This Publisher's Column shall feature developments related to Filipino literature. Each monthly update also shall include a featured poet and poem. For comments and suggestions, please e-mail Meritage Press Associate Editor Jade Afable at Jade@meritagepress.com


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December’s featured poet is Regie Cabico, who also is a theater artist and stand up comedian. His work appears in over 30 anthologies including Aloud: Voices from the Nuyorican Poets Cafe, The Outlaw Bible of American Poetry and The World In Us: Lesbian & Gay Poetry of the Next Wave. Television credits include HBO’s Def Poetry Jam, PBS’ In The Life and MTV’s “Free Your Mind.” He is a pioneer of the Poetry Slam Genre and the first Filipino Slam Perfomer, having won the 1993 Nuyorican Poets Cafe’s Grand Slam and a 3rd Place National Poetry Slam Title, as well as a 1997 First Place Team Prize for Mouth Almighty, Manhattan. He co-edited Poetry Nation: A North American Anthology of Fusion Poetry. He’s received fellowships form The New York Foundation for the Arts, The Brooklyn Council for the Arts, An American for the Arts Poetry Residency from The Ford Foundation and an NEA Creative Links Fellowship. He is currently on the faculty for The New York Writers Collective and Youth Speaks. Bust Magazine named him in the “Top 100 Men We Love” and A. Magazine ranked him in the “New Wave of Asian American Stand Up Comedians.” Solo shows include “Faith, Hope & Regie” and “Regiespective.” He’s performed his work throughout Europe and North America, including at The Geraldine Dodge Poetry Festival, Lollapalooza, The New York Fringe Festival and The College Tour of Def Poetry Jam. He is a Taurus Sun, Libra Moon and Virgo Rising. He is currently single and seeking a Sagitarius guy. He resides in Williamsburg, Brooklyn where cars whizz by like ocean waves.

Meritage Press is pleased to present three poems by Regie. The third poem on Filipino food was first published in the Short Fuse anthology, about which more information is featured below:

LETTER TO DANTE BOSCO

Dear Dante,

Let me congratulate you on your new Sprite commercial. It is about time
that Filipinos get to sell soda.

Let me also commend your leading role in The Debut. Your basketball
playing combined with the facial work you displayed against your
conservative father had a kind of teen angst Anne Frank and Marlon Brando
could only dream of.

Your cheekbones alone are so stunning. Surely it is an instrument of
Pythagorean proportion. You managed to age well after your appearance
as the villain Lost Boy in Hook.

You are many things, Dante. Notice I did not use the word poet.

Just stop it, stop it, STOP IT. Sweet baby Jesus on a broken camel’s back.
Please STOP IT!

Some poets take workshops and actually hash out “fresh” ideas. We think up
specific word combinations and have been known to just “rip” the poem up
if it’s not “good.”

I understand that you want to do “poetry” for the “money.” I don’t want
to burst your bubble, but poets usually sell their chapbook at readings
and hope to buy an egg so that they could add to a pot of Ramen noodle
soup. Have you ever had the powdered broth? It’s yummy! Other times,
we aspire to afford filtered water.

So if its moolah you’re looking for-- please think about doing an exercise
video -- you’re fit. Or why not join the cast of Jackass. You may be able
to skateboard down a Los Angeles freeway during rush hour in your
underwear reciting your poetry. I’m sure your voice will project over the car
horns and crashes. It will be a new high for Filipino “poets” everywhere.

Your loving fan,

Regie

PS. So don’t even think about picking up a pen unless it’s a yellow
highlighter to color in the lines that a professional scriptwriter prepared.

POS.’S. Your poem about a stripper who wanted you to pull her hair
at the end “hard-er” so it could “hurt more” was something I did not
understand. Maybe it’s a “hetero” thing but if some guy pulled my hair
there’d be no way in hell I’d have sex with him...unless he was as facially
“perfect” as you.

LETTER TO LEA SALONGA

Dear Lea,

I heard you got your big break playing the title role of Annie. I, too,
wanted to be Annie but that was too gay for the Southern Maryland
community I grew up in. The music director of the church said that I could
play the lead in Oliver but he died in a crabbing accident. I took up piano
instead and always had dreams of being a big Boradway star like you.

When you did Miss Saigon I thought your voice dripped gorgeous notes
that could only be defined as Filipino pop, expressive, clear & so pageant-
like. Each phrase deserved a tiara of pulsating minerals. A sound sweeter
than canned jackfruit and more luscious than any beach.

However, when I saw you in Flower Drum Song, I noticed how you always
stared at the highest spotlite as if you were being abducted by aliens. You
were stiff in every solo number. Your eyes glazed over so much it
reminded me of Janet Leigh’s showered carcass in Psycho.

You are too young to have ceramic eyes on stage. The only musical
theater performer with that trait is Carol Channing and she’s only alive
because Steven Spielberg used her as a dinosaur in Jurassic Park.

So loosen up and snap out of it!

