u.p. arts and letters and u.p. diliman centennial graduation rites

u.p. college of arts and letters summa cum laude graduates jerome de castro (b.a. european languages, GPA: 1.08) and maria michaela chua (b.a. comparative literature, GPA: 1.14) after receiving their medals from u.p. system president emerlinda r. roman and u.p. diliman chancellor sergio s. cao during u.p. diliman's centennial graduation rites at the amphitheater, quezon hall, u.p. diliman last 27 may 2008

more great pics and videos coming soon!

filipino events at the sydney writers festival, 24-25 may, 2008

The Philippine Consulate General in Sydney announces that the 2008 Sydney Writers’ Festival will be held from 19 to 25 May 2008 in various locations in Sydney.

This is the 9th year of the Sydney Writers’ Festival which will bring 70 international guests from all parts of the world. The great writers and thinkers participating in the Festival will cover fiction, non-fiction, poetry, journalism, scriptwriting, film, new media and much more."

One of the important highlights of this year's event is the participation of Filipino literati consisting of Dr. Jose "Butch" Dalisay, Dr. Jose Wendell Capili, Merlinda Bobis, Robert Nery, Cesar Leyco Aguila and Pascal Daanton Berry.

The Consulate supported the participation of Dr. Jose "Butch" Dalisay as one of the invited international writers. Dr. Dalisay has won awards and prizes for his fiction, poetry, drama, nonfiction and screenplays, including 16 Palanca Awards. He teaches English and Creative Writing as a full-time professor at the University of the Philippines. His novel Soledad's Sister was shortlisted for the inaugural Man Asian Literary Prize in 2007.

Consul General Maria Theresa Lazaro said that the "participation of Dr. Dalisay, Dr. Capili and the other distinguished Filipino-Australian writers is Australia's recognition of the rich literary and cultural heritage of the Philippines".

The Consulate invites the Filipino-Australian community to attend any of the following Filipino events of the Sydney Writers' Festival:

1. Spotlight on Asia
25 May 2008, 9:30-10:30 a.m.
Sydney Theatre, Richard Wherrett Studieo, 22 Hickson Rd, Walsh Bay

- Dr. Dalisay offers a compassionate portrayal of contemporary society from the Philippines

2. Cultures Intertwined: Junot Diaz and Jose Dalisay
25 May 2008, 3:30-4:30 pm
Pier 2/3, Downstairs, Pier 2/3, Hickson Road. Walsli Bay

- Junot Diaz and Jose Dalisay discuss their novels that cross time and space and deal wit history and migration

3. Salu-Salo: In Conversation with Filipino-Australian Writers
25 May 2008, 3:00-5:00 pm
Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre, 1 Casula Road, Casula

- Salu-salo is the first anthology of Filipino-Australian writing revealing the positive contributions of Philippine communities in Australia. Merlinda Bobis, Cesar Leyco Aguila and Robert Nery speak with editor, Jose Wendell Capili

Booking essential: 98241121 or reception@casulapowerhouse.com

4. Writing for Performance with Daantos Berry
24 May 2008, 3:30-4 30 pm
Blacktown Arts Centre, 78 Flushcombe Rd, Blacktown

- Pascal Daantos Berry explores writing for contemporary performance. This session marks the Blacktown launch of Salu-Salo - an anthology of Philippine-Australian writing.

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Sydney Writers' Festival 2008 - Online Program

