Sunday, October 22, 2017
4:41 PM |
Call for Manuscripts to the 2018 Cebu Young Writers’ Studio
The Libulan Queer Collective, a writers’ bloc of queer poets, essayists, fictionists, and playwrights from the southern Philippines, in partnership with Kagis Bisaya and YOUTeacH Philippines-Central Visayas, is now accepting applications to the 2018 Cebu Young Writers’ Studio to be held in January 2018 at the University of Cebu-Banilad at Gov. M. Cuenco Ave., Cebu City.
The Cebu Young Writers’ Studio, an adaptation of the Cagayan de Oro Young Writers’ Studio, is an annual creative writing fellowship for 14 of the most promising emerging poets, fictionists, and essayists born and/or based in Central Visayas — Cebu, Bohol, Negros Oriental, and Siquijor. Fellowships are available per genre — poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. (Applicants may apply for more than one genre.)
To be eligible, an applicant must (1) be born and/or based in any of the provinces of Central Visayas and (2) not have attended any regional and national writers’ workshops organized by reputable creative writing centers and institutes.
Entries (original and unpublished works) in Binisaya and/or English shall be composed of any of the following:
• For a Poetry fellowship: 4 poems (not more than 60 lines each); or
• For a Fiction fellowship: 2 short stories (2000 to 5000 words each) of any genre; or 1 novel chapter (3000 to 6000 words each) with a synopsis; or 3 flash fiction (500 to 1500 words each); or
• For a Creative Nonfiction fellowship: 2 works of creative nonfiction (2000 to 5000 words each) such as nonfiction memoir, personal essays, travel writing, or other hybridized forms; or 3 micro-essays (500 to 1500 words each).
The general theme for works to be submitted this year is on ‘places and placelessness’—literary pieces that discuss homelands, neighborhoods, place-attachment/place-making, diaspora, displacement, and others—but is not confined only to these themes.
This creative writing fellowship will include critiquing sessions, craft lectures, and other parallel activities to be facilitated by writers from the Libulan Queer Collective — poet-fictionist Jessrel E Gilbuena, poet-essayist Adonis Enricuso, and essayist-editor Alton Melvar Dapanas, with fictionist and editor R Joseph Dazo as the workshop director. Other local writers will also serve as guest panelists.
The Cebu Young Writers’ Studio aims to initiate a creative writing culture of mentorship and critiquing in the region and institutionalize an open training platform for beginners of the creative writing craft. It is envisioned to complement with the annual Bathalad-Kagis Creative Writing Workshop.
Accepted fellows will be provided with a certificate, lunch, and snacks. (There is no registration fee but fellows, if accepted, will shoulder their own transportation and accommodation expenses to and from the venue during the whole duration of the workshop.)
Electronic copies, in MS Word format, Garamond font 12, of the manuscript may be emailed to libulanqueercollective [at] gmail [dot] com with the subject Genre_CYWS (example, CNF_CYWS). The author's name should not appear on the manuscript. On the email's body, kindly put your full name, address (within Central Visayas), institutional affiliation (workplace and/or school), mobile number, and a short bio note (150-300 words in the third person).
Deadline for the submission of manuscripts is on 15 December 2017. All inquiries must be addressed to the workshop director through the indicated email address.
Senior high school/college teachers of Literature/Panitikan and Creative Writing/Malikhaing Pagsulat courses who wish to observe the sessions may send a letter of intent to the workshop director through the email.
The Libulan Queer Collective is the writers’ bloc behind the forthcoming Libulan: Binisaya Anthology of Queer Literature and the soon-to-be launched online literary journal Payag Habagatan: New Writings from the South.
Labels: cebu, workshops, writers
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Friday, July 24, 2015
11:25 PM |
The Details of La Bella
I had no plans today to go to La Bella, the new Italian pasta and pizza joint that just soft-opened a few weeks ago across Bethel Guest House along Avenida de Rizal. I was waiting for its grand opening in August. But I was following my feet today, and my feet decided I had to try out -- even for a bit --- what La Bella was promising Dumaguete City, culinary-wise. Turns out, the new restaurant is the brain child of a member of the Lhuillier family, and it is quite ravishing in its tasteful use of interior design -- a mix of Balinese, Italian, Greek, and Chinese -- which perhaps gives a nod to its menu's eclectic feel. It is still decidedly Italian, of course -- but I have a feeling this is going to be more of a fusion establishment in the days to come. In the meantime, I was the quirkiness of its decor, which struck me at once to be quite sumptuous and yet personal. It is a far-cry from the often lazy design restaurants in Dumaguete are plagued with...
