

With 11 performance and technical citations in various categories, Tanghalang Pilipino’s Tatlong Mariya, a Filipino adaptation of Anton Chekov’s timeless classic Three Sisters, topped the second quarterly citation of the 2010 Gawad Buhay!: The PHILSTAGE Awards for the Performing Arts.

Tatlong Mariya is set during the Martial Law period and depicts the life of the three Ballesteros sisters who struggle to liberate themselves from the dreariness and hopelessness of their provincial existence while yearning for the excitement of their former happy and respectable life in Manila. It garnered citations for outstanding play, stage direction (Loy Arcenas), ensemble performance in a play, adaptation or translation (Rody Vera), female lead performance in a play (Angelie Bayani and Mailes Kanapi), female featured performance in a play (Che Ramos), male featured performance in a play (Mario O’Hara), set design (Loy Arenas), sound design (Jethro Joaquin) and lighting design ( Barbi Tantiongco).

Coming in second place with eight citations is Repertory Philippines’ Duets, a comedy of four different vignettes exploring the lighter nuances of romance and relationships in seemingly impossible but hilarious situations. It was cited for outstanding stage direction (Ana Abad Santos), ensemble performance in a play, female lead performance in a play (Joy Virata), male lead performance in a play (Miguel Faustmann), set design (Tuqxs Rutaquio), costume design (Joy Virata), sound design (Jethro Joaquin),and lighting design (Martin Esteva).

Also cited for individual achievements are Cris Villonco and PJ Valerio for outstanding female and male lead performances in a musicale (both for Repertory Philippines’ Romeo and Bernadette); Robert Sena for outstanding male lead performance in a musicale (PETA’s Si Juan Tamad, Ang Dyablo at ang Isang Milyong Boto); Lisa Macuja-Elizalde and Rudy de Dios for outstanding female lead performance in a dance production (Ballet Manila’s Ballet and Ballads); Camille Ordinario-Joson for outstanding female lead performance in a dance production (Ballet Philippines’ Neo-Filipino 2010); and Veronica Ylagan for outstanding featured female performance in a dance production (Neo-Filipino 2010).

Now on its third year, Gawad Buhay! is the first-ever industry awards exclusively for the performing arts juried by an independent panel of critics, scholars, artists and theater enthusiasts. Outstanding individual and group achievements in various artistic and technical aspects of play, musical and dance productions and performances are honored based on quarterly citations deliberated by the jury who are required to watch all productions of PHILSTAGE member-companies for the entire year. From the four quarterly citations, the jury will select the final nominees qualified to win the awards by the end of the performance season. Awarding ceremonies will be during the National Arts Month celebration in February 2011.

PHILSTAGE is the only alliance of professional performing arts organizations in the Philippines. Its members include Ballet Manila, Ballet Philippines, Gantimpala Theater Foundation, Organisasyon ng Pilipinong Mang-aawit (OPM), PETA, Repertory Philippines, Tanghalang Pilipino and TRUMPETS.

Below is the complete list of the 2010 second quarter citations in various categories:

Outstanding Production of a Play: Tanghalang Pilipino’s Tatlong Mariya

Outstanding Musical Production: Repertory Philippines’ Romeo & Bernadette

Outstanding Dance Production: Ballet Manila’s Ballets and Ballads and Ballet Philippines’ Neo Filipino 2010

Outstanding Stage Direction: Ana Abad Santos (Repertory Philippines’ Duets). and Loy Arcenas (Tatlong Mariya)

Outstanding Ensemble Performance in a Play Production: The Casts of Duets and Tatlong Mariya

Outstanding Ensemble Performance in a Musical Production: The Cast of Repertory Philippines’ Romeo & Bernadette

Outstanding Ensemble Performance in a Dance Production: The Casts of Ballet Manila’s Ballets and Ballads and Ballet Philippines’ Neo-Filipino 2010

Outstanding Female Lead Performance in a Play : Angeli Bayani and Mailes Kanapi (Tatlong Mariya); and Joy Virata (Duets)

Outstanding Male Lead Performance in a Play: Miguel Faustmann (Duets)

Outstanding Featured Female Performance in a Play: Che Ramos (Tatlong Mariya)

Outstanding Featured Male Performance in a Play: Mario O’Hara (Tatlong Mariya)