Writing for Performance with Pascal Daantos Berry Event 246
Pascal Daantos Berry is the writer of the critically acclaimed theatre production The Folding Wife. This session explores writing for contemporary performance in a multi-artform context and is illustrated with video recordings from a 2007 performance of the play. Berry discusses his practice, with a focus on the very specific writing required for the development of The Folding Wife script into a theatre production. He speaks with Jose Wendell P. Capilli. The event also marks the Blacktown launch of Salu-Salo – an anthology of contemporary Philippine Australian writing. The anthology of creative writing by Filipino migrant writers in Australia aims to heighten the consciousness of Australians about the positive contributions of various Philippine communities in Australia.	Participants Pascal Daantos Berry, Jose Wendell P. Capili (facilitator) When Saturday, May 24 2008 15:30 - 16:30 Where Blacktown Arts Centre 78 Flushcombe Rd Blacktown Venue and Transport Info... Cost Free Bookings 9839 6558
PASCAL DAANTOS BERRY (LOCAL) Pascal Daantos Berry is a young writer and dramaturg, originally from Cebu, The Philippines. His most recent work, The Folding Wife, was produced in 2007 in association with Urban Theatre Projects and Blacktown Arts Centre. His other work includes Jerusalem Syndrome, The Great Tale, Found Objects, Triptych, Ancestry of My Eyes, Conversations Through the Wall, Defecating Jesus and Querida. His awards include Belvoir Street Theatre’s Asian Australian Young Playwrights Award 1996 and a London Royal Court Residency in 2000. His work has been presented for Radio National, Griffin Theatre, Australian Choreographic Centre, Belvoir Street Theatre, Performance Space, ATYP, Multicultural Theatre Alliance, Platform 27 and Canberra Youth Theatre. JOSE WENDELL P. CAPILI (LOCAL) Jose Wendell P. Capili earned his degrees from the University of Santo Tomas, University of the Philippines, University of Tokyo, the University of Cambridge and the Australian National University, where he completed his PhD at the Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies. He is an Associate Professor at the University of the Philippines College of Arts and Letters where he is Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Head of the Graduate Studies Office. He has received Palanca, Cultural Center of the Philippines and University of the Philippines prizes for literature as well as scholarships, grants and fellowships from the British, Japanese, Korean, Philippine, Malaysian and Australian governments. Capili has four books A Madness of Birds, Bloom and Memory, Mabuhay to Beauty (as editor) and From the Editors: Migrant Communities and Emerging Australian Literature (as editor). In 2005, he was a visiting scholar at the National University of Singapore, University of Sydney, University of Western Australia, University of Melbourne and the University of Queensland. also appearing at... 314: Salu-Salo: in Conversation with Filipino-Australian Writers

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Salu-Salo: in Conversation with Filipino-Australian Writers Event 314
As part of its commitment to give voice to local communities, Casula Powerhouse partners with Blacktown Arts Centre to publish Salu-Salo, the first-ever anthology of Filipino-Australian writing. The anthology reveals the positive contributions of various Philippine communities and addresses current and past generations' processes of integration into multicultural Australia. The event will bring together writers Merlinda Bobis, Cesar Leyco Aguila and Robert Nery to start the conversation with anthology editor, Jose Wendell Capili. The talk will be followed by the launch of the anthology.	Participants Merlinda Bobis, Robert Nery, Cesar Leyco Aguila, Jose Wendell P. Capili (facilitator) When Sunday, May 25 2008 15:00 - 17:00 Where Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre 1 Casula Road Casula Venue and Transport Info... Cost Free Bookings essential 9824 1121 reception@casulapowerhouse.com
CESAR LEYCO AGUILA (LOCAL) Cesar Leyco Aguila moved from the Philippines to Australia over 20 years ago, leaving behind a rich body of work as a journalist (United Press International, The Asian News Service, The Philippines Herald, Philippines Free Press) and as a writer of short stories and poems (the University of Santo Tomas’ prestigious journal, The Varsitarian, Sunday Times Magazine, Kislap, Graphic). In Australia, Cesar Leyco Aguila joined SBS as a sub-editor before becoming an associate producer of its evening news television programme and radio chief of staff. It was while at SBS that he began work on his first novel, the historical Between Two Worlds. JOSE WENDELL P. CAPILI (LOCAL) Jose Wendell P. Capili earned his degrees from the University of Santo Tomas, University of the Philippines, University of Tokyo, the University of Cambridge and the Australian National University, where he completed his PhD at the Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies. He is an Associate Professor at the University of the Philippines College of Arts and Letters where he is Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Head of the Graduate Studies Office. He has received Palanca, Cultural Center of the Philippines and University of the Philippines prizes for literature as well as scholarships, grants and fellowships from the British, Japanese, Korean, Philippine, Malaysian and Australian governments. Capili has four books A Madness of Birds, Bloom and Memory, Mabuhay to Beauty (as editor) and From the Editors: Migrant Communities and Emerging Australian Literature (as editor). In 2005, he was a visiting scholar at the National University of Singapore, University of Sydney, University of Western Australia, University of Melbourne and the University of Queensland. also appearing at... 246: Writing for Performance with Pascal Daantos Berry ROBERT NERY (LOCAL) Robert Nery is a poet, critic, video artist and filmmaker. His short videos (in collaboration with Gabrielle Finnane) have been shown in various places in Australia. His 90-minute video essay Black Nazarene centres on the Holy Week crucifixions in a town north of Manila. He co-wrote I, Eugenia, directed by Gabrielle Finnane. He is a member of The Boondocks, and is at work on its first project, I, On A Tropical Night – on Ferdinand Marcos and life during the Cold War – to be installed in Casula Powerhouse in 2008. He has also a forthcoming video essay, The Hero Takes A Walk, shot during a recent Asialink residency in Manila. Nery studied social anthropology and philosophy at the University of Sydney. He is currently enrolled in the Doctorate in Creative Arts program at the University Of Technology. MERLINDA BOBIS (LOCAL) Merlinda Bobis has received various awards, prizes and fellowships for her fiction, poetry and plays. Her poetry book Summer was a Fast Train Without Terminals was shortlisted for The Age Poetry Book Award. Her plays have been performed in Australia, The Philippines, France, China, Thailand and the Slovak Republic. Banana Heart Summer was her first novel and was shortlisted for the Australian Literary Society Gold Medal. The Solemn Lantern Maker is her second novel. As a performer for stage and radio, Merlinda works with artists from various genres and she lectures in creative writing at the University of Wollongong. www.merlindabobis.com.au

