I can has database
We’re revamping Libro.ph (internally, that is) in terms of farming out content to form separate websites. We stopped updating in November 2007 as planned to evaluate the beta phase of the site and we scrapped sections which we feel weren’t working or were duplicating existing information. So the main site should henceforth function as something like an aggregated literary broadsheet, with sub-sites devoted to hosting other literary groups (like UMPIL, PEN, etc) and focusing on different literary genres (i.e., Pambata).
In the meantime we’ve also started to build our author/book database, which we had initially planned to host in the main directory but our concern is that content organization might end up getting too unwieldy. I’ve had several arguments about this already. As readers/potential visitors, would you guys prefer that author directories and Filipino book catalogs be hosted in another website (or a Libro.ph sub-site, at least)? Just curious.
Loading …Read Or Die and Repertory Philippines Read Tuesdays With Morrie
Premiere theater group Repertory Philippines will be staging a theatrical adaptation of Mitch Albom’s best-selling novel “Tuesdays With Morrie” from January 1 to January 27 2008 at OnStage, Greenbelt 1, Ayala Center, Makati City. Starring Jose Mari Avellana and Rem Zamora, “Tuesdays With Morrie” is a heart-warming play that perfectly combines comedy, drama and poignancy. In a challenging commitment of time and expense, busy sportswriter Mitch Albom makes weekly treks from Detroit to Boston so he could spend Tuesday mornings with his former professor Morrie Schwartz, who is dying of Lou Gehrig’s disease. It unfolds the story of how these visits changed Mitch’s outlook on life. The play is directed by Baby Barredo.
Cast actors Jose Mari Avellana and Rem Zamora will be reading excerpts from “Tuesdays With Morrie” in a special appearance in Powerbooks Greenbelt on December 15, 2007 (Saturday). The event will kick off with a discussion of the novel which will conducted by Read Or Die at 4:30 PM followed by the theatrical reading. There will be an open forum with the audience afterwards. Free tickets to the premiere will also be raffled off to bookstore attendees.
The event is sponsored by Powerbooks and is part of Read Or Die’s Books On Stage program which aims to promote literature appreciation through the medium of theater. For more information please visit http://read-or-die.org/booksons
Traditionalism, Newness and Plain Out Common Sense.
Working on definitions, setting boundaries and establishing purposes for art has always been a messy business. In her work A Natural History of the Senses, Diane Ackerman vividly describes sight, smell, taste, touch and hearing — she also emphasizes the fact that no matter what we may think, no one person can sense things or experience the world the same way. This may be the reason why art and the artistic experience is so difficult to encapsulate — all artists and writers seem to make a conscious attempt portraying different aspects of life on canvas, paper and the like for others to see. They are always out to show us how the particular way in which they see and experience the world, and they make use of a great many mediums to do so.
If we’re to follow that line of thought, it’s easy to see how certain artistic traditions, trends and philosophies developed. Romantics devoted themselves to trumpeting the beauty of life and feeling. Realists were obsessed with details, as they sought to to portray “reality” as accurately as possible through their fiction. It doesn’t take much effort to see patterns behind some of the movements, and critics have worked long and hard to group these together even if definitions tend to be unwieldy and self-defeating. They also struggle to do the same for defining a medium and its different components. The end result is always the same — a name, a vague definition and a list of very general characteristics. Frustrating? Maybe. But necessary. We can always harp on why we bother with it, but at the end of the day I think it’s a rhetorical question. Without definitions, nothing would make sense, and everything can be regarded the same way. And that’s impossible, because it’s been proven time and again that all works of art have some sort of logic to it, and that all trends and traditions may share a FEW similarities but are ultimately separate from each other.
What am I basically saying here? Let me put it this way: you and I both know that apples and oranges are fruits, but we wouldn’t even consider calling apples “oranges” or oranges “apples” — or at least, on a normal day, we wouldn’t. 
Anyway, it’s commonly understood that apples and oranges are two different fruits, just in the same way that a Romantic work is NOT a Realist work, or that a poem is NOT a work of prose, and so on. You can’t define them in the same fashion, just as you can’t appreciate them in the same fashion, or — heaven forbid — critique them in the same fashion.
