Techno-literature a la Pinoy

Literature has evolved from chants and sung verse into a body of work that spans the ages and tells the story of humankind.

In this age of technology, Filipino literature has leapt from the pages of books and magazines onto the LCD screens of cellphones.

Over the last three years, Vim Nadera, director of the University of the Philippines Creative Writing Center (UP CWC), has spearheaded the effort to bring awareness and appreciation of traditional Filipino poetry to the masses via Short Messaging Service or SMS.

Supporting Nadera in his quest to bring Filipino poetry out of its musty ivory tower are the UP CWC, Filipinas Institute of Translation Inc., Unyon ng Manunulat ng Pilipinas (Umpil), National Center for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) and cellphone service provider Globe Telecom.

Over the past years, the "Textanaga," "Dalitext," "Dionatext" and "Textula" contests have opened doors once closed to the ordinary, non-literati Filipino. Via text messaging, they, too could be poets.

"Filipinos are lyrical by nature," Nadera says. "Our language is filled with rhyme and rhythm, the usage of Filipino is very poetic, even in the everyday speech."

The arrival of SMS technology and the fact that the Philippines is the text capital of the world, he says, point to only one thing: "This is the dawning of the age of literary technology."

According to Alfred Yuson, UMPIL chairman, Palanca Hall of Fame awardee and STAR columnist, the traditional Filipino short verse forms present the "perfect blend of form and substance that fits exactly within the 60 character limit" imposed by SMS.

Speaking irreverently, Yuson says these text poetry contests were "born of the questionable wisdom of writers’ drinking sessions" and he credits the combination of liquor consumption, Nadera and UMPIL officials for the concept.

On a more serious note, he says traditional Filipino poetry like the tanaga is "a perfect balance of form and substance that comes across as both modern and ancient."

Virgilio Almario, National Artist for Literature, UMPIL chairman emeritus, former NCCA chairman and who is hailed as the "new Balagtas" of the Philippines, is a regular on the SMS contests’ panel of judges.

Huge Response

In 2002, when the first SMS poetry contest was launched, the contest secretariat was flooded with 10,000 entries a day. You could say this was the first "thumbs up" indicator that showed the contest clicked with the masang Pinoy.

The last contest in February this year netted an average of 50,000 entries daily, including entries sent in by expatriate Filipinos in Qatar, Korea, Hong Kong and Bahrain.

"The poetry contests succeeded in bringing poetry out there by giving them an opportunity to express and share their poetry," Nadera says happily. "And they get to win weekly, monthly and annual prizes, too."

For him, these poetry contests "take Filipino literature out of its ivory tower. We go back to our roots, where every person expressed himself or herself with an innate musicality and art."

Textanaga is described by Nadera as the "first and only literary contest that encourages the Generation X – or rather, Generation Text – to join by texting the entry, a tanaga or quatrain with seven syllables per line that is supposed to contain a central metaphor."

Taken from Nadera’s store of Filipino poetry is this poem penned by an unknown 18th century author:

Catitibay ca tolos
sacaling datnang agos
aco’I momonting lomot
sa iyo, I popolopot.

This verse doesn’t look much different (except for the archaic use of the letter "c" where we would now use the letter "k" and spelling that is more phonetic than contextual) from these modern tanagas – winning entries in the first contest, which focused on romantic love:

Nang ako’y nag-aabang
Ng tala’t bulalakaw
Bigla kang napadaan
At ako’y tinamaan. – Mark John Abeleda

Ay! Masaganang payaw
Ang katawan mo, mahal
At bul-ol akong bantay
Sa mapintog mong palay. – Danny dela Cruz

Ako’y si Juan, irog;
Bayabas kang matayog
Hihintaying mahinog
Hanggang sa ‘ki’y mahulog. – Jonathan Francisco

Sa tapayang malalim
Tayo ay isda’t asin
Matagal buburuhin,
Patis ang kakatasin. – Mario Lamar

Puto lang ako, sinta –
May init ng bibingka,
Tamis ng maja blanca,
Sapin-saping ligaya. – Don Clarence Cruz

Nag-almusal mag-isa,
Kaning-lamig, tinapa;
Nahulog ang kutsara
Ikaw na sana, sinta. – Edgar J.C. Galang

‘Wag mong ipaumanhin,
Kung sunog ang sinaing,
Mas karima-rimarim
Ang malata mong tingin. – Jonathan Bruzo

Binalot kong pagkain
Sa berdeng dahong saging.
Itlog, kanin at daeng
Sa iyo’y ihahain. – Jarvis Buluran

Friars Juan de Noceda and Pedro de Sanlucar spoke of the tanaga in their book Vocabulario de la Lengua Tagala (Vocabulary of the Tagalog Language) published in 1860 with great respect: "Poesia muy alta en tagalo, compuesta de siete silabas, y cuatro versos, llena de metafora (The high poetry in Tagalog, composed of seven syllables and four verses, is rich in metaphor)."

First In The World

Nadera says the potential for raising awareness and spreading love for Filipino literature among all Filipinos has always been there, adding that "we have just found very good tools for doing this – the cellphone and SMS."