Outstanding Female Lead Performance in a Musical: Cris Villonco (Romeo & Bernadette)

Outstanding Male Lead Performance in a Musical: Robert Sena (PETA’s Si Juan Tamad, Ang Dyablo at ang Isang Milyong Boto) and PJ Valerio (Romeo & Bernadette)

Outstanding Featured Female Performance in a Musical: No citation

Outstanding Featured Male Performance in a Musical: No citation

Outstanding Female Lead Performance in a Dance Production: Lisa Macuja Elizalde (Ballet and Ballads) and Camille Ordinario-Joson (Neo-Filipino 2010)

Outstanding Male Lead Performance in a Dance Production: Rudy de Dios (Ballet and Ballads)

Outstanding Featured Female Performance in a Dance Production: Veronica Ylagan (Neo-Filipino 2010)

Outstanding Featured Male Performance in a Dance Production: No citation

Outstanding Original Script: No citation

Outstanding Original Libretto: No citation

Outstanding Original Music Composition: No citation

Outstanding Adaptation or Translation: Rody Vera (Tatlong Mariya)

Outstanding Musical Direction: No citation

Outstanding Original Music Composition: No citation

Outstanding Choreography (Dance): Bam Damian’s Reconfigured (Ballet and Ballads); Carissa Adea’s Rey-Sing, Novy Bereber’s To Whom It May Concern, and Alden Lunasin’s Words and Phases (Neo-Flipino 2010)

Outstanding Choreography (Play or Musical): No citation

Outstanding Set Design: Loy Arcenas (Tatlong Mariya) and Tuqxs Rutaquio (Duets)

Outstanding Costume Design: Joy Virata (Duets)

Outstanding Lighting Design: Martin Esteva (Duets) and Barbi Tantiongco (Tatlong Mariya)

Outstanding Sound Design: Jethro Joaquin (Duets) and Jethro Joaquin (Tatlong Mariya)

2010 Philippine PEN Conference

2010 Philippine PEN Conference
December 4-5, 2010
Montebello Villa Hotel, Cebu City, Philippines

Solidarity in Literature without Borders
(Philippines, Africa, Middle East, Asia/Pacific, Europe, America)

Program

FIRST DAY OF CONFERENCE

Opening Ceremonies
National Anthem
Reading of the PEN International Charter: Susie Tan
Opening Remarks: Bienvenido Lumbera, Chairman, Philippine PEN
Introduction of Keynote Speaker: D. M. Reyes
Keynote Address: Simeon Dumdum Jr.

Coffee Break

First Literary Session
Panel on Writing and Writers in the Visayas
Chair: Vicente Garcia Groyon
Panelists: Erma Cuizon, Isidoro Cruz, John Barrios

Lunch

Second Literary Session
Panel on Writing and Writers in Mindanao
Chair: Jaime An Lim
Panelists: Anthony Tan, Steven Fernandez, Servando Halili Jr., Telesforo “Jun” Sungkit, Jr.

Coffee Break

Third Literary Session
Panel on Writing and Writers in Luzon
Chair: Hermie Beltran
Panelists: Santiago Villafania, Priscilla Macansantos, Carlos Arejola, Sherma Benosa


Emcees/Convenors of the Day: Elmer Ordoñez, Susan Lara

Solidarity Evening Dinner with cultural program
Masters of Ceremonies: Jose Wendell Capili, Nick Pichay

SECOND DAY OF CONFERENCE

Fourth Literary Session
Panel on Writing and Writers in Asia/Pacific and the Middle East
Chair: Ronald Baytan
Panelists: Nori Nakagami (Japan), Nguyen Bao Chan (Vietnam), Alvin Pang (Singapore), Robin Lim (Indonesia), a writer from Iran

Coffee Break

Fifth Literary Session
Panel on Writing and Writers in North and Latin Americas
Chair: Marjorie Evasco
Panelists: Alice Sun-Cua, Menchu Sarmiento, Lina Zeron (Mexico), Elynia Ruth Mabanglo (USA), Marianne Villanueva (USA)


Lunch

Introduction of the Speaker: Karina Bolasco
The Jose Rizal Lecture
Resil Mojares


Sixth Literary Session
Panel on Writing and Writers in Africa and Europe
Chair: Jose Victor Torres
Panelists: Edgar Maranan, Paolo Manalo, Ignacio Martínez de Pisón (Spain),
a writer from Africa (tentatively, Rashidah Ismaili AbuBakr or Joseph Ushie)

