It was my penchant for the fictional that gave me an attraction to contradiction, the counterintuitive and the paradoxical in life. Now, in hindsight, I think that perhaps I had naively taken my fiction to heart. Now, I consider that paradox in fiction can take us only so far in life. Paradox does catch some … Continue reading A Bit on Fiction and Gina Apostol’s Bibliolepsy
Month: August 2019
Good Bad Poetry? And Cornelius Whur
I love bad poetry. I’ve tried my hand at verses myself, and so far only bred verses that could easily fall under the “bad poetry file.” Bad poetry reminds me of a dabbler and even an eager beaver’s dreaded fate. There’s no excuse for the travesty: not even – all the best poems have been … Continue reading Good Bad Poetry? And Cornelius Whur
On the Filipino Writer N. V. M. Gonzalez and His Poem “How the Heart Aches”
This is my second time writing about a Filipino poem, as a reader. To be honest, I am overcome by trepidation writing about a Filipino work, for it is closer to home. I am wary to make a mistake, which I frequently commit as a reader. Plus, I can be easily chastised by a fellow … Continue reading On the Filipino Writer N. V. M. Gonzalez and His Poem “How the Heart Aches”
Personal Thoughts on “Personal” Poetry, and Seamus Heaney’s “A Royal Prospect”
Lyric poetry has been associated with personal biography, whether a moment of experience or a moment of feeling. It is an association almost soiled by now. I think this association is not natural, that is, lyric poetry is not permanently or necessarily personal, even if this personal translates to the social. What I admire about … Continue reading Personal Thoughts on “Personal” Poetry, and Seamus Heaney’s “A Royal Prospect”
From Nothing to Something, and Seamus Heaney’s “A Basket of Chestnuts”
One of the harder experiences in creating is crossing the place of nothing to the place of something. In my modicum of experience as a beginner, I can say that crossing these two states is the arduous one. I feel this is connected to the anxiety towards silence and the invisible that gets inscribed in … Continue reading From Nothing to Something, and Seamus Heaney’s “A Basket of Chestnuts”
The Place without Language (Some Thoughts after Wim Wenders’ Paris, Texas)
When I was a younger spectator, I used to be partial to shock value. I equated the volatile split-second arrivals in films to ingenuity. However, after having seen Paris, Texas, I realized that perhaps, an “era” of my life had passed. I thought that perhaps to identify the avant-garde as creativity was a juvenile penchant; … Continue reading The Place without Language (Some Thoughts after Wim Wenders’ Paris, Texas)
Following Passion (or on the Motto “Follow Your Dreams”)
Still my old self. Ready to knock one back. — Seamus Heaney That one must follow the heart’s desire has been acknowledged as an unsullied truth. It is a tenet of an idealist vein, which presupposes that humans bear a core of truth in them. A person who takes the wager with this wisdom is … Continue reading Following Passion (or on the Motto “Follow Your Dreams”)
Too Many Intros, Too Little Completion
(Rated NO! – Naysayers Out! Internet and local colloquialisms alert.) Yes, a blog that no one reads, but sorry not sorry, my dear, I might’ve imposed on you, reluctant you must be, my recruit. This retired preschool teacher, daycare babysitter and cooer is also a mall window-shopper, and end-of-season bargain hunter — so no more … Continue reading Too Many Intros, Too Little Completion
Murmurings and Mimicries 