Many people insist that traditionalists always thoughtlessly reject “avant-garde” works: they move on to lament over how traditionalists fail to understand what newness contributes to the world of art, and how they refuse to let art evolve because they are being “too close-minded” about it. I will be the first to admit that there may be times when this really is the case, but if you carefully study their reasons for “rejecting” some of the newer contributions, it’s because these so-called “new works of genius” haven’t done anything more than compromise the medium in question. It’s a classic case of shooting in the dark: they’re firing their guns, but they don’t know where they’re aiming, or what they’re shooting at. Sometimes, they don’t even know why.
Let’s zone in on something a bit more specific. A particularly hot issue in pop culture is the idea of comics and sequential art. Sequential art is pretty much self-explanatory: it is a body of works that put visual ideas in sequence to describe a process or tell a story. Comics, then, is a type of sequential art. Not all sequential art, however, can be regarded as comics. If that was the case, then even ancient cave paintings in French caves would be comics. The printing manual that I have sitting on the desk beside me would be a comic. My 2-year-old niece’s picture books would be comics. Cave paintings, Printing manuals and picture books tell stories, one may argue, but I challenge that same person to explain to me how they could be regarded the same way we regard those three-panel funnies in Sunday newspapers. or on a larger scale, works from companies like DC, Marvel and Vertigo.
Some of you may think that I’m being too conservative when I describe it like this, but I beg to differ. If there’s one thing I learned as a major in Literature, a reader (and lover) of books and as a self-styled fictionist, it’s that there is a subtle but extremely important difference between “expanding” a medium or art tradition and compromising what it is or what it stands for. Yes, it’s important to introduce new elements to art so that it will evolve. Yes, it’s important to push the limits and explore different possibilities. But if one does not understand what they’re working with in the first place, one may find it rather difficult to know exactly what they are doing, much less receive acclaim or acceptance from a general audience. As my Creative Writing professors always tell budding young writers: “It’s good to experiment and try new things, but you have to know what you’re breaking before you break it.”
Spotting something different in PasKom
Today I checked out the Pasko ng Komiks Komiksibit in U.P. which is part of an event co-organized by our group. Along with prints of artwork by icons of Filipino comic art like Nestor Redondo, the exhibit also features a lot of great talent from up and coming local artists.
However I did notice several pieces which particularly struck me because they were so different from everything else in the exhibit, whether classic or contemporary. These pieces were a set of photographs, which, taken together, looked closer to a fashion spread than a comic. I was wondering if it was a CLAMP homage of sorts. It turned out to be something else altogether–images from the gallery of a virtual band named Mistula. The images were very pretty, make no mistake about it. However, I can’t help but think about the photographs’ collective significance as a comic. That is: Is it really a comic or a photo story? In an effort to understand, I checked their website and found more photo stories rather than what I would consider to be traditional comics.
This essay does not dismiss the exhibit of Mistula on Pasko ng Komiks. Professor Vim Nadera has his reasons why these images were placed there. What I want to focus on is an exploration of the possibilities of comics, the boundaries that many follow and the creative freedom that people may sometimes abuse. On one hand, we have comics such as Gerry Alanguilan’s Elmer. On the other end, you have photographs that come with what might be considered dialog, and, for lack of examples, we have this from Mistula.
It is interesting how digital media has transformed the comic art form in different ways. In fact I do find this process interesting, using different media to make an unconventional comic.
Maybe this shot by Mistula would definitely qualify as a comic spread as defined by more traditionalist perspectives. Digitally drawn and colored illustrations have become ubiquitous in the field of graphic arts and design. Comics is in the process of evolution, both as an art and a literary form. I am not quite sure if the combination of graphic design, composition, digital photography, and mascots would constitute a comic, however, or that people who practice this sort of art–and I do believe it is art–would qualify as comic artists, at least not in the way that I think Carlo Vergara and Andrew Drilon are comic artists.
Maybe it’s because I’m a purist. Maybe it’s because having read and listened to many stories of my favorite mangaka and artist friends, I’ve come to internalize the belief that a comic will always be governed by a cohesive and solid narrative, bound by the geography of panels, colors, ink, illustration, and the corresponding limits the confluence of these elements necessarily impose. Tezuka could have just photographed a boy wearing a cone on his head and placed a caption in his photo saying “Hi! I’m Atom”. But Tezuka did it differently. He drew his story of a robot boy with human feelings within the universe of a storyboard.
