Hagbayon

Our words are weapon: This is an adage that every
writer has to forge with fire, leaving an imprint right into his or her
heart. It is a primal wisdom inherited from the earliest scribes, even
from the most honorable of minstrels and bards. It is one thing to cast
words into stone, but mouthing the language of the eternal wind is
quite another. It is like co-writing the story of the universe. That is
why languages, regardless of race, faithfully capture the sound of its
geography, recording the memory of its culture and people. In essence,
every word is simply a human attempt to encasque meaning into the
limited modality of syllables and phonetics. All language therefore is
poetic.

The poet then is the legislator of the human
experience. He must be honorable, honest and incorruptible. He says
what cannot be said and unsays what is deemed commonplace in the
everyday interrogative relation between self and other, self and
nature. Some say that being called to be a poet is a malady and that
one must avoid it at all cost. This is not because poetry is filled
with suffering, no, but because its practitioners have great and
irreversible responsibility. A real poet cannot, in good conscience
just stop responding to the call of the muse or be absorbed by
bureaucracy and sell his or her honor and art.

When a poet becomes a liar, he/she digs his/her own grave. He/she ceases to become immortal and joins the lineage of the damned.

I have a fresh podcast, so lend me you ears. It’s my poem ‘Uniberso’. I did the music bed using the electric guitar and it’s a one-man show really. You can check Hagbayon 2 for the words.

This poem is published in the May 18, 2003 issue of Sunday Inquirer Magazine. And it almost gave me the ‘Makata ng Taon’ prize back in 2004. Almost–because it ranked only second.

An essay of mine appeared in an international journal called Arabesques Print Review for their Studies and Analysis issue. My work
explicated the importance of poetry in L2/L3 learning, particularly in
the Philippine context. In our case, we cannot really consider in so
sweeping a manner the English language as L2. This is because we have
so many languages and dialects across our fragmented archipelago. For
example, the order of precedence of my linguistic faculties starts with
Iriganon, then Bikol-Naga, then Tagalog, and then English. And this may
not be true for everybody.

But then we have an educational system that favors English and
Tagalog/Filipino as language of instruction. And for the sake of
uniformity, it’s just Filipino as L1 and English as L2. It’s a good
thing that we still have writers who come up with works written in the
other Philippine languages. This is to at least even things up.

The Arabesques Print Review comes up with thematic issues accepting manuscripts from all over the globe.  We should all keep track of this journal.

http://www.hagbayon.wordpress.com

Another important event during
the Araw ni Balagtas 2007 was the launching of Ani ng Wika, an anthology of the
winning works in the poetry contests sponsored by the Komisyon sa Wikang
Filipino. Now this competition is not only for poems in Tagalog/Filipino but
also for those written in the various Philippine languages. Now it is a good
thing that the Komisyon is extending its projects in support of regional
literature. This is no surprise because the National Language although based
from Tagalog is supposed to accept regional and even foreign infusions.

The anthology was laid-out and
edited by distinguished Pangasinense poet Santiago Villafania (Watch out for
his poems in Philippine Graphic’s May 7 issue). He is also the contest director
for the Pangasinense category. And come August, they will call for entries for
this year’s contests, only this time they will begin to accept entries written
in Bikol. This is a welcome addition to the region’s growing award system.
Currently, we have the Premio Tomas Arejola para sa Literaturang Bikolnon.
Mundag Literary Awards and other awards sponsored by LGUs and academic
institutions such as the MTV Awards by the Naga College Foundation.

Although not a perfect measure of
literary merit and artistic greatness, awards can help boost a writer’s morale.
In a country where literature is not being given much importance, a small medal
or trophy (plus a meager amount) will come as pat in the back for the literary
artist, affirming the greatest of his/her efforts to forward the power of the
written word in effecting change and progress in the society.

http://www.hagbayon.wordpress.com

It was Michael Buffer
who first inserted ‘congressional candidate’ when he declared Manny
Pacquiao as the victor via KO in yesterday’s eight-round bout. Then
during the interview, he was also asked to say something to his future
constituents in the 1st Congressional District district of South Cotabato.

