Tuesday, April 30, 2024
6:13 PM |
The Mirror is Now Ready for May Day Eve
Labels: philippine literature
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Sunday, April 28, 2024
7:00 AM |
Presenting the First Duma LitFest
This has been a long time dream.
A few years ago, the Edilberto and Edith Tiempo Creative Writing Center, of which I am the founding director, launched a one-day literary festival at the Silliman Library, because we had this blessing of having as visitors several well-known Filipino-American writers visiting Dumaguete for the first time—and they wanted to do some literary event. We designed that single-day literary fest with them, and it was such a huge success, we ultimately wondered: what if we could do a full-fledged one?
It took a long time, but here we are: we are presenting the First Dumaguete Literary Festival, which began last Friday, April 26, and will continue on today, April 28, with a culminating event celebrating Nick Joaquin on the evening of April 30. The venue is 58 EJ Blanco Drive.
The Buglas Writers Guild and Libraria Books are together spearheading this launch of the Dumaguete Literary Festival. I am co-directing the whole thing with Gayle Acar, the entrepreneur behind Libraria Books. Our organizing partners include the Department of Trade and Industry [DTI] of Negros Oriental, Arts + Design Collective Dumaguete, Dumaguete City Tourism Office, National Museum of the Philippines Dumaguete, Back Pack Solutions, the Edilberto and Edith Tiempo Creative Writing Center, the Silliman University Culture and Arts Council, and Silliman University. The three-day literary event, the first of its kind in Negros Oriental, is in celebration of National Literature Month this April.
The event features many local writers and literature lovers, but we are also bringing in writers of national renown, including Dean Francis Alfar, Marjorie Evasco, Nikki Alfar, Sarge Lacuesta, Mookie Katigbak-Lacuesta, Claire Betita de Guzman, Mina Esguerra, Jay Ignacio, Ren Ren Galeno, Johanna Michelle Lim, Rocky Nicor, and others. Many of the panels feature Silliman writers and literature faculty, as well as writers from Siquijor and Negros Occidental, with talks ranging from examining the place of Philippine literature in the school curriculum to examining the writing in the various genres like the romace novel and speculative fiction. The event also features a zine fest and a literary/artistic bazaar.
We began earlier in the last week of April by holding a Flower Ceremony for the 105th Birth Anniversary of National Artist for Literature Edith Tiempo, organized by the Edilberto and Edith Tiempo Creative Writing Center, at the Dumaguete Memorial Park last April 22.
Then we opened Ang Pagdakop sa Damgo: An Exhibit of Dumaguete Children’s Literature National Museum of the Philippines—Dumaguete, which feature Hersley-Ven Casero’s art for my children’s book The Great Little Hunter, courtesy of MUGNA Gallery. The exhibit also features Libraria’s Imaginarium, consisting of multimedia works by local artists that invite them to render artistically their idea of book fantasy.
Last Friday, April 26, we opened our first full day of the literary festival with messages from Nimfa Virtucio of DTI Negros Oriental and Lady Flor Partosa of the Edilberto and Edith Tiempo Creative Writing Center, with a fantastic storytelling presentation by Nicky Dumapit. I also gave an opening message on creative cities, laying down our goal of making Dumaguete a UNESCO City of Literature.
For our first day, our panels included “Writing Dumaguete and Negros Oriental¬,” with Bais writer Rolin Migyuel Obina, Bayawan writer Dara Tumaca-Ramos, and yours truly, moderated by Pia Villareal; “Looking for Philippine Literature in the School Curriculum,” with Kaycee Melon, and Hellene Piñero, moderated by Lady Flor Partosa-Koenig; “The Penguin Random House Hour,” with Maryanne Moll, Mookie Katigbak-Lacuesta, and Sarge Lacuesta,, moderated by Claire Betita de Guzman; and “The Place of the Palanca and Other Literary Awards in Philippine Literature,” with Keisiah Dawn Tiaoson and yours truly, moderated by Gina Fontejon-Bonior. Novelist Dean Francis Alfar gave a keynote talk on “The Future of Literature,” where he pondered about recent survey by the National Book Development Board, which show a steep decline of adult readership in the country. We ended the day with The Literary Pechakucha, moderated by Renz Torres, which featured Katinka Visitacion on a fast talk on writing about Bacolod, Cil Flores on creating visual arts characters, Jireh Catacutan on writing a play, Matthew Yasi on organizing literary clubs, Leah Navarro on making notebooks, and Alyana Marie Aguja on editing a literary folio. A screening of Dumaguete short films curated by Lutas Film Festival capped Day 1.
