Quotables from Leoncio Deriada's Rabid

-"An M.A., like marriage could wait."

-"I have decided that the dried fish should not be fried but cooked directly over the embers under the pot of rice." Yum, yum... Oyy, ang mga manggaranon indi ka relate. :)

-"The doctors in Mandur(r)iao were correct in advising Manong Bading and Remedios to take the girl home. It was cheaper to die there." So true...

The story "Rabid" can be found in Dr. Deriada's much-praised "Week of the Whales and Other Stories" collection. It brings to mind the literary show of force of William Carlos Williams' aptly titled "A Show of Force", another literary medical story. The "swelling dog scratch" after four months after it has happened is a bit unbelievable but nevertheless, Ilonggo culture is embedded in this text and very integral so that it truly is an Ilonggo story. The arogante attitude of the unnamed central character reminds me so much of dear old Sir Leo's own ere. and it is the same with some of the other male characters in the other stories. Especially the farmers turned teachers who, in returning to their "home" villages, acquire a certain arrogance, a swagger if you will.

Read "The Week of the Whales and Other Stories". I'm only halfway through it but its revealing so much of how the man, we in the recent generation of writers call the Father of Modern Western Visayas Literature, is. He defintely has a peculiar writing style, a particular English, I couldn't quite put a finger on yet. I am happy to have found my copy in New Day Publishers' booth during the last Manila International Book Fair. And the best part, it was only for 55 pesos. ;) I bought Nightmares, also by Deriada, too. I'm sure after both books and some of his published poems, I can finally have a clearer picture of the much-vaunted Deriada short story and hopefully some of his technique would be routed in my writing brain.

Poetry-in-Motion

Watch the performance of Lit 1 classes (one section shown at the left) in "Bilog ang Bulan, Buhi ang Binalaybay" on September 15, 2008 at the UPV New Administration Building.

Bilog ang Bulan, Buhi ang Binalaybay

Everybody is invited to attend "Bilog ang Bulan, Buhi ang Binalaybay: A night of poetry reading & performance" on September 15, 2008, 6:00 pm, at the New Administration Building, University of the Philippines Visayas, Miagao, Iloilo. This is in line with UP's celebration of its centennial year. This is also a "homecoming" for the "starters" (or why not "mothers") of the poetry-in-motion in the Visayas, which, FYI, was started in UPV Miagao in the 1990s.

Reading and performing in the event will be Prof. Jonathan Jurilla, Prof. John Barrios, Prof. Kevin Piamonte, Prof. Robert Rodriguez, Prof. Rey Carlo Gonzales, Prof. Alfredo Diaz, Prof. Tomasito Talledo, Mr. Emmanuel Lerona, and members of different UPV student organizations, namely, UPV Literati, Choristers, and Hublag.

This activity is presented by UP Visayas Division of Humanities and UPV Literati.

paano pumatay ng demonyo

paano pumatay ng demonyo
Rodelen Paccial

...at kung paano pumatay ng demonyo,
yan ang huling lektyur nya sa amin,
bago siya magkayab sa kalangitan.

palitan mo ang kanyang pangalan.
sa iyong isip,
gawin mong Kerwin o Jhun-jhun,
ang demonyo'y demonyo lamang
dahil tinatawag mo siyang
katungaling kahanay mo sa listahan
ng mga astig na hangaway.

ika'y malikot na espada,
ika'y mabigat na panghampas,
palitan ang estado ng mundo,
paslangin ang mga demonyong
Kerwin o Jhun-jhun.

Meeting

Calling all DagyangPulong boys and girls:

There will be a free-for-all workshop on February 23, Saturday, at the UP Main Library. I repeat, FREE-FOR-ALL. (Organizer's announcement here.) Madam French will be the resource person, and I will be assisting her, so I hope you will be there, too! :-)

Kag para masadya, maayu siguro nga kita makatipun-tipon liwat pagkatapos sang sini nga hilikuton. Rod and Marcell have already confirmed their attendance. Madiretso kita kanday Marcell in the evening for poetry reading sa iya nga Kafe Binalaybay. I hope may free dinner, hehe.
Kitakits!

Pangumusta

Daw sa ano bala nga ari na ako diri. :-)
First of all, congratulations to all the members of DagyangPulong (for still being there), and to its new set of officers who have just been elected last February 13, 2008.

February is still in the early parts of 2008, so we still have the right to say "We should start the year right." And how better do we start this year for DagyangPulong right than by being there at the "private" opening of Marcell Milliam's Kafe Binalaybay? That's tonight, ladies and gentlemen, February 18, 2008. So kitakits later! :-)

Curfew Poetry Anthology

Axel Pinpin Dilemma ni Carpio

Francisco Arias Monteseña Kuyom

Genevieve Mae B. Aquino Alzheimer's in the Philippines

German V. Gervacio Hu Let Da Dogs Awt?! Hu-Hu-Huhu!