But sure enough, it was still a tough fight for Pacman even as he outscored by doubles and triples his Mexican foe.
I don’t agree that he was really ‘toying around’ with the spear-like
reach of his opponent. I think he was simply having a hard time getting
in. Thanks to his formidable punching power, even Solis’ long jabs did
not work for long.

I was in fact a bit worried by that cut too. And perhaps Manny
Pacquiao’s thoughts came back to that time when he suffered the same
injury during his first bout with an intelligent and tactical Erik Morales who
kept on dancing towards Pacman’s blind side (He was all too bloodied on
the side of the cut). That is why he decided to ignore Solis’ jabs and
went directly on target trusting that his handspeed and explosive
combinations will send his opponent to the floor in no time. And it did.

So to all the future congressmen out there, don’t leave the Pacman with no choice.

http://www.hagbayon.wordpress.com

Just one of the items we brought home from Baguio City was the Gangeh Di Montanyosa (Mountain Sound) by the Mofamco Cultural Guild. We bought it from the Tam-Awan Village
where there are galleries of artworks by local artists and
installations of different kinds of Cordillera ethnic dwellings. It is
a place maintained by local cultural workers with the help of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA). In this regard, we cannot help but wonder if the same effort can be done by giving our Agta brothers
in Mount Asog the chance to also showcase their art in exchange of
livelihood derived from tourism. But then Baguio has that edge, because
it is already a favorite destination by Filipinos and foreigners alike.
Besides, it is apparent that cultural workers in the area are more
united like the Baguio Writers Group.

There must be
something about cool temperature and level-headed creativity. It is a
known fact that many of our writers love to visit the place not to have
a vacation but to write and finish some important manuscript. Jun Cruz
Reyes goes there to write. Cirilo Bautista
owns a house and lot there. And every summer, writers and mentors troop
there for the annual national writers workshops. Writing will keep you
warm in a cold place (ala Butch Dalisay). Even critics will be more polite.

At the Tam-Awan village (sounds like the Iriganon term Tan-Awan,
really), we tasted hybridity via the unique concoction of
Benguet-Batangas coffee. Not as aromatic as Davao coffee but just as
reinvigorating. We were planning to look for it at the public market
but sort of forgot, succumbing to our appetite for the local version of
the longganisa and our penchant for Bul-ol and other wooden figures.

Ironically, we seemed
not so fed up with the SM outlets in Metro-Manila. We went to check
their branch there and found it to be better than the others in terms
of architecture. Of course, there was no centralized aircon, but cool
winds coming from the mountains freely circulated in and out of the
building. This was made possible by its terrace and canopy-like
structure.

Our vacation was worth our while albeit cut short by the Araw ni Balagtas
held at the Mabini Social Hall, Malacañang Palace last Monday (April
2). We were there to attend the awarding ceremony for the Talaang Ginto: Gawad Surian sa Tula, Gantimpalang Collantes (for my poem Hagbayon). It was also the occasion for the Gawad “Soc” Rodrigo Award, Gantimpalang Carlo J. Caparas sa Komiks and the launching of the Ani ng Wika 2006.
Present were the Teatro Marikeño, Brenda Jean M. Postero, Dr. Fe
Aldave-Yap, Eduardo Ermita, Cecile Guidote-Alvarez, Jessli Lapus,
Carlito Puno, Isabel Martin, Carmelita C. Abduraliman, Ricardo Ma. D.
Nolasco, Dr. Sheilee B. Vega, Atty. Dalisay Ople-San Jose, Cerge
Remonde, some students and academicians, and the winners for this year’s awards.

It was a surprise
that we were also given KWF and NCCA’s Gawad Francisco “Soc” Rodrigo,
making me bring home two distinctions that day. We know the late
senator as a lawyer and an ace-debater and orator. But he was also
known for his Tagalog poems, particularly his tanaga that
dealt with the social and political issues of his day. Truly, in poetry
content is form and form is content, as exemplified by Sen. “Soc”
Rodrigo.

http://www.hagbayon.wordpress.com

Early Saturday
morning, I got an SMS from writer Rizaldy Manrique asking for my
permission to use one of my poems in Iriganon. I slept early Friday
night so I was up and ready to answer and allow him to use it. I think
Rizaldy in now also the poetry editor of Bikol Reporter. He maintains a
column in the same regional newspaper. He calls it Bikol Blogger.