On Saturday, April 27, we began our second day with “Songs and Storytelling: Julia and the Music of Light,” featuring Elizabeth Susan Vista-Suarez and the Silliman University Campus Choristers. Dr. Suarez read from her children’s book, accompanied by incidental music rendered by the choir. Our panels for the day included “The Other Side of Negros,” with Ines Bautista-Yao and Rocky Nicor, moderated by Katinka Visitacion; “Readers Talk Back,” with Annabelle Adriano, Rina Hill, and Albertha Lachmi Obut, moderated by Aaron James Jalalon; “Poetry in a Time of Crisis,” with Marjorie Evasco, Mookie Katigbak Lacuesta and Angela Fabunan, moderated by Lyde Gerard Villanueva; “Literature and Social Media,” with Danielle Gaston and F. Jordan Carnice, moderated by Ronelyn Faith Vailoces-No; and “Siquijor Rising—Literature from Isla del Fuego,” with Shane Jay Fabugais, Leo Mamicpic, and Jazzy Lyle Sarmiento Samson, moderated by Moses Joshua Atega.
We also had parallel sessions for kids and the young at heart, with an all-afternoon slate of songs, stories, and crafts for kids. It featured the music of Gino Misa, Gayle Acar, April Misa, and Maria Elcon Cabanag Kleine Koerkamp; the storytelling prowess of Joan “Tita Doc” Cordova, Ines Bautista-Yao, Georgina Camus, and Reya Grace Hinaut; and the art workshops of Sharon Dadang-Rafols and Susan Canoy. It ended with a dramatic presentation of my children’s book, The Great Little Hunter, featuring D Salag Collective and Youth Advocates for Theatre Arts [YATTA]—a singular event that truly made the book come alive.
Why are we doing this? Because it is time to host something of this sort in Dumaguete. The city has always been considered by many writers as Philippine literature’s “hometown.” It hosts, after all, the oldest—and continuing—creative writing workshop in Asia, which has molded many generations of Filipino writers. It was home to the late National Artist for Literature Edith Lopez Tiempo and the late National Artist for Cinema Eddie Romero. As a setting, it has inspired many literary works, from novels to poetry, from essays to plays. And it continues to be home to many notable authors and artists. A literary festival celebrating this literary heritage, and embracing the realities of the modern world and the place of the creative in it, is a fitting development for this future City of Literature.
We also hope to develop the event to be international in scope in the future.
We have dubbed the first edition of Duma LitFest to be “Celebrating Literature, Dumaguete-Style,” aiming in our way to showcase the riches and idiosyncracies and traditions of Dumagueteños. This is the reason why we have deigned to pick up our guests from the airport and the pier not with a van but with a familiar Dumaguete tricycle. [Although we do have a van at our disposal.] This is the reason why we sent out missives to our panelists and moderators urging them to dress up in “Dumaguete summer style”—shirt, shorts, and tsinelas—not just to withstand the heat, but also to do away with the frills and formalities of bigger festivals. And this is the reason why we have chosen, as venue, not a mall but a heritage house on 58 EJ Blanco Drive. This is the home of Arts + Design Collective Dumaguete, which has become a creative hub for many local artists and designers as well as writers and entrepreneurs. It is an old house of fascinating nooks and crannies, and is perfect for how we envisioned the first literary festival of Dumaguete to be: exactly like the city itself—small, thriving with creative ferment, significant, and unapologetically uncommercial. [The hub also has a bookstore, a Vietnamese restaurant, a music studio, several artist studios, an art shop, a fermented food snack bar, and a store selling organic goods.]
The first Duma LitFest is also in celebration of the 75th Anniversary of the Charter of Dumaguete.
Here’s the rest of our events this Sunday, our last day…
1 PM – 1:50 PM
Panel 10: Writing the Romance Novel
With Mina V. Esguerra and Georgette Gonzales [thru Zoom], moderated by Beryl Andrea Delicana
Venue: The Sala, 58 EJ Blanco Drive
2 PM – 2:50 PM
Panel 11: Writing Comics with Komiket
With Jay Philip Ignacio and Ren Ren Galeno, moderated by Amiel Lopez
Venue: The Sala, 58 EJ Blanco Drive
3 PM – 3:50 PM
Panel 12: Writing Speculative Fiction
With Dean Francis Alfar, Nikki Alfar, and Ian Rosales Casocot, moderated by Tara De Leon
Venue: The Sala, 58 EJ Blanco Drive
4 PM – 4:50 PM
Panel 13: Writing from the Regions
With Maryanne Moll, Johanna Michelle Lim, and Lendz Barinque, moderated by John Rubio
Venue: The Sala, 58 EJ Blanco Drive
5 PM – 5:50 PM
Author’s Talk: How I Became an Amazon Writer
With Mitos Suson, moderated by Patch Puengan
Venue: The Sala, 58 EJ Blanco Drive
6 PM – 6:50 PM
Panel 14: The Business of Literature
With Sarge Lacuesta, Gayle Acar, Danah Fortunato, and Anton Gabila, moderated by Lea Sicat-Reyes
Venue: The Sala, 58 EJ Blanco Drive
7:00 PM – 7:30 PM
Turning the Chapter: A Closing Program
Venue: The Courtyard, 58 EJ Blanco Drive
7:30 PM – 8:30 PM
Spoken Word and Poetry Open Mic
Organized by Yudi Santillan III
And finally, on Tuesday, April 30, we will stage May Day Eve: A Night With Nick Joaquin, also at the same venue. This is our real culminating event. It will feature the blues and jazz of Trio Bluesette, a talk on Nick Joaquin by yours truly, a screening of Lamberto Avellana’s Portrait of the Artist as Filipino, a reading of the poetry of Nick Joaquin featuring Neve-Rienne Fuentes, Bret Ybañez, River Ketnirattana, Drew Stronk, Ysh Zapanta, Onna Quizo, Merl Putong, Keian Encarguez, Anya Icao, Mayumi Maghuyop, and Jecho Ponce. And it will end with a reading of Nick Joaquin’s iconic short story “May Day Eve,” with narration by Mohammad Malik, and dance interpretation by Cheenee Limuaco and Dance in Motion.