"This literary competition is, indeed, a break-in," he says. "Now, there is talk that there are people who want to set up a similar competition in China and I am proud to say that we Filipinos did it first."

Nadera’s enthusiasm for the work of disseminating a love for Filipino poetry via text has not waned over the last three years; in fact, it has intensified and broadened in scope, with him eyeing other technological tools for literally spreading the word about Philippine literature.

The success of contests like Textanaga, he says, "will make or break future projects of the same principle of fusion since its success, or failure, will determine the possibility of ending up with ‘Textalingdao,’ or ‘Textigpasin’ or ‘Textagumpay.’"

"Who knows, in the next National Arts Month, ‘Faxsidai’ or ‘e-mailaji’ or ‘Chatigsik’ or ‘Discussionboarduplo’ or ‘Hologrambahan’ is a reality?" he adds.

Making Writers And Readers

While many established and struggling literary writers admit to the truth that the Philippines is not a reading public, Nadera refuses to give up.

"You have to give people a reason to read poetry, spark their interest, catch their attention – and keep it. You have to share your love for poetry with them so they understand it," he says. "Text is a very good way of doing this because if people are encouraged to write poems, they will probably want to read poetry as well."

Such poetry contests, he adds, provide non-literati Filipinos with the opportunity to show their innate lyricism, to touch the inner poet and share with others their own unique expressions of art.

"It is a beautiful way of opening up poetry to everyone because poetry is for everyone," he says. "The poet touches a common chord and says what others also perceive."

The latest SMS poetry contest was dubbed ‘Textsawikain,’ which focused on love of the environment. Here are some of the winning entries:

Si Narsiso ay natakot
Nang mapatitig sa ilog. – Noel T. Fortun

Lunting puno, hanging lantay,
Purong tubig: simple’ng buhay! – Gregorio M. Rodillo

Naghihilod ba si Lam-ang
Sa pasig kaya masangsang? – April Jade Imson

Apitong akasya’t nara
Huwag ilagay sa bulsa! – Ferdinand Bajado

Pag Piedras Platas wala na;
Magdadalit ang Adarna. – Rene Ayala

Handog Niya’ng paraiso,
Huwag mong gawing disyerto. – Ferdinand Bajado

Nilalambat ko’y salinas,
Huli’y lata ng sardinas. – Rolando P. Yape

Sirang payaw sa Banawe
Sumugat kay Idyanale. – Remigio Alvarez Alva

The contest has also grown to cover other Filipino languages. There is the "Textigmo" poetry riddle contest for poets from Cebu and Davao as well and here are the winning entries:

Mga mata maoy gipislat, ang agtang maoy nilurat
(Press the eyes and the forehead lights up)
Answer: cellphone
– Betsy Ferolino

Kung mugawas iyang sirad-an, kung muabot iyang ablihan. (When it comes out you close it, when it arrives, it opens it)

Answer: door
– Dexter Murillo

Kon giinitan ka, lisoa sya/ kay bugnawng hangin iyang ibuga. (When you feel hot, turn it and it will blow cold wind)

Answer: aircon
– Raul G. Moldez

In Iloilo there is the "Textpaktakon" riddle poetry contest for those who speak and write in Hiligaynon and the winning entries are:

Tarheta ko nga plastik
Subra pa sa magic
Ibag-id lang nakun
Bayad tanan nga balaklun.
(Plastic card Better than magic
Just swipe it and your purchases are paid)
Answer: credit card
– Marcel Milliam

Telegrama sang reyna
Mabaton insigida
Kun ikaw magsabat sa iya
Tagpiso kada padala.
(Queen’s telegram
Quickly received
If you will answer it
Pay a peso per message)
Answer: text message
– Marcel Milliam

Umido nga bombilya
Gina-tangisan sang kusinera.
(The cook weeps
over a dead light bulb)
Answer: white onion
– Bryan Mari Argos

Wala nagapakilimos
Pero ginadahuan kwarta
Indi siya hari
Pero may trono sia.
(He is no beggar
But they hand him money
He is no king
Yet he sits on a throne)
Answer: jeepney driver
– Resurreccion Hidalgo

Indi hayop, indi tawo
Wara’t baba, wara’t ulo
Pero may bibig nga naga-nganga
Kon mangagat, gapabilin ang unto.
(Not an animal, not human
No chin, no head
But a mouth hangs open
If it bites it leaves teeth behind)
Answer: stapler
– Genevieve Asenjo

For Nadera, the union of ancient Filipino poetry and modern communications technology is an evolution of language and the use of language.

"We see the convergence of prehistoric and postmodern, we see science meeting art and it is good, it fits and it is who we are as Filipinos," he says.

Of course, as with all things, some rules do apply: "We are strict with some things, such as spelling out the words – no abbreviations or text-language (substitution of numbers for letters or deliberate misspellings) are allowed. We use the speed of the medium, SMS via cellular phone, but we want the poem to retain its traditional flavor and construction."

The SMS poetry contests have taken off with such success, Nadera says, that texters should have their thumbs at the ready because plans to launch yet another text poetry contest in August are underway.

These SMS poetry contests, he says, are "a success and it is a way of bringing our ancient cultural identity into the modern age."