Literary networking

Hectic has been our literary calendar, and it has yet to reach fever pitch. Various activities keep pulling us away from our rainy-day garden, kitchen chores and laptop obligations, not necessarily in that order. So that we’ve found ourselves enmeshed in events at either short notice or under a long-term program of planned obsolescence.

What are we talking about? Networking through a busy writer’s calendar often renders us inchoate; time is the enemy, and the way to the battlefield is often pockmarked by MMDA traffic experiments. But we have to stray from our comfort zone at home to help along or participate in the constant bonding, starting with relations with newfound foreign friends of the same flame and feather.

On July 19, Lise Weidner, creator of living poetry, held a one-evening exhibit of her poem-paintings billed as "art statements" at her aerie at Pacific Plaza Towers in Fort Bonifacio, which offered a sweeping vista of "all this shall be yours."

But even the grand view couldn’t detract much from the attention given her haiku-like poems printed on large, colorfully vibrant panels under glass, framed elegantly in gold. With equal parts enthusiasm were the poetry and canapés taken in by the free-flowing crowd.

This included Lise’s best friend Marit Yuchengco and our old-young buddy Tito Yuchengco, architect-neighbor Augusto "Toti" Villalon, visiting Fil-Am poet from San Francisco Angela Narciso Torres, art gallery honcho Albert Avellana, bookstore owner and publisher Eric Villegas, graphic designer Orland Punzalan, Sanctum poetry reading impresarios Triccia David and Aslie Aslanian, Singaporean Embassy Counselor Paul Koh, and many other interested buyers and gawkers.

Born in London in 1966, Lise grew up in Denmark, where she gained her Master of Laws at the University of Copenhagen and worked as a corporate lawyer in a Scandinavian law firm. She earned an International MBA in Madrid and established her own consulting firm in Malaga in southern Spain. In 1998, she joined an international organization based and operating in Asia and the Pacific. That’s the ADB, where she’s currently Private Sector Development Specialist in the South Asia Department, Transport and Communications Division.

Her frequent travels in Asia have provided her the stimulus and constant inspiration to write her philosophical verses. She says that while she started writing poetry from childhood, "it was during the years in Asia that expressing myself through poetry became an inevitable part of daily life, as necessary as breathing."

Weidner has written two books, Powerfully Personal and Full (Circle Around the) Moon. She recounts that the poetry collections "came into their own existence, literally demanding to be written as they (amazingly) flew out of my hands and landed on the note pads of the hotels I happened to be staying in at the time when they decided that now was the moment to be born."

Lise adds: "A less traditional space in which to enjoy poetry calls for the art statements I have created through the Living Poetry concept. My idea is to communicate poetry in a form and through a medium that makes it simultaneously accessible to groups of people."

On exhibit were new poems grouped under the separate "Feather," "Leaf" and "Flame" series. From her "Feather Series" are the two brief poems below.

"Feather:" "Pink wings// Drawn against// The bluest of/// Sky// Color// As I wake up// On the other side// Of the/// Wall/// All the flowers// Still nodding// From the/// Red blessings/// Of the// Angel who// Just crossed// Over// Feathers left behind" (written in Islamabad, Pakistan on Jan. 28, 2003)

"Snake Song": "(the)// Snake// At the bottom of my// Spine// (has)// Started/ Singing// (a)/ Song (of)/ Synchronized/ Strength" (written in Malaga, Spain on Jan. 2, 2003)

Last Wednesday, on an invitation from Embassy of Israel Chargé d’Affaires Roi Dvir, we joined some writer-friends in capping the visit of poet Ronny Someck with a poetry reading at the Israeli Ambassador’s residence in Rockwell.

A distinguished author of eight poetry collections, Someck is on an Asian tour that included a very busy three days in Manila. We helped arrange for his appearances before campus poets and students at UP, Ateneo, De La Salle and UST, where we understand his readings were received with great enthusiasm. Someck also had a session at the Philippine Normal University, where a lot of his books were snapped up, and where Cecile Guidote Alvarez read his poems in English translation.

These were from his latest collection, The Fire Stays in Red, translated from the Hebrew by Moshe Dor and Barbara Goldberg. His work has been translated into more than 20 languages. Back home, the Baghdad-born Someck hosts his own popular radio show "and travels like a troubadour of old all over Israel with a singer who has set many of his poems to music."

At the despedida party for Ronny, who came over with his wife and daughter, we joined the reading of English translations as well as our own works in English and Filipino, together with poets Ronald Baytan, Vicente Groyon III, Marne Kilates, Vim Nadera and Benilda Santos.

Ronny left the following day to attend the Singapore Writers Festival, where he’s likely to meet up with Jimmy Abad who’s just begun a three-month term teaching poetry at the Singapore Management University

The great Polish lady poet Wislawa Szymborska writes, "Reading Ronny Sommeck’s fascinating work, I came upon ‘Bliss,’ a poem that can serve as a wedding toast throughout the world: ‘A wedding cake with us on high/ bride and groom, two dolls in the sky./ We fight to stay on the same slice/ when the blade descends, by and by.’"

In between these "foreign engagements," we found time to spend a couple of days in Naga with the UP Press Book Caravan, from Aug. 6 to 8. In the company of UP Press director Cristina Pantoja Hidalgo, Dr. Gémino Abad and Jun Cruz Reyes, much of the time we imagined ourselves to have been shanghai-ed right into a French movie on a ménage à trios: "Jun et Jim et Jing."

