It’s raining words, haleluya!

IT was raining heavily one late afternoon in August when writers from all over the archipelago gathered at the Escaler Hall of the Ateneo de Manila University in Quezon City. Inside, it was raining words as everyone celebrated the launching of 14 chapbooks by 14 young and not-so-young new voices in Philippine Literature coming from the various literary languages of the Philippines.

The 2nd UBOD New Authors Series was published by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) through the efforts of the Ateneo Institute of Literary Arts and Practices (AILAP). The beautifully designed chapbooks are:

• Dagiti Babassit nga Alipugpog (Ilocano) by Sherma Espino Benosa
• Paglalayag Habang Naggagala ang Hilaga at Iba Pang Kuwento (fiction in Tagalog) by Christoffer Mitch Cerda
• Pasakalye (fiction in Tagalog) by Mar Anthony Simon dela Cruz
• May mga Dumadaang Anghel sa Parang (poetry in Tagalog) by Marlon Hacla
• Oda sa Tadik asin iba pang Bersong Bikol (poetry in Bicolano) by Jerome Hipolito
• Ha Salog ug iba nga mga Siday (poetry in Waray) by Leonilo Lopido
• Duha ka Tingog (poetry in Hiligaynon) by Jay Gallera Malaga
• Ayaw Pagpudla an Tuog ug iba pa nga mga Siday (poetry in Waray) by Phil Harold Mercurio
• Pagluluno at iba pang Tula (poetry in Tagalog) by Francisco Arias Monteseña
• Ang mga Anak sang Montogawe kag iban pa (fiction in Hiligaynon) by J.V.D. Perez
• Ini sa Sakuyang Hawak Asin iba pang Bersong Bikol (poetry in Bicolano) by Adrian Remodo
• Siso Sakradang ug iba pa nga mga Siday Han Tagoangkan (poetry in Waray) by Janis Claire Salvacion
• Panagbiahe (poetry in Ilocano ) by Aida Campos Tiama
• Tanang Namilit sa Hangin (poetry in Bohol-Cebuano) by Noel Tuazon

Ateneo professor emeritus and critic Soledad Reyes, an expert in Tagalog novels and popular culture, is the general editor of this series. Her general introduction to each collection is a joyous celebration of the coming together of new literary voices from regions that were perceived to be barren and had forgotten the indigenous language. She says, “Ang resulta ay isang kamangha-manghang kalipunan ng mga teksto na binigyang-hugis ng mga kamalayang mapangahas, dinamiko, at malikhain." (The result is an awesome collection of texts that give shape to a consciousness that is courageous, dynamic, and creative.) The voices of these new authors are as varied and as colorful as our cultures. Take for example this simple and beautiful Waray poem by Janice Claire Salvacion: The persona in this poem is a woman who is invited by her lover to elope. She agrees as long as she will be allowed to bring mementos from her garden, the fragrance of a son (probably born out of wedlock) or a brother’s hair, the memory of the place or her birth, and the poetry inside her. She is a liberated and empowered woman who knows what she wants, and will only agree to go with her lover on her own terms. She is not the type of a woman who will “give up everything" for the man she loves. In an Ilocano poem by Aida Campos Tiana, “Ti Kapagayan Iti Agostos" ( The Rice Field in August), the beauty of provincial life during the rainy season is celebrated. The persona from Manila visits Asingan in Ilocandia one rainy day, and makes this observation: Iti panagtutudo nga Agosto, / Anian a buya / Dagiti berde a kahon / Nga addaan iti ruruot / Nga agsasala ken agkankansion / Iti danggay ti ritmo ti angin. (In the rainy August, / How beautiful it is to behold / The green paddies / That nurture the healthy grasses / Swaying and singing / With the rhythm of the wind.) I translated this stanza based on the Filipino translation of Cles Rambaud. The UBOD author series is designed to publish the first collection of a Philippine writer, especially those in the regions. The program is supposed to fire up the desire of each featured writer to write more literature. This fire is quite palpable in another Waray poem, this time by Phil Harold Mercurio: This is an occasional poem, a type of poem written for a specific event. Mercurio noted that this was “written after the first session of the First All-Waray Creative Writing Workshop, November 17-19, 2006, City of Tacloban." His hunger for poetry is admirable, and I am sure that he is not alone with this kind of desire for the beauty of words. Nothing can stop him. He will do everything to partake of the feast of poetry. The UBOD authors were selected by a pool of readers, editors, and translators who are accomplished and award-winning writers themselves including Eli Rueda Guieb III, Michael Coroza, Kristian Cordero, and Timothy Montes. The UBOD Project Coordinator is Ms. Christine Bellen, AILAP Director and a faculty member of Ateneo’s Filipino Department. In his message during the launching, NCCA Commissioner and chair of the Committee on Literary Arts Ricardo de Ungria announced that funding for the third UBOD New Writers Series is available and the project will again be handled by AILAP. The announcement was received with cheering and a big round of applause. This series is one way of supporting and encouraging writers in the regions writing in their own tongue. With this NCCA program, it is no longer impossible for beginning but talented writers in the provinces to get their books published. This early, many writers are eagerly waiting for the third raining of words. This is the kind of flooding that is beneficial to the formation of a truly representative Literatures of the Philippines. It is also one sure way of forming the true Filipino nation that is not Manila-centric. – YA, GMANews.TV