Now let me reprint the poem here:

PASAKALYE KI KAYE I

1. Mainit na sinapna,
 Pagmawuw ika uda,
 Namit itum na raga.

2. Usipun kading buut,
 Mig-anud, migpadagus.
 Maulug man su upus,
 Diri pa matatapus.

3. Pagmata, paturug,
 Pagsapuy, parigus,
 Pagkape, pagnaug–
 Puso ko, naglinug!

4. Karusun man na kinudkud,
 Bagong tigbas man na ubud,
 Dawa tubig man sa nuyug–
 Tam-is mo, Kaye, da kaarug!

5. Pag nagrarawitdawit
 Ading rira ko lubid.
 Kunu ka mabibitik?

Yes, it’s for my Esmi. I have lots of other SMS poems for her and some are even written in Tagalog like this diona:

I used to write
stuffs like this everyday (when I still had much time in my hands). And
each time I came up with something good I would send it to her. I
actually intend to collect and later include them in my Tagalog book of
poetry. I will allot a chapter, I think.

I used to write
stuffs like this everyday (when I still had much time in my hands). And
each time I came up with something good I would send it to her. I
actually intend to collect and later include them in my Tagalog book of
poetry. I will allot a chapter, I think.

Meanwhile, I have
been working on some podcasts lately. The FNF spent a considerable
amount just to train me as a blogger and podcaster so might as well put
my knowledge (no matter how limited) into use. My first product is a
podcast of my poem in Tagalog ‘Panantili’. I plan to upload it here
soon. 

My blog’s readership seems to be getting wider. My blogstats can attest to this. Blogstats is a cool feature by Wordpress where
bloggers can check if people bother to drop by their blogs. It also
tells from which Web site they come from and/or what they are looking
for. Most of my referrers are literary sites where I am linked. Many of
my readers are students doing research on literary stuffs.

I started serious
writing back in 1999 (when I won grandprize for a one-act play in
English). It started this itch to express myself in print. At first, I
had no teachers. I simply wrote and wrote, deluding myself that I was a
real poet. But then, when I think about it, if I had teachers who would
tell me how bad my writing was, I would have stopped as early, because
all I had was my ego. I started sending my poems to magazines. Some of
them saw print and so I got more excited. I thought I was good. It was
later when I learned from national writers workshops that
many of my stuffs were crap. Real crap. But then, as they say, ‘May
pera sa basura’. Some of those bad poems even won prizes.

I am actually writing
this because I want to say that the internet helped me a lot. Since
2000, I have been publishing some of my works electronically. Truth is,
there are many readers around here, inside this electronic universe.
Many writers too. And of course, this is because there are lots of
outlets. Before we only had Web sites, now we have blogs, podcasts and videocasts.

I first became columnist for ABS-CBN’s PinoyCentral.Com
Magasin. And I remember, cartoonist Elbert Or, my co-fellow during
Ricky Lee’s scriptwriting workshop was also there. It was fun writing
for them. Aside from foreign poetry sites, I also got involved in other
local sites like Dalityapi Unpoemed,
the literary Web site of Pangasinense poet Sonny Villafania. There are
lots of Dalityapi writers, enough to form a group. It would really be
wise if the contributors would meet from time to time. Another one of
my Web sites is OragonRepublic.Com.
It is maintained by my friends Fer and Shiela Basbas. I serve as its
literary editor, and in 2005, we published a Bikol literary folio. We
also sponsored the Writer’s Night right there in Lolo’s Bar. I hope we
can still do a repeat of those projects again.

As for my blogging, it was second quarter of last year when the Friedrich Naumann Foundation granted me fellowship for their blogging and podcasting workshop. There we learned from blogging gurus like Manolo Quezon
and likewise, we are to spread the word about this phenomenon called
blogging, and how it liberates the heart and the intellect.

http://www.hagbayon.wordpress.com