Istoryan Writers

[pongborro]

---

im not a pro.. but i do like to write labina ug ma-igo sa gugma, sa kasakit ug sa kalipay hehe... heres something i wrote sa-unang panahon na nag emote ko.. constructive criticisms anyone?


Why does it move me more
to write in pain?
Why do I write for a love,
when the love's no more?

Probably...

In happiness, in love,
My rhyme's with you.
You become my parchment.
You take the words,
That my eyes do speak.
The fingers write the
passion in your chest.
The prose they flow,
To your ears from my breath.
The name is signed,
By my lips as we kiss.
You become my art, my prose,
stealing time, you..
My living writing,
And I hope I've written well.

[gareb]

break
Sunday, May 20, 2007

its raison d'etre is suppose to be to ease the tension of whatever one is doing; a short and oftentimes insufficient amount of rest in the midst of the rat race that is suppose to be 'modern-day living'. it is the time to do all the laying back and relaxing you can cram in a few minutes, and then you are off.

and then one day, while raising your hands in surrender at the garish, high pitched sounds of people screaming things you cannot understand, the steaming mug of coffee screamed its own version of sizzling esophagus as you dunked it in, in one gulp.

of course you wanted to pass out. but caffeine kept you awake.

then you realize you cannot take a break.

you intentionally stuffed you ears with the screaming voices of people on the phone to muffle other screaming voices on your head. you keep your hands moving, your eyes darting, your mind racing to match the velocities of 'modern-day living' approaching the speed of light, in order not to get stuck on memories that you cannot leave behind.

you realize you cannot take a break. because taking a moment to breathe makes you think about a face, and the other definition of the word 'break'; too painful and violent, it causes you to dunk a steaming-hot mug of coffee down your throat in one gulp.



-----

@mata_hari: i know that the flavors that sexes prefer when reading stories are at loggerheads with each other. but when someone thinks that i have come to dish out what one side wants, then half of my soul is at peace.

[diem]

[color=navy]@pongborro
The thing about reading poetry is that its similar to putting a picture puzzle together. As one reads a poem, the words are like pieces falling in place in the space of one's mind, forming a picture.

And when it comes to the poem that you just shared with us, I personally find the pieces fit superbly to form a lovely picture in my mind.

Your choice of words are very very good, consistent with the theme of writing as an expression of attraction or love. It being consistent makes your poem as solid piece. Though its not entirely a new concept, yours is a fresh perspective, a new voice and is original.

I can only see one minor misworded link in your chain of words. It's at this point here--

The fingers write the passion in your chest.

For me, it just sort of stands out because the lines prior and the lines after this were very possessive in voice or nature while this sentence, well it's more like a statement. It's the odd one out, I feel. Other than that, good work. My favorite line is definitely the end:

You become my art, my prose,stealing time, you..
My living writing, And I hope I've written well.

[pongborro]

@gareb.. i do hope mahuman ang "compilation of flashes" as diem puts it. it would be an interesting read..

@diem.. thanks for the comments.. i like constructive criticisms.. kay kung akong pamilya akong ipa-comment, puro ra man praises.. hehe.. "i love my own" gyud..

[dAmNseL jEnY]

@damnsel jeny, neat piece of writing-- straight and direct. And I like the irony of the ending.

@diem
Thank you. The last time I remembered composing my text was way back in sophomore years. LoL. I'm not much of a writer. The first time I encountered irony is Edgar Allan Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado"

[diem]

6th Barlaya Writing for Young Adults Workshop

Adarna House, in partnership with the Filipinas Heritage Library, is now accepting entries for the 6th Barlaya Writing for Young Adults Workshop. All submissions must target readers within the age range of 12-18 years old.

Entries may be sent to Adarna House, 2nd floor, FSS Building, 20 Scout Tuason corner Scout Castor Sts., Quezon City no later than 5pm on July 2, 2007. The workshop shall be help on September 6 and 7, 2007. Only ten fellows shall be chosen on the basis of their literary work. The submission guidelines are available at the Adarna House website (http://www.adarnahouse.com)

LIRA Workshop Starts

On June 2, the poetry clinic held annually by Linangan sa Imahen, Retorika, at Anyo (LIRA) will be kicked off with a lecture by their founder and workshop director, National Artist for Literature Virgilio S. Almario, also known as poet Rio Alma. The lecture, Reklamasyon ng Pambansang Gunita, will start at 1:30 pm at Room 201 of the College of Arts and Letters in UP Diliman. Registration starts at 1 p.m. This lecture is free and is open to the public.

LIRA, an organization of poets who write in Filipino, has been around since 1985 and has given now-respected poets like Michael Coroza, Jerry Gracio, Roberto and Rebecca Añonuevo, Vim Nadera, and Romulo Baquiran, Jr. a venue for the discussion and critique of poetry.

