Saturday, February 12, 2005

pinoy poets

At last! I finally hooked up with Filipino poets, thanks to fellow blogger and now, friend, poet Jardine Davies in last night's general assembly and poetry reading at juliano's. Of course, I do have my own writing group and I'm proud of them, but none of them could speak my language, read as "my soul" for they are either Americans or Canadians. Why shouldn't I be proud of my original poet friends when it was through their patient tutelage and proddings that I discovered I can understand, feel and breathe poetry! Most of all, it was through them that I first realized that the internet is not composed of cold geeks but of people who care.

When my American friends got word that I was going to Canada to visit my best friend, Arlene, owner of this ezine, they immediately packed their bags, got on the next plane to Vancouver and came to meet with me. How can I ever forget my meeting with Tom Spencer and his wife Kathy, Karli Shanklin and her Fil-Am hubby Alfredo, Molly Critchlow and Canadians from Manitoba, Glennis and Harry Hobbs? It was truly a joyous one week celebration that got Arlene so inspired, she prepared an off-season Thanksgiving party in May right after we had given a poetry reading at Serendipity room to some 14 walk-in guests.

So, you might think that last night was nothing new to me, right? Wrong! I have never come close to a real Filipino poet except those who had been my professors in graduate school. So, you see, my impression of Filipino writers are super "laiteros" who would have nothing good to see in my work, (should I gather enough guts to show it to them), throw it to the ground and stomp on it to tiny, little pieces before tossing it to the garbage can. And I wasn't even studying to be a writer under them, mind you. I was trying to learn literature! How I got the idea of enrolling in a language and literature masters program after ten years or so of having graduated from Fine Arts is beyond me.

I don't know but I have this feeling that Filipinos, much more artists, are very very hard to please. It's like, "uhm, I bet you, their pee is a lot higher and farther than mine" and believe me, with men, it's always about who can pee the highest and the farthest... Who has bigger balls, uhm, better yet, whose got the biggest peter around!!! Well, the General Assembly for "pinoy poets" and the first poetry reading was set and I said to myself, I better do this or forget about poetry. My only consolation was that Jardine will be there and I knew the guest poet, Sid Gomez Hlldawa, a poet and painter par excellance. I have worked with him before when he was curating Kulay Diwa and I had my students exhibit their best works there.

So, while I was on my way to Shangri-la mall, the agreed meeting place, I was kind of a nervous wreck not knowing what to expect once I'm in front of all these young, very talented, word weavers. (peeps, that's a term I borrowed from writersvillage before plagiarists get the wrong idea that it's okay to just borrow words and/or ideas without acknowledging where they were taken from) Once I got to the place and as soon as I shook the hand of the first guy introduced to me, I knew I was home. All my fears vanished for none of them fit my stereotype of a writer. They had smiles all the way to their ears and not even one of them was a snob.

The poetry reading was a success. Gee, I was even asked to read a Tagalog poem by a very beautiful, young poet by the name of Kathline Tolosan and even got to jam and play some blues with Jardine, and two others who I wouldn't dare identify at this time lest I commit a mistake. Should I say I enjoyed myself, having stayed until two in the morning? So, if there are any poets out there lurking in silence, why not check us out? You can access the site here!

26 comments:

batjay said...

sayang, sana nakasama ako sa pag jamming ninyo. it would have been nice for me to take part in that.

rolly said...

Batjay Oo nga. kumpleto kami. tatlong gitara at may nagdala pa ng bonggos. Kaya lang sa minor kumuha ng pattern si Jardine kaya sila na lang pinag lead ko at nag rhythm ako. hehe mas kabisado ko major pentatonic e.

Night Moon said...

sounds like you had a blast. writers are fun, but they can be crazy, or jaded, or too occcupied with in their socio bubbles sometimes.

haha, kakatuwa naman, word weaver is a common word naman, to use it in you blog would not render one plagiarist. This copy pasters are getting all the attention lately, I must admit I get a painful pinch when I read one, or see one, they spew the biggest insult to artists

wish I had the chance to join all you 'cunninglinguists' hehe :)

rolly said...

Demented Yes, we did! And no we did not have any of those writers "too occupied with their socio-bubbles!"

Yes, word weaver is a common term. I was just illustrating a point. Uhm about that word..."I won't dare ask for the root!!!" Minors do lurk in these pages you see.

Sassy Lawyer said...

Wow, mukhang enjoy ah!

Anonymous said...

Tito Rolly, sige hindi na muna ako magpo-po or should i drop "Tito" na? Nag-enjoy rin po kami sa company nyo. Oooppss there it goes again. (No more Po's, don't get me wrong, i'm not a fan of FPJ) Anyway, more GA's and jamming to come! And more comments from you ha! Ah at turuan mo rin ako sa blog. Yehey!!!

Edz

Cerridwen said...

would be nice to hear you read tito rolly... :)

sounds like you had a blast...

Jdavies said...

Cerridwen magaling bumasa ng tula si rolly - imagine on the spot un nag-emote pa ng kaunti para may ma-stress syang salita dun sa tula ni Kath hehehe.

Masaya talaga sassy, batjay. Buhay na buhay pa ang Filipino - Jojo recited a translation ng Pablo Neruda's Tonight I can write the saddest lines habang naggigitara === kakaiyak hehe --- Saka next time sa major naman ako kukuha ng pattern pasenciya na lang pala kasi nag minor kami ni Jojo - pero poetry in motion ha that performance hehehe! Sa uulitin...

rolly said...