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Spotlight on Asia Event 269
Jose Dalisay Jr was shortlisted for the 2007 Man Asian Literary Prize for Soledad's Sister which offers an unillusioned, compassionate portrayal of contemporary society from a Philippines perspective. David Davidar’s unflinching novel is set among the Bombay riots of the 1990s. The Solitude of Emperors is about what drives fundamentalist beliefs and what makes someone driven, bold or mad enough to make a stand. Felix Cheong is a Singaporean poet whose recurrent themes include love, the act of writing and humanity. Jose Dalisay Jr, David Davidar and Felix Cheong discuss their work.	Participants Felix Cheong, David Davidar, Jose Dalisay Jr When Sunday, May 25 2008 09:30 - 10:30 Where Sydney Theatre, Richard Wherrett Studio 22 Hickson Road Walsh Bay Venue and Transport Info... Cost $15/$10 Bookings 9250 1988 www.sydneytheatre.org.au
FELIX CHEONG (INTERNATIONAL) Felix Cheong was the recipient of the National Arts Council’s Young Artist of the Year for Literature Award in 2000. He has published three books of poetry. He has also published a non-fiction book, Different, which includes interviews with more than 50 successful Singaporeans such as pop singer Kit Chan and entrepreneur Charles Wong. His first work of teen fiction, The Call from Crying House is now being used as an English literature text in secondary schools. The sequel, Woman in the Last Carriage, was published in 2007. Felix’s creative work has been published extensively in newspapers, poetry journals and foreign journals. A graduate of the National University of Singapore, Felix completed his Master of Philosophy in creative writing at the University of Queensland in 2002. He is currently an adjunct lecturer at LASALLE College of the Arts, Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts and Temasek Polytechnic. In addition, he’s a film critic with Today and a regular columnist with business weekly The Edge Singapore. also appearing at... 99: Poetry International JOSE DALISAY JR (INTERNATIONAL) Jose Dalisay Jr. has won awards and prizes for his fiction, poetry, drama, nonfiction and screenplays, including 16 Palanca Awards. Soledade’s Sister was shortlisted for the Man Asia Prize. Jose Dalisay Jr.’s participation in Sydney Writers’ Festival is supported by the Philippine Consulate General. www.penmanila.net also appearing at... 316: Cultures Intertwined: Junot Díaz and Jose Dalisay DAVID DAVIDAR (INTERNATIONAL) David Davidar is President and Publisher of Penguin Books Canada. Additionally, he is a director on the board of Penguin India. Before he was transferred to Toronto in January 2004, he was Group CEO of Pearson India. Davidar began his publishing career in his mid twenties as one of the founding members of Penguin India. Penguin India is now Asia’s largest English language consumer publishing house, publishing over 200 new books a year. The Penguin India list includes some of the best known Indian authors (and authors who write about India) in the world. Before he came to Penguin, Davidar was a magazine editor in Bombay, editing one of India’s largest English language magazines. David Davidar obtained his BSc from Madras University and has a diploma in publishing from Harvard University. He has also attended senior management programmes at INSEAD and the Indian Institute of Management. His first novel, The House of Blue Mangoes, was published around the world and was translated into 16 languages and sold over 100,000 copies. It featured on the Amazon Hot 100 list and was a New York Times Notable Book of the Year, and a Booksense ‘76 pick. His second novel, The Solitude of Emperors, was published in 2007. also appearing at... 341: From Pen to Reader 84: Tales of Obsession 100: David Davidar in Conversation