With much admiration,

Regie

UPON RECALLING THE FILIPINO DISHES
I DO NOT KNOW HOW TO COOK

Sometimes you grow bored of the dark
sizzling jungle of a wok and remember

celery, carrots, the whole long story
of an onion kept you transfixed

in the sign of Cancer. You long to break
into the metropolis of noodles.

Vinegared poultry parts scream
I love you I love you I love you.

Chopped garlic outweighs you
with its skin crackling karaoke.

The spatula has seen the agony of Goya
and knows the oily beauty of fish sauce.

Like an overworked gospel singer
the white platter grows enormous with olives.

You plunge a pitchfork in the shredded bits of goat
your father serenaded with his holy cleaver.

He whistles the same sutra for shrimp,
plump and pink as Joan of Arc, before dunking

them in a sacrament of scalding broth.
Bite a baby empanada and engulf a herd of angels.

Rinse it with a mystic splash of ginger tea.
Your body is that one pagoda,

that pillar of salty regret, that hungry bottle
of a slim American sailor,

that has devoured all the stellar secrets
plucked from your inner whore.

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TWO PINAY WRITERS: POETRY & FICTION
(WEST COAST LAUNCH: REPRODUCTIONS OF THE EMPTY FLAGPOLE)

7 p.m., Friday, December 6, 2002
Pusod Center
1808 Fifth Street
Berkeley, CA 94710

Eileen Tabios (REPRODUCTIONS OF THE EMPTY FLAGPOLE) and Tess Holthe (WHEN THE ELEPHANTS DANCE) will present readings as well as discuss their literary experiences. This will be a unique occasion to go behind the scenes of the experiences of two writers whose 2002 books have received critical acclaim. This event also offers the West Coast book launch for Eileen's long-awaited poetry collection, the first that is published in the U.S. (for more book information including praise from leading contemporary poets, see www.marshhawkpress.org).

Reflecting Eileen's poetics of interconnectedness, the celebration will open with a poem by nationally-renowned spoken word poet Ishle Park. Ishle Park is one of Eileen's discoveries; years ago in New York, Eileen offered Ishle the chance to do her first poetry reading. Since then, Ishle has gone on to prominence, winning the "best love poem in fire engine red" at the Nuyorican’s Glam Slam, and Loudpoet of the Year and Grand Slam Champion (2000) of Bar 13. The first Korean American woman ever to compete on the finals stage at the National Poetry Slam, she has aired nationally on Gotham TV and HBO’s Def Poetry Jam. Ishle currently lives in Oakland, California and teaches poetry to youth with Youth Speaks and WritersCorps.

Meanwhile, interviews about the Eileen' and Tess' books and lives are now available online. Synchronistically, both Eileen and Tess were involved in financial careers before becoming full-time writers.

More information about Eileen is available through the Santa Rosa Press Democrat's web site.

More information about Tess is accessible through Asia Society at Click here: http://www.asiasource.org/arts/tessholthe.cfm .

Reception, Q&A and book signings will follow. For more information, contact Dori Caminong at dori.bwf.org/.

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MERITAGE PRESS' 2002 HOLIDAY POETRY CONTEST

Dear Filipino/a Poets:
You are invited to submit to a modest and cheerful poetry contest. No submission fees. E-mail submissions. Details below:

Second Annual Holiday Poetry Contest
Sponsors: Meritage Press and the NPA (New Poets Army)
Judge: Oliver de la Paz
Deadline: December 31, 2002

ABOUT THE JUDGE:
Oliver de la Paz has taught creative writing at Arizona State University, Gettysburg College, Utica College. His work has appeared in journals such as Quarterly West, The Asian Pacific American Journal, North American Review, Third Coast, and elsewhere. His book of prose and verse, Names Above Houses, was a winner in the 2000 Crab Orchard Award Poetry Series and was published by Southern Illinois University Press.

ABOUT THE CONTEST:
All poets are encouraged to submit by e-mailing 1 or 2 poems to MeritagePress@aol.com. (Send no more than 2 poems). Please include your full name along with your e-mail address. However, the poems will be sent without your names to judge Oliver de la Paz, thereby allowing the poems to be read on their own merit. All poets are welcome to submit (emerging poets are especially welcome).

There are no limitations to poetry styles or content. All types of poems are welcome. We are now taking submissions up to the deadline of December 31, 2002.

Only previously unpublished poems are eligible (you may, however, submit poems that you have featured on your own web sites or that have been published in limited edition chapbooks of no more than 250 copies).

Meritage Press has asked Oliver de la Paz to choose one winner. However, Oliver may choose other finalist-winners, depending on the quality of the submissions. The winner(s) will have their poems published in the February 2003 edition of "Babaylan Speaks" at www.MeritagePress.com.

The FIRST PLACE winner also will receive copies of

NAMES ABOVE HOUSES by Oliver de la Paz (2000 Recipient of the Crab Orchard Review Poetry Series Award, published by University of Southern Illinois Press, 2001; for more infomration about the book, go to http://www.siu.edu/~siupress/titles/s01_titles/delapaz_houses.htm); and

REPRODUCTIONS OF THE EMPTY FLAGPOLE, Selected Prose Poems 1996-2002, by Eileen Tabios (Marsh Hawk Press, 2002; for more information about the book, go to www.marshhawkpress.org).