Our host was Fr. Danny Imperial, Dean of the College of Arts and Letters of the University of Nueva Caceres. We also met with UNC EVP Lily Santos Anonas, a daughter of the late great writer Bienvenido N. Santos, who regaled us with anecdotes on her youthful years accompanying her father in his foreign travels.

Much to our delight, we were escorted to the Bienvenido N. Santos Library and Museum established by the university, where photographs, books, manuscripts, correspondence, trophies and other awards, and various other mementos were displayed to honor the much-loved Mang Ben.

We had a joint reading with the Kabulig-Bicol writer-members headed by Frank Penones. The group included Rudy F. Alano, Honesto Pesimo, Jr., Estelito Jacob, Rizaldy Manrique, Kristian Cordero, Selina Alano, Jaz Llana, Ben Escoto, Boboy Agua and Dennis Gonzaga.

Representatives from various other educational institutions in the province came to join the audience for the reading/performance and open forum, as well as to pick up titles from the mobile caravan exhibit-sale mounted by UP Press. The University of Nueva Caceres itself wound up purchasing close to P25,000 worth of books, which of course made our day, and night.

Other high points of the visit were of course the serial gustatory experiences. Laing and Bicol express, pinangat and kinunot made us feel so welcome in gata country. The kinunot, of shredded stingray meat stewed in coconut milk with malunggay leaves, was a delectable revelation. Unfortunately, we could only take home frozen pinangat – oh so yummy – from that lovely resto Geewan, which was pointed out to us by Lily Santos Anonas.

Thanks for the great hospitality (and the gift packs of pili, jars of special Bicol express with santol bits, etc.), Fr. Danny, Lily, Frank, Estelito and Rudy. Our brief visit couldn’t have been more pleasant.

Thanks to the venue hosts Rock and Ces Drilon, that was a fine launch we had of 7x10: World Poetry Choices by Seven Filipino Poets, published by Libris Books, with offices at 17 President’s Ave., B.F. Homes, Parañaque, with tel. no. 809-0621 and e-mail books@libris.com.ph, a couple of Wednesdays ago at Mag:net+ Gallery. Five of the poet-essayists were present for the reading and autographing session: Abad, Cirilo Bautista, Marjorie Evasco, Ricky de Ungria and this writer. The two other poets who made their Top Ten choices for the landmark anthology will have to wait for their copies by mail: Luisa Igloria in Virginia and Rowena Tiempo Torrevillas in Iowa.

The young writer Pearlsha Abubakar entertained the crowd with musical numbers, with chanteuse slash editor Celina Cristobal joining in for a number. Even the publisher Eric Villegas couldn’t help but join the reading with a favorite cummings poem, before engaging book designer Fidel Rillo and Lira’s Beverly Sy in a drag-down beer-drinking contest.

A couple of nights later Celina treated us to more songs at Silungan, that resto at the basement of UP’s Balay Kalinaw that turns into a superb jazz bar on Friday nights. Googoo de Jesus turned up the repertoire for Celina’s birthday bash, which had for special guests the balikbayan scholar Arnold Azurin, direks Butch Perez, Chito Roño, Anton Juan and Alex Cortes, Papa Adrian and family, Gawad Balagtas awardee Conrad de Quiros, and other notables.

Tonight, it’ll be another fun launch starting at 6 p.m. at Balay Kalinaw. The anthology Sleepless in Manila: Funny Essays, etc., on Insomnia by Insomniacs, edited by Jing Hidalgo, published by Milflores Publishing, Inc., features afflicted confessions by 38 Filipino writers, including our expats in Montreal, San Francisco, Paris and Singapre.

Then on Saturday, Aug. 30, we enjoin everyone who wants to take up or renew membership in the Writers Union of the Philippines (UMPIL), to attend our 29th National Congress from 1 to 4 p.m. at the German Cultural Center on 687 Aurora Blvd., New Manila, Quezon City. Keynote speaker is writer and publisher Rony V. Diaz. To be awarded are the 16th Gawad Balagtas trophies sculpted by Manny Baldemor, to seven writers from all over our country.

The National Book Awards rites follow, starting at 6 p.m., at a function room of the Megatrade Hall at SM Megamall, in conjunction with the opening of the Manila Bookfair. The Manila Critics Circle honors the best Philippine books in all genres published last year.

Then on Thursday, Sept. 4, the Maningning Miclat Art Foundation, Inc. and GSIS open the month-long exhibit Poetry as Soliloquy at 6 p.m. at the GSIS Museum Lobby. The late poet-painter Maningning Miclat’s mural-sized acrylic painting titled "Soliloquy," measuring 8 feet by 44 feet, will be unveiled. Also on exhibit will be the First Maningning Miclat Poetry Award winning poems.

Opening the exhibit are National Artists Billy Abueva and Rio Almario together with the eminent sculptor Ramon Orlina. The prize-winning poems will be read by the young poets themselves. Musical numbers will be rendered by the gifted and beauteous Banawe Miclat, while emceeing the program is Ed Cabagnot, UP Diliman’s oldest student, and allegedly a Jose Pidal look-alike and talk-alike.