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Cultures Intertwined: Junot Díaz and Jose Dalisay Event 316
Junot Díaz’s The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao is a multi-generational tale about the de Leon family whose lives are split between the Dominican Republic and New Jersey, while the shadow of the dictator Rafael Trujillo hovers over the story like Sauron. Jose Dalisay Jr’s Soledad’s Sister was shortlisted for the 2007 Man Asia prize. It begins when a casket arrives at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila, bearing the body of one among over 300 overseas workers who return as corpses at Manila’s airport every year. Junot Díaz and Jose Dalisay discuss their award winning novels that cross time and space, and deal with the products of two cultures.	Participants Junot Díaz, Jose Dalisay Jr When Sunday, May 25 2008 15:30 - 16:30 Where Pier 2/3, Downstairs Pier 2/3, Hickson Road Walsh Bay Venue and Transport Info... Cost $15/$10 Bookings 9250 1988 www.sydneytheatre.org.au
JOSE DALISAY JR (INTERNATIONAL) Jose Dalisay Jr. has won awards and prizes for his fiction, poetry, drama, nonfiction and screenplays, including 16 Palanca Awards. Soledade’s Sister was shortlisted for the Man Asia Prize. Jose Dalisay Jr.’s participation in Sydney Writers’ Festival is supported by the Philippine Consulate General. www.penmanila.net also appearing at... 269: Spotlight on Asia JUNOT DIAZ (INTERNATIONAL) Junot Díaz was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. He is a graduate of Rutgers University and received his Master of fine arts degree from Cornell University. His collection of short stories, Drown, was described as "a dazzlingly talented first book" by Hermione Lee in the Independent on Sunday. He teaches creative writing at Massachussetts Institute of Technology. The critically acclaimed The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao is his first novel. It recently won the Pulitzer prize for fiction. www.junotdiaz.com also appearing at... 193: The Big Reading 224: Junot Díaz in Conversation with Ramona Koval 330: Closing Address: Junot Díaz

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marianne villanueva in u.s. bay area's HYPHEN magazine

April 8, 2008

Introducing: The WRITE Questions for Marianne Villanueva

Writer Marianne Villanueva (Mayor of the Roses) is doing another reading this week (with Nona Caspers) at the Book Passage in the Ferry Building in San Francisco on Wednesday April 9^th at 6 p.m., so I thought it would be a great time to kick off a new literary feature - The WRITE Questions - where we ask Asian American writers a few pressing questions. Marianne was gracious enough to respond from a trip to Tel Aviv, and on the way back to California in the Frankfurt airport.

1. What was the last book you read? What are you reading now?

MV: OK, the last book I finished reading (two days ago) was The Big House: A Century in the Life of an American Summer Home by George Howe Colt, which was an absolutely fascinating dissection of a period of time and a culture (Boston Brahmin) that is as exotic to me as, say, the culture of the Andaman Indians or the Aleutians or whatever. And it has given me lots of ideas about how to go about doing a dissection of my own culture (Filipino Negrense, that is: Filipino from the island of Negros, which is in the middle of the Philippine archipelago).

The book I've just started (at 3 a.m. on Apr. 2, I have terrible insomnia) is Penelope Lively's The Photograph, and it's (so far) a very "British" novel about a cuckolded husband. And again I'm finding all sorts of interesting ways in which Lively manipulates mood and memory, that help me in writing what I think I am trying to write.

2) Do you identify as an Asian American writer? Why or why not?

MV: Yes, I identify myself as an Asian American writer, because, well, just look at me, that's who I am — not only physically, but also culturally. But, even more important than identifying myself as an Asian American writer is identifying myself as an Asian American WOMAN writer; there's loads of difference between male and female Asian American writers.

3) Do you have a blog?

MV: Yes, I do. And it's somewhat of a guilty pleasure. Because everything I put on that blog is so instantaneous. And I find the process of maintaining it so wonderfully liberating.

3A) Does having a blog affect or interfere with your writing?