Gracia Alcantara Perdiguerra Fugue
Mark Angeles Fury Tales

Marlon Hacla Isang Pagtutol

Melvin Medes Mga Taong Apoy

Michelle Brences Policurfew

Noel Sales Barcelona Bakit Gloring?

Raul Funilas May Kaba Sa Bawat Hakbang Ng Manghihimagsik

Ravelth Castro-Belicena Mundong Parisukat

Rodelen Paccial Emerald

Rustum Casia One Night Only

Victor Emmanuel Carmelo D. Nadera Jr. Anibersaryo Ngayon ng Martial Law

http://makoydakuyko y.multiply. com/journal/ item/35/Curfew_ Poetry_Anthology

Looking at pictures of our internship year

Looking at pictures of our internship year
(For my Med School Buddies)
Rodelen Paccial

When we were much younger,
And we had much more oil in our faces,
And we were trying to be doctors at the same time,
When we couldn’t sleep
And envy the janitor’s roosters
When we slept and regretted,
When we were half asleep
And couldn’t put in an intravenous catheter,
When we were exposed to the myriad variations
Of vulvae and penises,
Of appendices and breasts,
When we drank and got merry
And blame ourselves the next day,
When we couldn’t eat
when we didn’t have time to eat
when we were faced with the choice
of sleeping or eating,
when we had to wear the same
briefs and panties for more
than twenty four hours
(i know because I looked)
When dreams were fresh
When dreams of becoming
Greater than ourselves
For the sake of others
Were a mantra
Silently repeated in the deep
Silence of our brains,
Because all we did was curse,
On how so much sickness
Can be in this world
And land in your OPD table.

That was the time we fell in love with this occupation and preoccupation,
For like a woman we had to fetch water for and chop wood for,
Medicine was coy and lovely,
Promised everything,
But not now, she said.
“Everything”, she said,
And the wooing was just fine,
Outside her gates,
We chose to stand
And labor while she waits.

Dagyangpulong!!!

dear dagyangpulong members:

It has been a few months since our last meeting. There have been many changes since our last meeting and many plans are afoot for next year. Come to our emergency meeting on October 20 4pm at times square, Gen Luna, IC. Your attendance would indeed be golden. Our agenda are as follows...

a) The updated dagyangpulong history for our section in San Ag 7, including the works that you wish to be included in the issue.

b) The planning of our annual Meeting

c) Our upcoming publication

d) Our SEC registration

e) Introduction of new “applicants”

f) Planning for next year

On October 20, Marcel will have a concert/poetry night at Spotlight 28 avenue. I have reserved 5 seats for us at 100 bucks a piece consumable. There will be a poetry reading portion after the concert and I hope you could attend. After the meeting we will proceed at the venue. Please reply with a text message at 09214039370 if you have read this message. Guys, our organization is on the brink, your attendance would be a big boost to all of us and an affirmation that we are still alive and kicking.

Poetry Night!!!

Guys,

if you're interested, Marcel Milliam, poet, and one of the facilitators in Klinik Batman, will have a concert/poetry night at Spotlight @ 28 avenue on October 20, 2007, 9 pm. There will be a poetry reading session after that and this is showtime for your poems/babies.

But before that, if you're interested in becoming a member of Dagyangpulong, a writers organization in the City, proceed to Times Square in front of USA at 4 pm of OCtober 20 for we shall be having a meeting there. Do not be shy, we are a friendly bunch and we will be a band of writers who will offer you fair criticism for your works in exchange for your views on other people's work. That is besides the usual takes on the current Philippine/Western Visayas Literature scene, our experiences on the writing Life, casual company on boring afternoons meant for coffee, poetry and good buddies. After the meeting we will proceed to the concert/poetry reading. If you have any questions feel free to email me at rcpaccial (at) yahoo.com or text 09214039370. Hope you could join us!!!

Rod Paccial. :)

dagyangpulong conquers Bigkas-Binalaybay 2007; Call for Help

Laurence Bernabe won the writing portion of the College Level Bigkas-Binalaybay. As a result we got ourselves a nice meal from Alan's Talabahan at Oton, a couple of prancing Red Horses, and a couple of cool SanMig Lights.

Dagyangpulong is coming up with an anthology later this year. Since publishing opportunities for a small group like ours is next to nil, we decided to go guerilla press, which basically means publishing our works in riosographed paper. The most important thing for us is to be read and to help make our fellow Ilonggos aware that literature is alive in the land which bore the Magdalena Jalandoni's, the Stephen Javellana's, the Graciano Lppez-Jaena's... If somehow you want to contribute to this small endeavour, you may email us at rcpaccial(at)yahoo.com or make us your friend at friendster.

this is the official dagyangpulong logo. the characters in the bottom is the modified baybayin script for dagyangpulong. The ballpen in the logo tells a lot about the group, composed of young people, writing in and for their generation. The official color is gold, as a testimony to our roots from the Fray Luis de Leon Creative Writing Workshop.

Bakunawa ( Frente Sur Melliza)

Bakunawa

Frente Sur Melliza

Ang paghigugma ko sa imo,

Mas mainit pa sang sa adlaw.

