Month: April 2016

Over Unwashed Dishes

Nonfiction by | April 3, 2016

My mom sells home-cooked meals at Davao City Hall. She has been doing this ever since she had my eldest brother. This is the way our family has survived for almost 40 years now.

Mother taught my father how to cook and prepare the dishes in our menu. Every ten or eleven in the morning, they go off to sell the food. Our house would be left in a messy havoc. You see, the whole house is the kitchen. It would be my job to clean up. During the summer or if we had no classes, father would always remind me: “Panghugas ha? Bantay lang ka wala pa ka nahuman pagablik nako.” What a reminder as they took off on our Kawasaki motorcycle, the metal basket on the rear!

I hate washing dishes. When I was younger and lazier, I preferred to watch TV or play outside than wash two very large planggana full of the dishes, pots, and utensils they used that morning? Even now, I could waste my time cleaning when I could be doing more interesting things.

Continue reading Over Unwashed Dishes

Creed

Poetry by | April 3, 2016

Your body
is the terrain of stories told,
of valleys and creeks and rivers
on which the sweetest waters flow.
Your mouth
is the temple, where the pulpit
dwells; the gospel is written
on your tongue and guilty prayers
sneak between your teeth.
You are religion.
You are faith.
The unknown is your child and
Your eyes
hold the map of a universe
that only existed in the wildest
of my dreams.
So,
tell me
How is it that I
can lose myself looking at you
only to be found, again, faithless?

—
David Jayson Oquendo is studying Electrical Engineering at Mindanao State University-General Santos City.

16th IYAS National Writers' Workshop fellows named

Events | April 3, 2016

The IYAS National Writers’ Workshop of the University of St. La Salle, Bacolod City, has selected 15 Fellows for 2016, out of 119 applicants nationwide.

The fellows for fiction (in English) are Hazel Meghan Hamile and Gari Real Jamero; (in Filipino) Abby Pariente and Isaac Ali Varona Tapar; and (in Cebuano) Roehl Joseph Dazo and Mae Tiffany Galendez.

Fellow for drama in Filipino is Adrian Crisostomo Ho.

The fellows for poetry (in English) are Miguel Antonio Lizada and Regina Angelica Theresa Bengzon; (in Filipino) Abner Dormiendo and Joey Tabula; (in Cebuano) Herminigildo Sanchez and Reyanne Joy Librado; (in Kinaray-a) Tracy Javines; and (in Hiligaynon) Anne Franceine Jean Corillo.

Alternate fellow for poetry (in English) is Nancy Ayeng.

The IYAS Workshop Director is Dr. Marjorie Evasco and the panelists for this year are Ms. Grace Monte de Ramos-Arcellana, Mr. Danilo M. Reyes, Dr. Dinah Roma-Sianturi and Prof. John Iremil Teodoro. IYAS Project Director Atty. Raymundo Pandan, Jr. will also be in the panel.

The IYAS National Writers’ Workshop is co-sponsored by the Bienvenido N. Santos Creative Writing Center of De La Salle University and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, and will be held on April 24 – 30, 2016 at the Balay Kalinungan Complex of the University of St. La Salle, Bacolod City.

Fellows to the 1st Cagayan de Oro Writers Workshop

Events | April 3, 2016

Nine (9) young writers have been chosen as writing fellows for the 1st Cagayan de Oro Writers Workshop scheduled on 1 to 3 April at the Reading Room of Xavier University-Ateneo de Cagayan’s Department of English in Cagayan de Oro City. Said writers workshop is organized by the Nagkahiusang Magsusulat sa Cagayan de Oro (NAGMAC), in partnership with XU Department of English.

The fellows are Jessmark D Acero, Christian S Baldomero, Adeva Jane H Esparrago, Stephanie Alexis C Gonzaga, Arvin E Narvaza (Poetry), Hazel-Gin L Aspera (Non-Fiction), Gari R Jamero, Jeany Mae D Macalam, and Ervin Patrick G Silva (Fiction). This year’s workshop will be paneled by critic-dramaturg Rogelio F Garcia, Jr and other esteemed writers in the city. NAGMAC is also looking into tapping the expertise of other local writers such as poet-fictionist Raul G Moldez, poet Arlene J Yandug, and fictionist-essayist Ma Elena L Paulma. Poet Mark Anthony L Daposala serves as the workshop director.

As one of NAGMAC’s thrust, the workshop aims to revitalize Cagayan de Oro’s local writing culture and assert its identity in the map of regional literatures in the country.

For inquiries from interested partners and sponsors, the workshop secretariat may be reached through email (cdopoetrynight@gmail.com) or through mobile (+63 9166232400)