Closing Session
Resolutions


Emcees/Convenors of the Day: Charlson Ong, Shirley Lua


Overall Convenors
Bienvenido Lumbera, Joselito Zulueta


On-site Secretariat
Cesar Quinagan, Jun Cruz Reyes, Eva Nelmida

Call for Applications: Writer/Storyteller-in-Residence

A professional writer and/or storyteller is sought for the position of Writer/ Storyteller-in-Residence at the Centre for Creative Writing and Oral Culture at the University of Manitoba. This four-month position, from approximately September 1 to December 16, 2011, will require the successful candidate to spend approximately 16 hours per week providing mentorship and practical artistic advice to developing writers and storytellers at the University of Manitoba, to give a limited number of readings and/or performances on campus, and to lead an informal non-credit workshop. The remaining time is to be devoted to the writer or storyteller’s own artistic projects. The successful candidate will receive a salary of $20,000.00 CAD, accommodation and return transportation to Winnipeg.

The Centre for Creative Writing and Oral Culture is an interdisciplinary centre with a mandate to promote the creation and the study of the verbal arts, both oral and written. Located at the University of Manitoba in the city of Winnipeg, the Centre sponsors readings, lectures, master classes and creative community projects that explore the connections between oral and written culture. Winnipeg is renowned for its vibrant arts community and its multicultural citizenry, including the largest urban population of Aboriginal people in North America. The Centre builds upon these local cultural strengths as a basis for its creative and critical work. To learn more about the Centre, visit http://umanitoba.ca/centres/ccwoc/

Applicants should provide a covering letter summarizing their qualifications for the position and describing the artistic work they would undertake during the residency. Applications must also include a CV or résumé of career achievements (publications, performances, awards, residencies), a writing sample of no more than 20 pages (doublespaced and typed in a standard 12-point font) and two letters of reference discussing the applicant’s skills as an artist and a mentor.

Candidates of all nationalities are encouraged to apply; however, full proficiency in English is required, and publications or performance credits in English would be an asset. The Centre for Creative Writing and Oral Culture is committed to principles of employment equity. The application deadline is November 22, 2010.

Electronic submissions of application materials are accepted at the Centre’s email address, but attachments must be in Microsoft Word, PDF, RTF or DocX only. Please direct inquiries and electronic application materials to ccwoc@cc.umanitoba.ca.

Applicants may also submit hardcopy applications to:

Dr. Warren Cariou, Director
Centre for Creative Writing and Oral Culture,
University of Manitoba
391 University College, 220 Dysart Road
Winnipeg, Manitoba R3T 2M8 CANADA

Books and other materials sent in support of applications will not be returned.

2010 SEA Write Award

The SEA Write 2010 award will take place at the Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok on November 5, with HRH Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn presiding at the awards dinner and presentation ceremony.

As usual, a prominent writer has been invited as the keynote speaker. Taking his place at the podium this year will be Scottish writer Willam Dalrymple, a multiple-award winning historian and travel writer, as well as a distinguished broadcaster, critic, art historian, foreign correspondent and co-director of Asia's largest literary festival.

A Cambridge history graduate, Dalrymple has lived in Delhi on and off for the last 25 years. His interests include India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, the Middle East, Mughal rule, the Muslim world, Hinduism, Buddhism, the Jains and early Eastern Christianity. All of his six books have won major literary prizes, as have his radio and television documentaries. His first three were travel books based on his journeys in the Middle East, India and Central Asia.

More recently, Dalrymple has published a book of essays about South Asia, and two award winning histories of the interaction between the British and the Mughals between the 18th and mid-19th centuries.

He is a regular contributor to "The New York Review of Books", The Guardian, The New Statesman, The New Yorker and Time magazine.

His latest book, Nine Lives: In Search of the Sacred in Modern India, was published by Bloomsbury, and went to the No. 1 slot in the Indian non-fiction section best-seller list.

He is now beginning work on a history of the First Afghan War (1839 to 1842), and curating a major show of the late Mughal and Company School painting of Delhi for the Asia Society in New York, set to open in January 2012.

