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This is the blog of Ian Rosales Casocot. Filipino writer. Sometime academic. Former backpacker. Twink bait. Hamster lover.

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Sunday, November 06, 2005

entry arrow10:41 PM | Roger's Sage Advise to Filipino Writers

This guy, Roger Olivarez, knows shit. Reading this story from The Manila Times (who should know better than to publish publicity-drivel), where the guy advises Filipino writers on how to "break into" the international writing market, makes my blood boil, because he knows absolutely nothing. An excerpt:
"In the American publishing industry, there exists a trend to go global and there is a growing interest in Asian authors," he said. "Several writers from Japan, China, Hong Kong and Korea are already making names for themselves in the US. So far, not even a handful of Filipinos are getting this kind of break."
Hello? Jessica Hagedorn? Han Ong? Bino Realuyo? I have a feeling this Roger guy was being pompous just about the same time that Barbara Jane Reyes, current winner of the James Laughlin Award, makes her acceptance speech to the Academy of American Poets ... and reads them a poem, in Tagalog.

More:
Olivarez noted that the success of these writers could be attributed to the fact that they've learned to follow the American standards in writing. He said there are many talented writers in the Philippines but they "must learn how to adopt to international standards."

"If you read the new books being published in the US, today, you'll notice that the chapters are very short. The paragraphs are also very short. This is done to make it easier for the reader...."

At this point, I had to stop reading and burst out laughing. If by "American standards in writing" he means Dan Brown or Danielle Steel, then no thanks. He's basically saying, "Hey, dumb down your prose for dumb Americans who can't read beyond two sentences strung together, and you're the next John Grisham." Did anyone say 'sell-out'?

And guess why he is making all these grand statements: to publicize his new novel. The title? Noli Me Tangere 2, a supposed update of the Rizal novel.

Eh.

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