POETRY FOR OURTIMES

Two of our living National Artists for Literature contributed recent poems to the bestselling multilingual anthology, Bloodlust: Philippine Protest Poetry

(From Marcos to Duterte), which was launched on Aug. 31 at UP Diliman.

Virgilio S. Almario, a.k.a. Rio Alma, is represented by a brief, four-part poem titled “Ilang Ulat na Makirot,” which has an epigram: “Sa isang madilim gubat na mapanglaw.”

“1. Dito, Kagabi Tumilaok ang ahas./ Nang kumatok ang batas,/ May anghel na tumakas.// 2. Tandem Binaril si Mang Tibo,/ Binaril pa ang bunso./ (Nag-iisip ang punglo.)// 3. Umaga Na! Nagkalat ang basura:/ Nilalangaw ang tupang/ Nilinis na ng bála.// 4. Eklesiyas(tiis) May panahon ng dilim,/ At panahong ang Dilim/ Si Haring Karimlanin.”

Among Cirilo F. Bautista’s poems is the modern sonnet “My Brother’s Shoes”:

“You hate the feet that drag you over town,/ the mud up to his knees and he is sneezing,/ his head from hunger in the first year whirling,/ nobody seems to die though we keep count,/ of wounds and bones, or the left-over food/ in restaurants he could sneak back to and steal./ Hope sleeps in dry places when time is good,/ less sure though that flood will soon abate.//

“Of the war that brought us to the city gate/ the blood is worth noting, flows in the streets/ for pigeons to feed on by mistake./ Democracy has torn leathers, old men/ eat out of tin cans with their names on them./ When they walk, their legs could sink right through the ground.”

They are among 65 poets who responded to a call for submission issued by co-editors Gémino H. Abad and Alfred A. Yuson earlier in the year, when it became increasingly obvious that our poets had to join their voices with those of fellow creatives in protest of impunity apparently fueled by bloodlust. The introduction states: “… (W)hat became constant fabrication, vulgar argot, threats, vindictiveness, boorishness, braggadocio and worst, bloodlust, on the part of a leader, joined in by equally small-minded cohorts, had no other course but to rub sensitive antennae the wrong way.

“… In a time of protest, the wellspring of creativity usually starts with visual artists. Soon after journalists and photographers document grave injustice, painters and sculptors quickly come to the fore with personalized representations of what their antennae have picked up from the oppressive air.

“… Here, then, is the poets’ response to what is happening in our country — from the subtle to the outraged — in four languages.”

While a majority of the total of 133 poems are in English, 21 are in Filipino, two in Bisaya, and one in Spanish, with some featuring cross-translations.

We received contributions from a number of Filipino poets pursuing their literary careers abroad, such as Jim Pascual Agustin (South Africa), Gene Alcantara (United Kingdom), Merlinda Bobis (Australia), Albert Casuga (Canada), Fidelito Cortes, Luis H. Francia, Eric Gamalinda, Luisa A. Igloria, Marie La Viña, Miyako Dominguez Izabel, Ninotchka Rosca, Rowena Torrevillas (all in the United States), Eric Tinsay Valles (Singapore) and Joel Vega (The Netherlands).

From outside Manila, contributors included Cesar Ruiz Aquino and Ian Rosales Casocot from Dumaguete, Raymundo T. Pandan, Jr. from Bacolod, Simeon Dumdum, Jr. from Cebu, F. Jordan Carnice from Bohol, Elson Elizaga from Cagayan de Oro, Jaime An Lim from Iligan, Darylle Rubino and Ricardo M. de Ungria from Davao, and Padmapani L. Perez from Baguio.

The rest of the contributors — a mix of familiar bylines and young poets being published for the first time — include the following:

Manuel Ortega Abis, Jose Marte A. Abueg, Albert Alejo, SJ, Alma Anonas-Carpio, Isabela Banzon, Andy Z. Batangantang, Jean A. Bettine, Thomas David Chaves, Michael M. Coroza, Dakila Cutab, George Deoso, Marjorie Evasco, Carljoe Javier, Marne Kilates, Jose F. Lacaba, Angelo R. Lacuesta, Marra PL. Lanot, Christine V. Lao, Paolo Manalo, Arvin Abejo Mangohig, Sylvia L. Mayuga, Mac McCarty, Hernan Melencio, Grace R. Monte de Ramos, CF Paderna, Victor Jose Peñaranda, Nicolas B. Pichay, Floy Quintos, Dinah Roma, Joel Pablo Salud, Chris B. Salvatierra,

Louie Jon A. Sanchez, Ramon C. Sunico, Joel M. Toledo, Vyxz Vasquez, Lourd Ernest de Veyra and Santiago Villafania.

A good number of entries featured refrains on “EJK’s” or extrajudicial killings and “the Visayan portmanteau ‘tokhang’ — literally meaning ‘to knock and plead’ — as the fancied police operation in the supposed drug war was billed, as if politeness or politesse were really part of the dreaded picture.” Some poems were in protest of the Marcos burial at Libingan ng mga

Bayani, as well as depredations during martial law. We also included a couple of previously published poems that had addressed the national sentiment against Marcos, in his time: Grace R. Monte de Ramos’ “Brave Woman,” as well as Jose F. Lacaba’s classic “Prometheus Unbound,” the 24 lines of which started with letters that formed an acrostic spelling out “Marcos Hitler Diktador Tuta.”

The cover features an appropriately brilliant artwork by Singapore-based Filipino artist Dengcoy Miel.

Since its launch six weeks ago, reviews have come out in Asian Review of Books, California-based Eileen Tabios’ “Galatea Resurrects” online poetry review, Jhoanna Cruz’s “Lugar Lang” column in Mindanao Times, and Jennifer Ortuoste’s

Manila Standard column on Oct. 8, titled “Bloodlust Poetry: Protesting Against ‘Tokhang’ and Tyrants.” Here’s an excerpt fron the last:

“There is no poem that seeks center stage; rather they weave in and out of each other as dancers do. Whether read in sequence or opened to a random page, the poems still cohere despite having different themes. All provide an emotional perspective in varying degrees.

“In addition to being a record of these trying and troubled times, this book and other works of protest writing and art can also inspire to struggle, to resist, to act.”

With copies already sent to all the foreign-based contributors as well as friends in Singapore and Hong Kong, we can say that this may be the most widely disseminated local poetry anthology. It has helped, too, that Gene Alcantara ordered 20 copies for distribution among friends in the UK and Europe, among them some diplomats. And last week, co-editor Jimmy Abad took 20 copies with him to the Filipino American International Book Fair.

Two other launches are being planned for November: one in Davao City as organized by the Davao Writers Group, and another at the Manila Film Center as a “curated event to exorcise all ghosts haunting the Philippines.”

Meanwhile, interested parties may find copies at UP Press Bookstore, AdMU Press Bookstore, Solidaridad Bookshop on Padre Faura St. in Ermita, and Mt Cloud Bookshop in Baguio City.

They are among 65 poets who responded to a call for submission when it became increasingly obvious that our poets had to join their voices with those of fellow creatives in protest of impunity apparently fueled by bloodlust.