MV: Well, I always think that it interferes with my writing, so I'm constantly trying to cut down, to impose some kind of discipline on how often I post. But I'm not sure if my feeling that it interferes with my writing is accurate. Of course, when I'm blogging, I'm not working on my short stories, but the blog actually uncovers veins of feeling and situational nuances, that I had never been able to write about before. So, in that way, it's liberating. And in addition, when writing my blog, I am careful to maintain a persona ("Self") whose voice is very distinct from the voice/s in which I write. It's a more antic, tongue-in-cheek voice. I love creating this voice, and even though the posts are so spontaneous, there is a kind of discipline and art imposed on them, too. Another thing: I think writing the blog has helped me expand into new modes of writing. For instance, I've found that I can actually write plays! I don't know why I only discovered this AFTER I started creating my blog. Whether one has anything to do with the other, or whether it's mere coincidence, I'm not sure. But I tend to think: everything's connected.

3B) What blogs/websites do you frequent?

MV: * Amazon, not to look up my own book ratings (though I do occasionally, I'm only human!), but to read reviews of books I am currently reading. For instance, right now I am halfway through The Photograph — it's the only book I brought to read on the plane — and I STILL don't like it. So, I try and read what others have said about it on Amazon, and it's really amazing to me that most people call it "brilliant", etc. So obviously there's some disconnect there, and maybe I'm going about the book in the wrong way. And this forces me to read with more patience.

* For fun: Box Office Mojo, Buzzsugar, and Gawker.

* I like looking at Gerry Ruiz's photoblog. As far as I can make out, he's a photographer based in Tacloban City in the Philippines, and he always posts pictures of such interesting places.

* I like Michael Janairo's blog. He writes about books and culture for the Albany Times-Union.

* I like Speechless, which I just discovered last month.

* I like Lavalady's blog, especially when she gets raw (emotionally) and when she blogs about movies she's seen.

* I think Jean Vengua's Okir blog is mysterious and alluring.

* To find out what's going on in Manila, I like Wendell Capili's blog and Dean Alfar's blog.

* And Luisa Igloria's Lizard Meanders blog is packed full of information, about writers, process, family, and events, as well as wonderful poetry.

* Kathleen Burkhalter's A Glass Overflowing blog is the best blog about family life that I've ever encountered, and I read it to imagine myself in the warmth of this woman's fullness and generosity.

* I read the Chancelucky blog and am absolutely fascinated by his posts about his mother.

* Don’t get me started on food blogs, I especially like Eating Asia and Iskandals.

* Of course I read Hyphen's blog to check out what's new in San Francisco events, and for the interesting articles!!!

filipino american writer marianne villanueva

milflores publishing has a new website

check this out:

http://milfloresonline.blogspot.com/

sid gomez hildawa passed away

just got back from don bosco makati. filipino architect, poet, teacher, visual artist and university of the philippines/de la salle university alumnus sid gomez hildawa passed away due to complications arising from dengue fever and pneumonia last sunday. he was forty five. he was cremated monday morning. despite short notice, sid's friends and family members rushed to attend the first day of his wake. his urn will be brought to the cultural center of the philippines on thursday.

i didn't get to see him often because i was in australia for three years. but we were like siblings. we texted and sent emails frequently. late last year, we sat as external examiners for several thesis proposals at the school of design and arts (sda), de la salle college of st. benilde. we talked about personal updates, writing projects and common friends. though we bumped into each other several times last year, that was the only time we had a long talk together.

im going to miss sid. may he rest in peace.

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Writer, poet Sid Hildawa, 45, is dead

VISUAL ARTIST, architect, writer, and poet Sid Gomez Hildawa, 45, passed away on Sunday, March 30, from a virus that led to multiple organ failure. Unconfirmed reports said he succumbed to typhoid and dengue fever.

Mr. Hildawa was the director of the visual, literary, and media arts department of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP).

He was recognized twice by The Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards first for his full-length Filipino play Macho Motel in 1997, and for Building a House and Other Poems in 2006. He was also a two-time recipient of the Philippine Free Press Literary Award for poetry; author of Regarding Space, published in 2005 by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts under the "Ubod" First Author Series; and a featured artist in several one-man exhibits.

He was a recipient of the CCP Thirteen Artists Award, a British Council fellow for art and architecture, and a poetry fellow at the University of the Philippines’ National Writers’ Workshop and Iligan National Writers’ Workshop.

Mr. Hildawa’s remains were cremated yesterday, and mourners may pay their respects at the Don Bosco Chapel along Arnaiz Ave. (formerly Pasay Road). - BusinessWorld


filipino architect, poet, teacher, visual artist and university of the philippines/de la salle university alumnus sid gomez hildawa