Sassy Enjoy talaga. Akalain mong inumaga kami. Actually umuna na ko kasi magpupuyat pa uli ako kinabukasan e. Pihado, pupunta uli ako sa susunod na GA. hehe

Edz Please, pag-aralan nyo ni Rhodge na hindi na mag-opo akin kasi maaalangan ako. Mas magagaling naman kayong sumulat kesa sakin kaya pantay-pantay lang tayo. hokey? Sa susunod na jamming, kanta ka ha. Lam ko may bayad ka pag kumakanta pero jamming lang naman e.

Cerridwen I'm no professional but I can certainly try.

Jardine hehe nag-emote pa ba ng konti? Actually, pag maganda ang tula, masarap basahin, di ba? TAma pala ang tanda ko. Si Jojo yung isa pang nag-gitara. MAgaling din siyang mag-lead ha. Tapos si Kramer yung nag bonggos no? Mas sanay lang ako sa twelve bar blues. Hindi ko pa nasubukan ang minor kasi e. Pero okay lang, kayang-kaya naman nyo ni Jojo e.

Mec said...

aww

i wish i can call myself a poet :)

i also haven't attended a poetry reading...

partly because am usually not really interested by abstract poems

and partly because... i can't call myself a poet :)

{illyria} said...

i'm proud of all pinoy poets! you, especially, rolly.

kramer said...

tito rolly,

ako rin nag-enjoy! tagal na akong hindi nakakatula at nakakajam. sana maulit. kahit this week na! haha! what the PP poetry reading has made realize is that there are still people who can be very passionate about something that our "real" world usually consider as unnecessary/impractical. ipagpatuloy ang pagtula.

rolly said...

Mec bakit? Akala mo ba hindi poem yung huling post mo? Konting areglo na lang yun, dagdagan ang mga fresh na imagery, tula na siya. Try mo!

transience I've been trying my friends what a good poet you are. I am still in awe at your Astrud entry! Thanks for the compliment.

Kramer Amen! And you guys are very young. Keep poetry alive.

Jdavies said...

Kramer- amen to that. Minsan may nagtatanong kung buhay ba ang salitang kultura sa 'pinas sa labas ng mga elitista.
napatunayan kong buhay na buhay siya.

Rolly, OO malupit din si jojo maglead mabilis din ang kamay heheh sa susunod ikaw naman ang bida hahaha!

Nick Ballesteros said...

Hello Tito Rolly! I didn't think poem -reading would be exciting! Thanks for sharing!

Ate Sienna said...

ako, unkel, wala akong talent for poetry. when I did, nako-kornihan ako sa mga gawa ko. mas prose ata ako. (magpapatawa na lang ako sa kwento.) but i admire people like you who can weave words into something measured with so much emotion and wit.

talent yun talaga :)

yusop said...

Greetings From Mars...Poetry is the food for the soul. The eloquent words of a passionate poem fortifies the assertion that the homo sapien specie after all, possesses a high culture.

rolly said...

Jardine Buhay naman talaga ang kultura natin mapa elitista man o hindi. May kanya-kanya nga lamang sa bawat bahagdan ng lipunan. Nakakalungkot nga lang na on both spectrums e ang nananaig e commercialism at trying to outdo one another sa pasikatan sa pagsuot ng designer clothes. hehe

Watson Well, exciting is relative pa rin but why don't you try it? next time I see something na mukhang exciting, I'll give you a call at puntahan nating dalawa, then you decide for yourself.

Ate Sienna akala mo lang hindi ka marunong. Anybody who knows how to read and write and can feel different layers of emotions can learn how to put these on paper. Ako din naman started from a scratch. Nahilig lang akong bumasa ng poetry nang matyempuhan ko yung online university na napuntahan ko.

Major Tom This is ground control, check ignition keys and put your helmet on! Remember those lines? You must know my good friend who surfs with the alien. He's name is Joe Satriani. hahaha And of course those guys from another planet who call themselves KISS! High culture? I would like to think, homo sapiens is still about the heart and emotions rather than cold robots this world seems to be turning into. Thanks for the visit and comment.

Toni said...

Hi Tito R! I am also very much into writing poetry but I hardly show it off. Well actually I have a secret blog that has my poems pero secret nga diba hehehehe.

Anonymous said...

Hi Tito Rolly! Kumusta po! Miss ko na kayong makasama ulit! =) Sobrang naging busy ako after the vacation. Grabe. Ang saya nyo naman pala dun sa poetry reading. Sayang, di ko alam. =\ But know what? Kramer and his group will have one in the campus in February 25. Will attend doon. =)

Nga pala, Arlene is just so kind. She will provide me extra copies aside from my own free copy of the print edition of The Poetry C Mouse. I won't be paying for them anymore and am very happy. =) Hope to see you again, Tito Rolly! Ingat po and best regads.

Belle

Rachelle Grace said...

hi tito rolly! :)

sorry if i haven't visited your blog nor updated mine for a while. busy busy kasi, finals na namin.

anyway, i'm glad you had fun. and that you've found an avenue for your poetic talent.

ako frustration ko talaga yan. i can't write poems. make me write essays, articles, stories, promo... kahit ano, ok lang pero di talaga ako poet. i could only appreciate the works of genius artists. haaayyy...

Jillsabs said...
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Jillsabs said...
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Jillsabs said...

so how'd the father and son camping go? my dad just arrived and i'm sure he has 7 million stories to tell na naman :)

Jillsabs said...

so how'd the father and son camping go? my dad just arrived and i'm sure he has 7 million stories to tell na naman :)

Jillsabs said...

sorry about the barrage of comments! i thought hindi siya napost kasi biglang nagkaroon ng error page, but apparently na post pala. sorry for polluting your comment page :(