I think I may be placing undue importance on the intersection between story and illustration and how they fit together in a panel. Without a story, without something resembling an illustration, a comic is not a comic but simply a photo story, or what in Japan would be considered as a light novel. I mean, there must be a valid reason why a light novel in Japan would never receive a Tezuka award despite being gorgeously illustrated. Light novels also contain images that support the narrative, right? What makes the likes of Griffin and Sabine not a comic but an art book? So here’s me trying to understand — what makes Mistula’s work a comic when it’s closer to a photo story? Are graphic design and fashion photography now to be considered as valid forms of comic art? Would you consider a family album that contains artistically executed shots taken in sequence and then placed with captions in flickr as a valid comic?
Scott McCloud defined comic as a “Juxtaposed pictorial and other images in a deliberate sequence, intended to convey information and/or produce an aesthetic response in the viewer.1 “. With the wealth of sequential images online that produces responses from viewers (just check flickr!), anything could already be the comic that McCloud has defined. I mean, if Mistula did it, why shouldn’t other art forms based on similar premises be considered as comics?
I have a feeling that Pasko ng Komiks and our exhibit have inadvertently run headlong into an old debate regarding the definition of comics. These are my two cents about it, but I’d like to hear your thoughts on what you think. Do you think storybooks or photo stories should be part of a general definition of comics?
This post was done for the regular Comics/Graphic Novel feature of Read or Die. If you have any suggestions on titles to feature, or if you just want me to post about a particular title or topic regarding comics, feel free to contact me at punkednoodle@gmail.com, or visit my manga website, Otaku Champloo.
- Understanding Comics. New York: Kitchen Sink Press. 1993. Page 9. [back]
Philippine PEN 50th Anniversary
I’ve updated the PEN website — http://libro.ph/pen/ — with book covers of and information about the special edition Philippine PEN anthologies. There are actually four of them and it seems that all of them will be launched during the conference.
At Home in Unhomeliness: An Anthology of Philippine Postcolonial Poetry in English edited by J. Neil Garcia
Featuring 82 poems by 29 of the Philippines’ best young poets in English.
From the Introduction: By subtitling this collection “An Anthology of Philippine Postcolonial Poetry, this is precisely what I wish to editorially endorse, what I wish the prospective reader (local or translocal) to remember, what I intend to announce at the outset: these poems, like the rest of Philippine literature in English, will in fact be largely incomprehensible when decontextualized from the histories that engendered them–particularly the violent histories of colonization that the Philippines, as a geopolitical and indeed national reality, has endured.
A Different Voice: Fiction by Young Filipino Writers edited by Vicente Groyon
Published in the year of the 50th anniversary of Philippine PEN, this anthology gathers together twenty new pieces of fiction by Filipino writers born after 1962. It presents a composite image of contemporary Philippine fiction in English and suggests what the future of Philippine fiction in English could be.
Stage Presence: The Philippine PEN Anthology of Drama edited by Jose Victor Torres.
The playwrights in this collection are a mix of budding and veteran writers of the stage. They each have their own political and cultural beliefs so different from another but common in the way of portraying them in the medium of the performing art of theater. The plays published here have also gathered awards or had been read and performed onstage with theater companies. They are befitting to be part of this anthology of drama in celebration of the 50th anniversary of PEN.
Past and Present: The Philippine PEN Anthology, Volume 1 edited by Elmer Ordonez and Marjorie Evasco
Pasko ng Komiks Exhibit, Cosplay, Selling Information
As mentioned in the press release: Aside from the symposium, Pasko ng Komiks will also feature an exhibit of select komiks artwork and prints in FC Gallery 1, Faculty Center, UP Diliman. The exhibit is curated by Vivian Limpin and Teta Tulay of Komikera and will open formally on December 8, 2007 at 4PM. Please come. The exhibit opening will be followed by the awarding ceremonies of the Madrigal-Gonzales Best First Book Award at the Teatro Hermogenes Ylagan. Once the awards wrap up, the annual Writers Night will follow. Tuloy-tuloy ang saya kaya sana magpunta po kayo.
We’ll also be hosting a fairly informal Kostrip on December 11, which will be headlined by the New Worlds Alliance. Dress up as your favorite character from komiks/manga/comics and get some extra perks
PS:
Notice to sellers: If you want to sell your komiks or artwork during the event, just drop in whenever on December 11 (preferably in the morning–the early bird catches the worm and all that). You’ll have to bring your own table, I’m afraid. No selling fee or commission though Read Or Die will welcome donations hehe. If you have further questions or concerns email Tin at readordie.ph@gmail.com. Thanks and see you there.
