Eminent Israeli poet meets Filipino peers / Letter from Germany

It is both amazing and admirable that a country as beleaguered as Israel puts culture on top of its priorities. The Embassy of Israel, now headed by Charge d’ Affaires Roi Dvir, has announced that the eminent Israeli poet Ronny Someck is scheduled to be in Manila from August 18 to 20 to exchange insights with his Filipino peers.

Ronny Someck was born in Baghdad in 1951 and came to Israel as a child. He has published eight volumes of poetry, the latest titled Rise Paradise. His poems have been translated into several languages; two selections have appeared in Arabic and one in French (with the exiled Iraqi poet A.K. El-Janabi).

In 1997, Mr. Someck made a recording of his poems in New York with the musician Elliott Sharp, a disk called Revenge of the Stuttering Child. In 1998, he was featured in an exhibition Nature’s Factory, Winter 2046 with Benny Efrat at the Israel Museum.

Mr. Someck’s academic training includes studies in Hebrew Literature and Philosophy at the Tel Aviv University, and in sketching at the Avni Art Academy. He has worked as a counselor to street gangs. A recipient of the ACUM Special jubilee prize, he currently teaches literature and conducts writing workshops.

The Israeli poet has to his credit eight poetry books in Hebrew. Individual poems have been published in Albanian, Arabic, Catalan, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, French, Georgian, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Serbo-Croatian, Spanish and Ukranian. Doubtless, Mr. Someck is one of the most widely translated poets in Israel.

During his Manila visit, he will speak to the students of the UP Creative Writing Center under Director-Professor Vim Nadera; hold conversations and a poetry reading session with the young poets and faculty members (poets) of the Institute of Literary Arts of Ateneo University headed by Dr. Benilda Santos, Dean of Humanities.

The next day, Dr. Ophelia Dimalanta, director of the UST Center for Creative Writing and Studies, and Dr. Belen Tangco, Dean of the College of Arts and Letters, will play forum hosts. In the afternoon, there will be a poetry reading and discussions on the Literary Review at De La Salle University. (If Mr. Someck reads in Hebrew, the faculty can provide the readers for the translated works.) Dr. Marjorie Evasco, director of the Bienvenido Santos Center for Creative Writing, will serve as host.

Later in the afternoon, Mr. Someck will drop in at the Philippine Normal University for a poetry reading session with students of creative writing and literature, as also with the handicapped members of the UNESCO International Theater Institute. Instructor Alfred Perez will be in attendance.

Poetry Book Launched

Last Wednesday, August 6, Libris Books launched World Poetry Choices by Seven Filipino Poets at the Magnet Plus, the Loop in QC. The selections are by Gemino H. Abad, Cirilo F. Bautista, Luisa Gloria, Marjorie Evasco, Rowena Tiempo Torrevillas, Ricardo M. de Ungria and Alfred a. Yuson.

In Search Of An Impresario

The following abridged letter dated Aug. 3 comes through the Internet from Perla Cayag-Huber of Donaulalstrasse 17, 88637 Buchheim, Germany, @aol.com.

Dear Ms. Orosa:

I enjoy reading your columns but I have such a bad memory that I don’t even remember where they appear in the STAR because they don’t come out very often. I keep clicking Culture and Arts, hoping that your articles will appear. I think you have written about a Filipino violinist who caught the attention of a German professor who suggested that the youngster, Jo-que "China" Gutierrez, is now in Munich under Prof. Jess Ellerman. –RLO)

I have friends who are members of a chamber music group (Kammermusik). They are two brilliant Korean sisters, a cellist and a violinist, both virtuosos. The violinist used to be with Sudwest-Rundfunk in Stutgart; now she is with the bigger Wuppertal Symphony orchestra. The sisters concertize in south Germany; at the moment, the violinist lays in an orchestra for "Phantom of the Opera" now showing in Stuttgart.

Once, the sisters played in concert, and so impressed a professor from L.A. that he invited them to perform in the USA. How can I find the right persons who can sponsor the sisters’ performance(s) in the Philippines? I think you have mentioned in your critiques the UP College of Music and the UST Conservatory.

These institutions, along with CCP, the MCO and the Philamlife, may wish to contact Ms. Huber at the address indicated above. – RLO

Briefly noted: The works of the five young Filipino artists who will be exhibiting at the Philippine Center in NY will be on view at the Inter-Con Lobby Café until August 19.