The winners of the 2010 SEA Write award who will be feted at the awards dinner are:

- WIJAYA - BRUNEI

Wijaya is the pen name of Yang Berhormat Pehin Jawatan Dalam Seri Maharaja Dato Seri Utama Dr Haji Awang Mohd. Jamil Al-Sufri bin Begawan Pehin Udana Khatib Dato Seri Paduka Haji Awang Umar.

Yang Berhormat Pehin is a prominent figure in the fields of education, literature, history, culture and religion in Brunei Darussalam. He started writing in the '40s and is interested in history, literature, language, culture and education. He has produced few books in many fields. Renungan is Yang Berhormat Pehin's first anthology of poems.

- AFRIZAL MALNA - INDONESIA

Malna grew to be a poet and cultural worker, dedicated in his arts. He has participated in many collaborative avant-garde arts and performance. His main domain, however, is poetry. In the '80s he was known as the proponent of "dark" poetry, a term used to describe the complex and innovative style of his art.

- DARA KANLAYA - LAOS

Douangchampa is the pen name of Dara Kanlaya, 72, author of some 60 short stories, over 90 poems, seven novels, and a two-hour play, Boua Deng. Dara started her career as a schoolteacher and began her writing in 1958. Now retired, she keeps writing and publishing children's books, novels and poetry. Dara's writing theme mostly deals with women's issues and gender, and promotes a better living standard for women through education. She also works as curator of old palm-leaf manuscripts, and studies classic Lao literature.

- ZAEN KASTURI - MALAYSIA

Zaen writes in various genres, including Yuda (a collection of short stories), Katarsis and Iga (collections of poems), and Angin Belantara (novel). Zaen is currently the new voice in the local literary scene who gives life to a fast forgotten, easily ignored discipline (literature).

- MARJORIE EVASCO - THE PHILIPPINES

Evasco's published works in poetry and biography are included in the canon of Philippine Literature. The Manila Critics Circle gave National Book Awards to all her five books: Dreamweavers; Ochre Tones: Poems in English and Cebuano; Six Women Poets: Inter/Views; A Life Shaped by Music; and Ani: The Life & Art of Hermogena Borja Lungay (2006).

- JOHAR BIN BUANG - SINGAPORE

Known by his pseudonym, H.B. Johar, attributes his interest and inspiration to write Sufic poems in the early '80s to his religious teacher, Syekh Muhammad Thaha Al-Muhammadi, who prayed for him.

- ZAKARIYA AMATAYA - THAILAND

Zakariya was born in Narathiwat province. He then spent five years in central India studying Islamic Sciences, Arabic Language and Literature at Darul Uloom Nadwatul Ulama College before returning home to study Comparative Religion at Mahidol University.

He initially discovered his passion for poetry during his years in India. During his junior year, his writing on free verse poetry had started to flourish when he took courses in Classic, Mediaeval and Contemporary Arabic Literature. Zakariya wanted to become a "bridge" between different cultures and languages.

- NGUYEN NGAT ANH - VIETNAM

Nguyen Nhat Anh is a Vietnamese author of incisive stories for both teenagers and adults. He is also a teacher, a poet and a journalist. He is regarded as one of the most successful writers for teens. His most well known novel, Kinh van hoa (Kaleidoscope), which contains 54 volumes, has recently been made into four drama series of the same name.

GUIDE QUESTIONS FOR TP's BANAAG AT SIKAT

INSTRUCTIONS:

Your reaction must be computer-printed on short bond paper using 12-point font (Times New Roman) with 1 and 1/2 spacing for better readability.

The more profound and well thought out your answers to the questions, the better the score.

Answer each of the following in two to three paragraphs.

1. In terms of both form and content, rate the overall performance of Tanghalang Pilipino's rendition of Lope K. Santos' Banaag at Sikat from 1 to 10 (10 being the highest possible score and 1 being the lowest). Explain the reasons for your assessment.

2. Using Nicanor G. Tiongson's criteria in determining the Philippine-ness of a particular dramatic form/presentation: [1.)that it reflects the Filipinos' culture,2.) that it answers the need of the Filipinos at a given time, and 3.) that it works for the good of the many], how Filipino is Tanghalang Pilipino's Banaag at Sikat? Elaborate on your answer based on what you have learned in class regarding Philippine drama.

3. How does the rock musical Banaag at Sikat depict the class struggles between the rich and the poor? With whom do you empathize?