I haven't tried out the rest of the menu yet, but for this brief visit, I had the Greek coffee, the gnocchi, and the smores pizza. A review is most definitely forthcoming...
Labels: cebu, design, dumaguete, food, italian cuisine, negros, restaurants
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Thursday, June 25, 2015
12:53 AM |
June Has Been a Very Literary Month, Surprise Surprise
Labels: books, cebu, dumaguete, festivals, friends, life, philippine literature, travel, writers, writing
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Tuesday, June 23, 2015
12:47 PM |
Santa Catalina of our Fictions
This is St. Catherine of Alexandria, patron saint of Carcar. And Dumaguete. I like the idea that two cities known for writers would have as a patron saint someone who is entirely fictional. She doesn't exist except in the ecstasy of our
mugna, literary and otherwise.
A street in Dumagete is named after her. In her essay "The Streets of Dumaguete," the sociologist Lorna Makil writes: "Calle Santa Catalina was named after Dumaguete’s patron saint, St. Catherine of Alexandria, known as the 'Warrior Saint.' We read that she was chosen to be the town’s patron saint due to the great need for protection against the southern slave raiders. Legends about her courage and physical prowess were narrated by the townsfolk who had observed that her image on certain mornings would carry
amor seco (a grass weed) clinging to the hem of her dress, and making them believe that the saint had gone out at night to drive away the pirates."
Labels: art and culture, carcar, catholicism, cebu, dumaguete, heritage cities, myths, negros, religion, saints, writing
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Sunday, June 07, 2015
11:37 PM |
The Second Cebu LitFest Starts Soon!
I will be in
Cebu City on
June 20 to take part in the second Cebu LitFest, perhaps the most important literary festival of its kind in the region. The event is a joint venture of Little Boy Productions and the Cebuano Studies Center of the University of San Carlos, and -- according to its press release -- "it’s a full day of all things literary starting from 10 AM, with talks, moderated conversations, workshops, presentations, book launchings, readings and musical performances -- all for free." We need more literary events like this. Read more about it in the
Philippine Daily Inquirer here.
The full-day schedule is as follows:
10 AM
Lit Matters: A discussion on teaching literature in Philippine schools with Christine Godinez Ortega, Joseph Tan, and Nancy Toledo. Hope Sabanpan-Yu, moderator.
11 AM
Situation and Setting: A workshop for poetry and prose with Tim Tomlinson, president of New York Writers Workshop.
12 NN
Writing in Tongue: A panel on Bisaya literature with Merle Alunan, Insoy Ninal, and Bambi Beltran. Kristee Ann Delfin, moderator. Book launch.
1 PM
Home and Away: A panel discussion with Cebuano poets Larry Ypil, Nikay Paredes, and Jun Dumdum. Tim Tomlinson, moderator. Book launch.
2 PM
Coming Out: A panel on Philippine LGBT writing with Ian Rosales Casocot, Kristian Cordero, and John Iremil Teodoro. Niel Kintanar, moderator. Book launch.
3 PM
Anywhere But Here, Any Time But Now: A reading from a work in progress travel book by Jessica Zafra, followed by interview with Jude Bacalso. Book launch.
4 PM
The City as A Story: Carlos Celdran talks about his Intramuros and Imelda narratives, followed by interview with Isolde Amante.
5 PM
Mojaresil: Resil Mojares in conversation with Jessica Zafra. Book launch.
6 PM
Pechakucha x #cebuLitFest with Francis Sollano of Movement for a Livable Cebu, Grace Lopez of USC Film Department, Darwin Dexter Sy of Bomba Press, Boboi Costas of Aloguinsan River Eco-Cultural Tourism, Nancy Cudis of Cebu Book Club, and Mark Deutsch and the Happy Garaje team. Hosted by Maria Gigante.