Celebrate literature with us.
Look at this very literary ramen table: Nikki Alfar, Dean Francis Alfar, Renz Torres, Mookie Katigbak Lacuesta, Sarge Lacuesta, Mina V. Esguerra, and Maryanne Moll! Night of Day 2 of the Dumaguete Literary Festival!
Labels: art and culture, dumaguete, negros, philippine literature, silliman
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Wednesday, April 24, 2024
7:00 AM |
Poetry Wednesday, No. 184.
Labels: philippine literature, poetry
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Tuesday, April 23, 2024
As I went through the day today, there was hardly anyone I met who didn’t grumble about how hot it was. Air-conditioning was powerless even. The heat really was astounding today. But my day was packed, and around nightfall, after the exhibition opening, I suddenly just felt an entire planet of tiredness descend on me. Then the headache began. I’m subscribing all this to the heat.Labels: life, weather
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Monday, April 22, 2024
7:00 PM |
For Edith Tiempo on Her 105th Birth Anniversary
Today, April 22, to celebrate the 105th birth anniversary of the National Artist for Literature Edith Tiempo, the Edilberto and Edith Tiempo Creative Writing Center of Silliman University sponsored a flower ceremony at the Dumaguete Memorial Park, where Dr. Tiempo and husband Edilberto K. Tiempo were remembered through testimony and poetry. The event was also sponsored by the Dumaguete City Tourism Office. This marks the soft start of the Dumaguete Literary Festival, which opens on APRIL 26, Friday at 58 EJ Blanco Drive.
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Wednesday, April 17, 2024
Life throws you punches, the grind can be backbreaking, and doubts will forever confound and dishearten. But thank God for friends who believe in what you're doing. They are the best kinds of people.Labels: friends, life
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7:00 AM |
Poetry Wednesday, No. 183.
Labels: philippine literature, poetry
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Saturday, April 13, 2024
11:05 PM |
Natto, We Meet Again
So, when I lived in Japan 26 years ago I encountered
natto for the first time. It is staple breakfast food for many Japanese but for me it was a horrific encounter. I haaaated it—and unfortunately it has stuck in my mind as probably my least favorite food of all time.
But over the years I’ve always wondered:
what if I was just remembering it wrong? I was 21 in 1997, after all, and probably didn’t know what was good or
oishii.
So tonight, after 26 years, I dared to try again this dish of fermented soy beans. Just to see.
And yes, I still don’t like it, hahaha. Honestly, my loss.
Labels: food, japan, life
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9:57 PM |
All the Gay Boys They Awakened...
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Wednesday, April 10, 2024
7:00 AM |
Poetry Wednesday, No. 182.
This is in celebration of National Literature Month and also National Food Month!
Labels: food, national food month, philippine literature, poetry
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Thursday, April 04, 2024
10:00 PM |
A Literary Feast in Dumaguete!
Celebrate National Literature Month with us with a series of events this April, culminating in the first ever Duma LitFest! The literary festival, slated on 26-28 APRIL 2024, will be a three-day event full of literary panels, readings, performances, and screenings. Everyone is welcome! Full schedule to be unveiled soon! Follow us on FB at
Dumaguete Literary Festival and on IG at @dumalitfest.
Labels: dumaguete, dumalitfest, philippine literature
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Wednesday, April 03, 2024
7:00 AM |
Poetry Wednesday, No. 181.
Labels: philippine literature, poetry
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Tuesday, April 02, 2024
Most countries have standardized naming conventions [some even have regulations controlling the creation of names, like Japan]. But the Philippines is something else, no? Certainly, we have standard names that spring from local, or Spanish, or American derivations — but a quick look at contemporary name lists is always a revelation. It's mostly a postmodern mishmash of everything, including pop culture and random letters, and intentional misspellings of standard names. Kemyruth Jimenez? Nicki Minaj Montes? Xyzy Gomia? Elijah Yllys Garcia? Xybelle Flores? Maningning or Irene or Epefania could never. What's the strangest name of a Pinoy you know?
Labels: names, philippine culture
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