For details, visit www.lira.tk or text Mr. Nanoy Rafael at 0918-2442553.


High Chair book launch

High Chair unveiled three new collections by poets Marc Gaba, Jose Perez Beduya, and Mesandel Virtusio Arguelles. It was held on May 25, 5pm, at the UP Press Bookstore, Balay Kalinaw, UP Diliman.

Titles launched include Gaba's How Sound Becomes A Name, Beduya's Seem, and Arguelles' Hindi man lang nakita.

A founding member of High Chair, Gaba received his MFA in Creative Writing from the prestigious Iowa Writers' Workshop. Last year, he won the Boston Review Poetry Prize.

Beduya finished his MFA in Creative Writing at Cornell University and currently holds a residency at the Santa Fe Art Institute.

Arguelles is the author of two previous collections of poetry, Menos Kuwarto and Ilahas. He won a Palanca award for his poetry in 2005.

The event will also coincides with the launch of seventh issue of High Chair's online poetry journal (www.highchair.com.ph)

Featured are new poems by American poet Frank Bidart, Rosmon Tuazon, Oliver Ortega, Kristine Domingo, Alex Gregorio, as well as critical essays on poetry by Marc Gaba, Conchitina Cruz, and Mabi David.

High Chair is a non-profit small press that aims to promote genuine interest in poetry in the Philippines. Apart from maintaining an online poetry website, it
regularly publishes full-length books and chapbooks.

For more information, email highchair@gmail.com.

[diem]

From Dean Alfar:

I am now accepting submissions of short fiction pieces for consideration for the anthology "Philippine Speculative Fiction Vol.3".

Speculative fiction is the literature of wonder that spans the genres of fantasy, science fiction, horror and magic realism or falls into the cracks in-between.

1. Only works of speculative fiction will be considered for publication. As works of the imagination, the theme is open and free.

2. Stories must cater to an adult sensibility. However, if you have a Young Adult story that is particularly well-written, send it in.

3. Stories must be written in English.

4. Stories must be authored by Filipinos or those of Philippine ancestry.

5. Preference will be given to original unpublished stories, but previously published stories will also be considered. In the case of previously published material, kindly include the title of the publishing entity and the publication date. Kindly state also in your cover letter that you have the permission, if necessary, from the original publishing entity to republish your work.

6. First time authors are welcome to submit. In the first two volumes, there was a good mix of established and new authors. Good stories trump literary credentials anytime.

7. No multiple submissions. Each author may submit only one story for consideration.

8. Each story’s word count must be no fewer than 2,500 words and no more than 5,000 words.

9. All submissions must be in Rich Text Format (.rtf – save the document as .rft on your word processor) and attached to an email to this address: dean@kestrelimc.com. Submissions received in any other format will be deleted, unread.

10. The subject of your email must read: PSF3 Submission: (title) (word count); where (title) is replaced by the title of your short story, without the parentheses, and (word count) is the word count of your story, without the parentheses. For example - PSF 3 Submission: How My Uncle Brought Home A Diwata 4500.

11. All submissions must be accompanied by a cover letter that includes your name, brief bio, contact information, previous publications (if any).

12. Deadline for submissions is September 15, 2007. After that date, final choices will be made and letters of acceptance or regret sent out via email.

13. Target publishing date is December 2007/January 2008.

14. Compensation for selected stories will be 2 contributor’s copies of the published anthology as well as a share in aggregrate royalties.

Kindly help spread the word. Feel free to cut and paste or link to this on your blogs or e-groups.

Thanks,

Dean Francis Alfar
Online Source: http://www.filipinowriter.com/philip...-fiction-vol-3

[galenostiel]

September 15... I do hope I can get there, despite the impending huge multi-tasking challenge looming ahead in the workplace (meaning more work will be dropped on me, hehehehe).

Does anyone here know of any good sources for research on Cebuano culture and traditions, particularly on myths/legends and beliefs? I need some more info for this story that's been bugging me. Is the Cebuano Studies Center existing pa ba?

* Keep dreaming.*

[diem]

^^The Cebuano Studies Center at the University of San Carlos-Main is still running and still open for visits. These are open during regular working hours Monday to Friday except on Saturday which is half-day.

I once did research there on the life and legend of Pantaleon Villegas aka "Leon Kilat".

@galenostiel, if you require assistance in research, I'll be glad to help. Mythology is my thing.

[galenostiel]

Thanks, Diem!

Well, for starters, I'm trying to find info on local "creatures of the dark" e.g. witches and monsters, etc. I need their Cebuano names, places they frequent or where they hail from and that sort of stuff. I actually found some books on those at the STC library when I was still a student, but unfortunately wasn't able to gather notes.

I'll try to drop by the Center when I can get a break from work. What do we need to get in?