7 PM
Folk Fiction x #cebuLitFest featuring Carissa Garcia Codilla, Jude Bacalso, Nikay Paredes, Lawrence Ypil, Ian Rosales Casocot, Michelle Varron, Carlo Villarica, Don Frasco, Darliza C. Dar Juan, Patrick Abing, Marc Abuan, Iris Jakosalem, David Cua, Johnn Mendoza, Mich Padayhag, Noel Villaflor, Ahmed Cuizon, Shane Carreon, Jona Bering, Manu Rodrigo, Myke Obenieta, Jeremiah Bondoc, Edwin Joseph Castaneda and Adonis Durado. Musical performances by Therese Villarante and Nar Cabico.
See you at the Cebu Literary Festival 2015 on
Saturday, June 20, Ayala Center Cebu. Use the hashtag #cebuLitFest to join the fun! A full day of everything literary! Talks, moderated conversations, book fair, readings and musical performances all day! Best of all, its free! For more information call (0915) 445-3049.
Labels: art and culture, cebu, events, literature, philippine literature, writers
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Sunday, March 15, 2009
9:01 AM |
Little Boy Productions' Summer Theater Workshops for Kids and Teens
Little Boy Productions brings back its Summer Theater Workshops for Kids and Teens to be held at the Old Campus of Sacred Heart School–Jesuit on Mango Avenue, Cebu City, from April 14 to May 2.
Now on its fourth year, the workshops offer three classes: Theater for Kids (4 to 6 years old), Children’s Musical Theater (7 to 10 years old), and Musical Theater for Teens (11 years old and up.) Participants will be exposed to 15 sessions of theater training, culminating in a Broadway musical showcase to be held at the Cenewof Theater.
Among those that will be teaching in Cebu this summer are Jill Pena, BFA Theater Arts graduate of Ateneo de Manila University and recipient of a Loyola Schools Award for the Arts in 2007. She also recently performed the lead role in Disney’s “Mulan” for Repertory Philippines.
Joining her will be Reb Atadero, another accomplished actor who played Juan in the hit off-Broadway musical “Altar Boyz” also for Repertory Philippines. His first major role in theater was playing Zeke in the Asian premiere of Disney’s “High School Musical” in 2007.
Completing the team is actor-commercial model Acey Aguilar, who has performed for various theater groups at the Cultural Center of the Philippines, De La Salle University’s College of Saint Benilde, and Dulaang Sipat Lawin at the Philippine High School for the Arts in Makiling.
“We are proud and excited to bring experienced teachers and actors from Manila to teach the summer workshops here in Cebu,” says Hendri Go of Little Boy Productions. “They have years of experience acting, directing, choreographing—and teaching others these skills.”
The workshop fee is P4,500, inclusive of miscellaneous and recital fees, souvenir t-shirt, and tickets to the culminating show.
For more information, call 2549320, 2330452 or 0922-820-8298, or visit Little Boy Productions at Exams Advantage, 3rd Floor Manros Plaza, across Fooda, on Mango Avenue. Sometimes, when I look back at my childhood and note what I could have done differently, I tell myself I could have risen above the sloth of Dumaguete days -- especially during those old Dumaguete days when lazy summers meant
really lazy summers -- and join workshops like these. I wonder where it could have taken me, because things like this actually build so much self-confidence for the unformed child -- plus give him an avenue to explore what ounce of creativity he has, something he will definitely need when he grows up and becomes whatever he wants to become.
Now, as an adult, I could only look back and regret some things --
I should have learned the piano, I should have taken tap dancing, I should have been in that poetry workshop, I should have taken my swimming classes seriously -- which are things I never really wanted to do as a kid (heck, I just wanted to sleep all summer days away and play
tayokok). Boy, I wish now that I knew better then.
The workshop above is Hendri's current advocacy, to help out local kids explore their potential, and to bring the best of local theater to somewhere nearer to us in the Visayas. (Because why go to Manila when you can just go to Cebu?) I do hope this becomes a success in every sense of that word.
Break a leg, Hends!Labels: cebu, theater, workshops
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