Ang paghakus mo sa akon,

Mas masulhay sang sa pagtulug sa panganud

Sa kada tulok ko sa imo

Gainggat ang imo mga mata.

Gintuytuyan ko ikaw

Tubtub madula ang kasanagan sang bulan

Ugaling sa ulihi

Ginpalamon mo ang kasingsing ko sa bakunawa.

Manikurista I (Fabienne Paderes)

Manikurista I

Fabienne Paderes

She pushes

my cuticles back

as if getting rid

of her sorrows

where it once came from.

She picks

my ingrowns,

out with fury

as if pulling out

the thorns of her misery

She heals me

with merthiolate

as if it could remove

all the shit

she’s going through

And she leaves

with my fifty pesos gone

And my nailbeds

go red with blood.

Patas (Rey Salem)

Patas

Rey Salem

Sa tunga sang gab-i nagluntad kamingaw

Sang imo panumduman may paghanduraw

Daw gindis-ug sa kbo sang pagkatalaw

Pagsukmat sa tiayon may pagpalapaw.

Huyog manunudlo, semana gintakpan

Bangod mga kaupod may ginkaibugan

Paglangoy sa mahjong sia nagin hangkilan

Gindingot sa imo tion kag puloy-an.

Sa trono may pagsal-i sang ikasarang

kag sa ligad daw imahen ginpahamtang

Ang lanog sang pasipala ginpaaman

Saksi ang hulot liwat ang nagpatuyang.

Bagod sampat ang damil sang dumuluaw

Ginpaambit karimis nga nagalabaw

Sa dagway sang paghilway nangibabaw

Daw landong sa kada sabak ginpaumpaw

Pagdumot kag pagtimalos ginpaiway

Kag napagkit nga sabat sang pagbulagay.

Untitled (Lawrence Bernabe)

Untitled

Lawrence Bernabe

Absence

and persistence of memories.

fading snapshots from childhood,

a satellite’s composite map

of my thoughts, regions, squares

gridded through meanders,

and ranges

and me at a table, scanning

for a hint of my house.

let us say/i haven’t finished

printing out/ my country,

let alone the world. let us say,

i hunt for peace.

someone says somewhere

there lies a clearing.

i go out and take a look,

i’d tell you now what i saw there

but then, i have forgotten.

Already i am charmed

into forgetting.

Sa Common Dining Hall (Purita San Diego)

Sa Common Dining Hall
Purita Monica Ann A San Diego

“...Tunay na maraming hiwaga
dito sa daigdig na mahiwaga.”

-Jose F. Lacaba
“Himala at Hiwaga”

Hiwaga kung iisipin
Kung papaanong ang iyong mga bisig
Na pinagtatawanan ko pa
Noong isang taon
Ngayon ay mabibilog
Na testimonya na
Ng iyong pagkabinata

Himala, kung ituring
Kung papaanong ang iyong balikat
na noo’y makitid at
Sumusunod sa hangin
Ngayon ay matipuno tila kurus
Sa pagitan ng iyong ulo
At katakamakam na tiyan

At nakakatuwang isipin
Kung papaano kong nalimot
Ang pagkaing kabibili lamang
Nang ituro mo, gamit ang nagungusap
Na mata, ang daan papunta
sa aking inuupahang kwarto
at doon sabay muli tayong
magtuklas ng himala at hiwaga.

Bukas Kung Hindi Man (Purita San Diego)

Bukas Kung Hindi Man

Purita Monica Ann A San Diego

Bukas, kung wala na ako

Gusto kung uminom pa rin kayo

Ng paborito nating beer

Yung trenta pesos kada kalahating litro

Dun sa Corner Store kung saan

sa paglagok ng mapait-tamis na tubig,

Ang paslit kung isip ay namulat

Sa nakakabaliw na mundong

Isa-isa nating pinasyang pasukin

Sa pagsikat ng araw

Kung hindi man bumukas

Ang pinid kong mga mata

Bumili pa rin kayo

Ng pula at puting yosi

At isa-isang sindihan at hithitin ang usok

Na para bang ang paghigop nito

Ang makapapahupa sa tulirong bagyo

Na dala ng kabataan.

Kahit hindi.

Bubong (Purita San Diego)

Bubong

Purita Monica Ann A. San Diego

Sa bubong ng bahay, nakahiga

Dinarama ang lamig ng yerong

Namaalam na sa lumubog na araw

Kaydaling nakamit ang ligaya

Sa lumipas na pangitain ng pagkabata.

Hindi gaya ngayon, diese-otso anyos

At pahiga-higa rin sa bubungan ng isip

Tuliro sa tawag ng laman

At sa ungol ng boteng namamawis.

Malalim na ang gabi’y

Nag-aapoy pa sa init,

Sa nakakabaliw na init,

Ang yerong hugis alon, may bunganga

At mangiyak-ngiyak na tinatawag

Ang aking pangalan.