The love month

Yes, it’s that truncated month that’s spawned jokes about being kulang-kulang (kind of short in the head) if one happens to be February-born. But we know that’s far from true, or you will, if I tell you that my buddy Dr. Gemino H. Abad, professor emeritus of the University of the Philippines, happens to be treating me to sumptuous lunch a couple of days from now on the occasion of his natal day. And he’s certainly one of the most intelligent poets I know (let that sink in: not just one of your ordinary peeps).

Then my only daughter Mirava completes two cycles of her Year of the Horse less than a week later. And she’s got a Creative Writing degree from the same State U., cum laude at that. She’ll soon acquire another college degree, for Vet Med. And we all know that dealing with cats and dogs takes more intelligence than simply observing pouring rain.

Then there are numerous friends who are Aquarians and Pisceans, among them my KaKosa Bobby Muldong, as well as other Mendiolamen of SBC E.S. Class 1956 and/or H.S. Class 1960:  Judge Antonio Baldos, Fr. Vince Jasmines, cattle rancher Jose “Boy” Santillan, and businessmen Victor Goquingco and Cito Buenaventura. ’Pi Burpday in advance, fellow Bedans under Fr. Benigno Benabarre (who’s approaching 100 years, still hearty and hale)! 

Of course, simple ’rithmetic will tell you that most of these gentlemen will either be saying farewell to their sexagenarian decade or enjoying the last of it. That makes them wizened, far from lacking in accumulated smarts.

And as you may have inferred by now, apart from not zeroing in on Valentine’s Day, which the Queen of All Media Kris Aquino and the Yoda of the Senate Juan Ponce Enrile will once again share the occasion for a cake, if not exactly the same one, I have avoided casting my lot with these Februarians. To no avail, heh heh. So prepare the tribute bottles of Islay malt and send ’em over just as Pisces rounds the cusp, short of George Washington’s burpday.

An aside: I miss dear Adrian Cristobal the Pasquinader, whose bash used to herald mine. LOL!

Another important day, in fact, intersecting with mine at midnight, is that red-letter one of someone very dear, with whom the funniest polemics regarding curious relationships has been shared. ’Pi Burpday to us all, then.

But before all that, let us also honor with our congrats and kudos a particular accomplishment notched by premier poet Marjorie Evasco, whose poem “Is It the Kingfisher?” was featured last week, for all of four days, on BBC Radio 3 — Words and Music, in the program episode billed as “Blue.”

I’m not too sure now if it can still be accessed online for a good listen, with a couple of outstanding British readers doing the honors, plus blue-themed music by the likes of George Gershwin, Joni Mitchell, Miles Davis… But you can try the same link and proceed to program archives or past episodes.

If you miss the soundtrack with Marj’s poem, rest assured that poet-writer-archivist Ceres Abanil made sure to tape it. And we can share it on FB or through e-mail.

Tomorrow, Feb. 4, our Iowa prince of a friend Robin Hemley is delivering two lectures at De La Salle University’s The Learning Commons, 13th Floor, Henry Sy, Sr. Hall., starting from 2:40 p.m. The first will be on “Memoir or Fiction? — The tough choices and responsibilities when writing from life,” followed by “Painful Howls From Places That Undoubtedly Exist: A Brief History of the Fake Memoir, and a Discussion of Authenticity and Artifice.” 

Robin has served as director of the Nonfiction Writing Program at The University of Iowa for nine years, but has now taken a new position as writer-in-residence and director of the writing program at Yale-National University of Singapore.

He’s married to a Filipina, and has brought over scores of his writing students, especially to Dumaguete for the annual creative writing workshop run by Silliman University. Now that he’s so close to our neck of the equatorial woods, we can expect him to visit and help enlighten us even more often. 

Robin Hemley was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship for his work on DO-OVER!. He has published seven books, and his stories and essays have appeared in the New York Times, New York Magazine, Chicago Tribune, and many literary magazines and anthologies. Among his memorable titles is Invented Eden: The Elusive, Disputed History of the Tasaday, published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux in 2003, and which became the basis for a BBC feature documentary on the subject.

On Feb. 15, the Kritika Kultura and the Ateneo Center for English Language Teaching conducts a national literature-teaching conference on the K+12 at Leong Hall Auditorium, Ateneo de Manila University. Plenary speakers include Oscar Campomanes, Isagani Cruz, Judy Ick, Resil Mojares, and E. San Juan. For details, you may contact the ACELT office at 426-4322 or Kritika Kultura at 426-6120. Online pre-registration can be done at this website: http://bit.ly/J3IWor.

Then there’s Mishka Adams, jazz diva visiting from London, with her special gigs throughout the love month. Last Friday, we were at Murphy’s Bar in Makati to welcome her back in her first performance, with special featured artist Ben Barritt from the UK. On Saturday she was at The Bar @ 1951 on M. Adriatico St. in Malate.

On Valentine’s Day, Mishka will perform at Alabang Town Center starting at 6 p.m. On Feb. 15, she will be at Boni High Street’s Amphitheater from 7 p.m. onwards. The next evening, it’s at Greenbelt 3 Park at 8 p.m. Here’s the rest of her February sked: on the 17th, Balete @ Kamias, 8 p.m.; on the 19th, Workshop at UAP, 5 p.m., followed by a concert at Jill’s, The Fort, 9 p.m.; on the 20th, at 121 Allegro in Makati, 9 p.m.; and on the 22nd, she will launch her album Songs From the Deep at 70s Bistro on Anonas, Q.C., 9 p.m..  

Yeah, all we need this month is deep love, and we’re complete.