Please pimp: Pasko Ng Komiks Press Release
As part of the U.P. College of Arts and Letters “Linggo ng KAL” event on December 6-14, the U.P . Likhaan: Institute of Creative Writing (UP-ICW) and Read or Die sponsor Pasko ng Komiks or PASKOM symposium on December 11 (Tues), 9am at the Pulungang Claro M. Recto, College of Arts and Letters, UP Diliman, Quezon City.
PASKOM will discuss the relevance of comics arts in contemporary Filipino life. Four related topics, which foreground new perpectives on a growing popular arts tradition, will be discussed, namely “Komiks in Philippine Culture and History,” “The Study and Collection of Komiks,” “Women in Komiks,” and “Creating Komiks.”
In the morning , Pablo Gomez, Patrick Flores, Gerry Alanguilan, Glady Gimena, Dennis Villegas, and Orvy Jundis will talk on the two first topics. Then in the afternoon, the women artists—Sherry Baet, Ofelia Concepcion, Vivian Limpin, Elizabeth Chionglo, Joannah Tinio-Calingo, and Gilda Olvidado—will talk about how the feminine and comics arts intertwine toward a liberative cause.
Still later in the day, comics creators Carlo Vergara, Andrew Drilon, Andrew Villar, Carlo Pagulayan, Randy Valiente, Jonas Diego, Melvin Calingo, Lea Lim, Rey Tiempo, KC Cordero and Victor Balanon will unravel the energy and inspiration behind their works.
The day long discussion will be synthesized and commented upon by Bobby Yonzon (Mango Comics), Emil Flores, Joey Baquiran, and Lawrence Mijares.
Prior to the symposium, a comics exhibit, featuring the actual works of contemporary and past comics artists will be on show beginning December 8. It will be set at the Galleries 1 & 2 of Bulwagang Rizal, College of Arts and Letters, UP Diliman.
PASKOM is made possible through the support of the National Book Development Board, Powerbooks, Mango Comics, WikiPilipinas, New Worlds Alliance, Read or Die, Komikera, and the U.P. College of Arts and Letters. We would also like to thank Komiks.ph and Guhit Pinoy for their support.
Comics fans, students, and teachers are welcome to attend the symposium and see the exhibit which will run until December 14. For details, call Ms. Eva Cadiz at 9221830 or visit our website at http://read-or-die.org/komiks/.
Ang unang manunulat sa langit
Award-winning writer Rene Villanueva has passed away.
I’m a huge fan of his books and plays. This is very sad news.
Rene Villanueva’s profile in http://panitikan.com.ph.
December 8: Literally Fully Booked
I haven’t done a Books Around Town/events roundup in a while, and there were a lot of events which I received notice about and somehow never got round to actually posting here c/o deaths in the family, website overhaul (again), events planning, jobs, etc.
We’ll be resuming regular programming here and in Libro.ph by December (er, the middle thereof).
Anyway:
If–like yours truly–you’ve missed attending the more interesting book launches and conferences of the last few weeks, you can make up for it by swinging by any (or all!) of these events:
Writers Night
Writers Night on December 8 at the Bulwagang Rizal in U.P. Diliman promises to be more than a chance to meet the idols of Philippine literature. If one stays on long enough, one will actually see many of them do poetry performances. Or sing. Yes, many writers are singers. And band members too. So expect this December affair to be a party experience that will be just as fun and memorable as the previous writers night.
The event starts off at 5:30 pm with the awarding ceremony of the Madrigal-Gonzalez Best First Book Award at the Teatro Hermogenes Ylagan. This award honors authors whose maiden publications merit an auspicious introduction to modern day readers. Among the sterling nominees are Dean Francis Alfar’s Salamanca (novel); Barbara-Ann Gamboa Lewis’s Barefoot in Fire (creative non-fiction); Maria Isabel Garcia’s Science Solitaire: Essays on Science, Nature and Becoming Human (essays); Rica Bolipata-Santos’s Love, Desire, Children, Etc (essay); Helen Yap’s From Inside the Berlin Wall (essay); and Katrin De Guia’s Kapwa: The Self In The Other (essay). (Source: Panitikan.com.ph)
Guest list to follow.
