A grand spike of creativity
An undeniable spike of creativity continues to grab attention towards the yearend. And it’s obviously unrelated to such post-pandemic activities let loose a few years ago, like horticultular devotion, culinary attention and pet acquisition. We can’t say if it comes in reaction to the non-stop spread of social media or digital prompts, but it seems part of the unstemmed flood of creative expression.
As a man of letters, my interest is naturally drawn to fresh literary output. But the efforts also take advantage of the accessibility of public venues. Each month, for instance, I can’t help but be impressed with the energy of National Artist for Literature Virgilio Almario, for whom a week doesn’t pass without him sharing poems, essays, and “Samot-saring” observations—plus personal involvement in publications of all sorts.
A pity that I couldn’t join the gathering last Nov. 5, when he spearheaded the launch of a tribute anthology of translated poems timed to coincide with what would have been the 72nd birthday of our recently departed friend Marne L. Kilates, held at Street Kohi, Mayaman St. in UP Diliman.
Abner Dormiendo hosted the program that included translators JR Abdon Balde, Precious Leano-Baluyut, Joey Baqui Pascual, Mikael De Lara Co, Kristian Sendon Cordero, Michael M. Coroza, Jim Meer Libiran, Ei Narvaez, Victor Dennis Tino Nierva, artist Alfredo Esquillo, cover artist Imma Lopez, and book designer Vic Nierva. Also joining in were Jerry Gracio, Jerry Respeto, Michael Coroza, Joey Baquiran, Agatha Palencia-Bagares, Edgar Calabia Samar, Joti Tabula, Fernando Josef, Fidel Rillo, Niles Breis, Noel Del Prado, and Mikka Cabangon, among other readers invited by FIT and LIRA.
We’ll just have to keep guessing what Almario’s next production will be.
Similarly, his fellow National Artist Ricky Lee was quoted in a recent interview: “I don’t stop writing. I think 90 percent of my time, I am writing. In my head, while we’re talking, may ideas.”
Writer Pau Miranda (@pau_ysabel) says of Ricky: “(H)e is ‘maligalig’—always moving, always working on something. It is this mode where he feels most at home. He never sticks to a single project, preferring to work on many ideas simultaneously.” His recent novel Kalahating Bahaghari came out in September.
Another National Artist continues his generosity with the Gemino H. Abad Awards for Poetry and Literary Criticism managed by the UP Office of the Vice President on Academic Affairs since 2015. Open to all undergraduate and postgraduate students officially registered in any of the eight constituent campuses of the UP System, entries in English must be unpublished. Cash prizes up to P10,000 are shared by the two categories of poetry and literary criticism.
As the year comes to a close, we may expect younger writers and artists to join the party Here are but a few of the creatives and institutions that will contribute to the glut, which actually peaked last week.
An interview/performance starring Vim Nadera was conducted on Nov. 5 at Tayabas West Central School with “Tirik: Panayam at Palabas.” The notable performance poet has held exhibitions at CCP, National Museum of Fine Arts, Ayala Museum, GSIS Museum, and at DeVos Art Museum Marquette, Michigan. A “peli-tula” he created will also be shown. It won The Jurors’ Choice for Moving Image cluster at UP Diliman’s College of Fine Arts.
On the same day, a Kalaw-Ledesma Foundation Inc. venue grant project awarded cultural worker and educator Sofia Sanchez-Jimenez starts, to last till Jan. 21, billed as “The Muralist Who Prefers Basketball.” Employing archival materials, it will be shown at the PKL Center, 8th F, KL Tower, Makati.
Anna Felicia Sanchez figures in several activities that started last Nov. 6 with the Likhaan: ICW featuring her latest book of stories, Pics Or It Didn’t Happen and Actual Stories. It was a finalist in the NBDB National Book Awards. She teaches literature and creative writing at UP Diliman. The program billed as “Mayroon Kaming Kuwento!: PANayam kasama ang mga manunulat ng Philippine Writers Series” will be held at 1-4 p.m. at Room 1131, Pavilion 1 of Palma Hall. Other guest writers included Vim Nadera and Prof. U Z. Eliserio of the UP Departamento ng Filipino at Panitikan ng Pilipinas. It was moderated by Christine Joy Magpayo of the UP Department of Speech Communication and Theatre Arts.
Last Nov. 9, starting at the Y Space of Yuchengco Museum was “Embracing Digital Art,” a 3-weekend workshop series with Benedicto Modesto, a seasoned visual artist, creative director, and multimedia arts professor guiding artists on a digital art jouney through drawing, painting, and art studies using Krita! The next weekends are on Nov. 16 and 23 at 1-5 p.m. Paying slots may be arranged starting with the link https://bit.ly/EDA2000,
Charlie Samuya Veric has just announced that on Nov. 12, the 4th Edel Garcellano Conference will now be held at the PUP Theatre, College of Communication Building, Sta. Mesa, Manila, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Registration is still open at https://tinyurl.com/4thEGCRegistration.
Also this week, on Nov. 14 at 2-4 p.m., “Pandy Aviado on Fernando Zobel” will be featured at the Ben Chan ArtSuite on 2F of Arete’s Ateneo Art Gallery. Register and reserve a slot at https:go.ateneo.net/PandyAviadoOnZobel.
On Nov. 22, the Department of Literature, the DLSU Publishing House, and Grana Books present “Oops! We Did It Again! On Series and Revisions”—a conversation with Clarissa V. Militante, Vicente Garcia Groyon, and Mesándel Virtusio Arguelles, and book launching of Different Countries, Everything is First Person, and Sonetoismo monograph (“Not the Stuff of Sonnets”: Ilang Talâ sa Sonetoismo) and volumes 1 (Laging Patungo) and 2 (Monstruo). This will be at 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at The Learning Commons, 6th Floor, Henry Sy Sr. Hall of De La Salle University Taft, Malate, Manila. All three are multi-awarded authors and educators. It’s open to the public, but to pre-register, link to https://forms.gle/wYAyNVcm7XtmHyrMA.
On UP Writers Night on Nov. 28, Ino Habana’s first book, The Summer of Growing Up, will be launched by Likhaan at the Gimenez Gallery in UP Diliman, together with the winner of the Madrigal Best First Book Award.
On Dec. 7, Anna Sanchez is joined by Red Feria, Ileana and Gyle, and Ronaldo Mendoza at 2 p.m. at the CocoBistro, Quezon Memorial Circle for the book launch and show titled “Ang Mga Lugar Ay Hindi Mga Lugar Lama.”
An FB account named Lirpa Nimat also caught my attention recently recently: “This one is not really a book but an ezine about Marinduque. From the blurb: ‘Marinduque is in the Heart weaves together fragments of memory, culture, and survival from an island scarred by both beauty and disaster. Through poems, stories, and vignettes, this collection is an intimate homage to home. (It) honors what remains, and the pieces that resist slipping away.”—from https://bit.ly/pusongpilipinas.
There’ll be more. It’s one flood we hope won’t subside.