50th PEN Anniversary
The Philippine chapter of PEN International celebrates its 50th year with a two-day literary conference called “Literature, Nation, and Globalization” from December 8 to December 9 at the National Museum, Ermita, Manila. For the complete schedule of activities and conference topics please visit http://libro.ph/pen/ (will spruce it up with more bling by ah later this morning).
The PEN fiction anthology–especially printed for the anniversary–will be launched on December 8. PEN is also hosting a Writers Night in Barbara’s Garden, Intramuros, at 6PM (also on December 8).
NBDB Book Club Discusses Gilda Cordero Fernando’s “The Last Full Moon: Lessons on my Life”
Please join the NBDB Book Club as we peruse the pages of Gilda Cordero Fernado’s award-winning autobiography “The Last Full Moon: Lessons on my Life” in our 7th book club meeting on December 8, 2007, 4PM, at the Circle Cafe in Timog Avenue. Ms. Gilda Cordero Fernando herself will be joining in the discussion.
The discussion is free and open to the public so please drop by if you’re in the area.
For more information about the book club, please visit http://libro.ph/nbdb/.
Philippine Speculative Fiction Volume 3 Launch
The third volume of the anthology of Philippine Speculative Fiction will be launched on December 8, 2007 (Saturday) at 4PM in Fully Booked Serendra.
From Dean Alfar’s blog:
The anthology, third in an annual series, showcases the literature of the imagination from Filipino writers living in the Philippines and abroad. We made sure to select wonderful pieces of fantasy, science fiction, horror and other things in between, and are certain you will find something to your taste.
PSF III’s roster of writers includes first time authors as well as more established ones - and we had the toughest time determining the final table of contents (and had to pass on a number of excellent pieces which we are sure will have no problem finding a home in a magazine or another anthology).
Pedro Diyego’s Homecoming *Apol Lejano-Massebieau
Keeping Time *FH Batacan
Facester *Dominique Cimafranca
Reclamation *Angelo A. Lacuesta
The Datu’s Daughters *Raymond G. Falgui
The Ascension of Our Lady Boy *Mia Tijam
Peekli *Andrew Drilon
The Hand *Marianne Villanueva
Brigada *Joseph F. Nacino
The Singer’s Man *MRR Arcega
Hamog *Joanna Paula L. Cailas
Visitors *Luis Katigbak
Sidhi *Yvette Natalie U. Tan
The Death and Rebirth of Nathaniel Alan Sempio *Alexander Marcos Osias
In Earthen Vessels *Rodello Santos
Carmen and Josephine *Elyss G. Punsalan
Sky Gypsies *Timothy James M. Dimacali
The Flicker *Ian Rosales Casocot
Urban Legends *Charles Tan
The Music Child *Alfred A. Yuson
Frozen Delight *Marguerite Alcazaren de Leon
Pasko ng Komiks Symposium Updates
Penultimate program guide for Pasko ng Komiks:
Program Guide
Morning Session:
Moderators:
Professor Michael Chua (Department of History)
Ms. Sally Eugenio
8 AM - Registration
8:30 AM - Opening Remarks - Professor Virgilio Almario (National Artist for Literature; Dean, UP College of Arts and Letters)
9:00 AM - Patrick Flores, Gerry Alanguilan, Glady Gimena (Komiks in Philippine culture and history)
11:00 AM - Dennis Villegas, Orvy Jundis, Pablo Gomez (The study and collection of komiks)
12:00 PM - Lunch Break
Afternoon Session:
Moderators:
Professor Vim Nadera (Director, UP Institute of Creative Writing)
Ms. Sally Eugenio
1:00 PM - Ofelia Concepcion, Vivian Limpin, Elizabeth Chionglo, Joannah Tinio-Catinglo, Gilda Olvidado (Women in komiks)
3:00 PM - Carlo Vergara, Andrew Drilon, Andrew Villar, Carlo Pagulayan, Randy Valiente, Jonas Diego, Melvin Catinglo, Rey Tiempo, Victor Balanon, KC Cordero (Creating komiks)
5:00 PM - Emil Flores, Romulo Baquiran, Lawrence Mijares, Bobby Yonzon (Synthesis)
Closing Remarks - Bienvenido Lumbera (National Artist for Literature)
There will also be an exhibit of komiks art in FC Gallery 1. It’s curated by Komikera and will open formally on December 8, 2007 (Saturday) at 4PM. More details to follow.
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