The first place winner also will receive copies of Meritage Press' two recent titles featuring poets and artists:

"er, um" by Garrett Caples and Hu Xin (http://www.meritagepress.com/er_um.htm); and

100 MORE JOKES FROM THE BOOK OF THE DEAD by John Yau and Archie Rand (http://www.meritagepress.com/100morejokes.htm).

Other finalist-winners besides the First Place winner, if any, will receive REPRODUCTIONS OF THE EMPTY FLAGPOLE and 100 MORE JOKES FROM THE BOOK OF THE DEAD.

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SHORT FUSE: NEW FUSION POETRY

Regie Cabico is not the only Filipino/a featured in this new wonderful anthology edited by Phil Norton and Todd Swift: SHORT FUSE: THE GLOBAL ANTHOLOGY OF NEW FUSION POETRY (Rattapallax Press, 2002). Other Filipino/a poets include Eileen Tabios, Irene Suico Soriano, Joel Tan and Tony Robles, who join the eclectic company of such poets as U.S. Poet Laureate Billy Collins and anti-lariat poet Charles Bernstein, as well as such fabulous talents as Bob Holman, Tisa Bryant, Sesshu Foster, Indigo Som, Sean Thomas Dougherty, Justin Chin, Emily XYZ, among many others.

Global Rhythm Magazine just named this anthology one of “the top ten global books of 2002.” Its editors note: “Scanning the globe for name and style, editors Todd Swift and Philip Norton have compiled a massive undertaking in Short Fuse. Collecting some of the brightest poems new and old,…this 400-page volume is sure to spark a broad range of fanfare. Including a free CD and e-book, Short Fuse weaves between traditional verse to hip-hop poetry and the breadth between. Including poets from Paris, Bombay, New York, Sydney and just about every other locale, 175 wordsmiths just can’t be wrong.”

For more information, click here: http://www.rattapallax.com/fusion.htm

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A MONSTER DEBUT BY JOEL BARRAQUIEL TAN

Congratulations to Joel Barraquiel Tan for his first poetry book, MONSTER (Noice Press, 2002). This Monster was born in 1968 in Manila. He received his B.A. at UC Berkeley in Ethnic Studies & is currently working on his M.F.A. at Antioch University in Creative Writing. Joel is the editor of Lambda Literary Award Nominated Queer Pilipino, Asian, and Pacific Islander (P.A.P.I.) Porn (Cleis Press). Joel’s essays, poems, and fiction have been published in several academic and popular venues including: Q& A: Queer in Asian America, Asian American Sexualities, On a Bed of Rice: An Asian American Erotic Feast, Eros Pinoy, Flippin: Filipinos on America, and others. He recently wrote a play with Ginu Kamani entitled, “The Cure.” Joel is also a well-respected AIDS activist and has advocated for communities of color in various capacities for the past 14 years. Joel is a co-founder of Los Angeles’ Asian Pacific AIDS Intervention Team & currently works for the Orange County AIDS Services Foundation in Southern California where he lives with his partner.

MONSTER has received some nice advance words, including:

Monster is by turns explosive and tender, angry and rich with humor and intelligence—rich with worlds and languages, peopled with strange characters, ghosts and heroes—Joel Tan’s imagination is "…as big as some countries."
--Richard Garcia, author of Rancho Notorious

Joel Barraquiel Tan exhibits the best characteristics of a poet in these poems. Skillful use of language and a heart open to itself. A very promising writer indeed, one who can spring form despair to delight, from language to landscape, and back again. I admire the energy in this work.
--Eloise Klein Healy, author of Passing

More information is available at MONSTER’s website: http://hometown.aol.com/noicepress/myhomepage/business.html

Meanwhile, enjoy this sample poem:

ODE TO A NAKED MAN IN A BARREL

bent forward
his penis
(as long as he is tall)
is attached to
his wooden torso
by a spring
shaft scraping the inside
of the varnished barrel

bend your middle finger
into your palm
(as far as it will reach)
mark the area by
scoring it with your nail
the distance between
that marked spot and the tip
of your middle finger
is the length of your
penis

the wooden statuette
is as long as my penis
should be
lift the barrel
free his penis
(it's quite funny, really)
now slide
his penis into your mouth
look deeply into the
wooden gouges of his eyes
here you will
know shame

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PROTEST POETRY

We are delighted to have a chance to address protest poetry: poems written for being read at political rallies (of which there have been many recently in the Philippines). Activist and poet Joi Barrios is currently a Visiting Professor at the University of California at Irvine. There, she is often asked to e-mail a poem for the purpose of it being read at some rally. She explains that protest poetry has its own aesthetic, for instance that it usually must rhyme and end with a proclamation of what should be done. As an example, we are pleased to offer her poem “Yankee Doodle/Layas.” Joi is also the author of two bilingual volumes of poetry: Ang Pagiging Babae ay Pamumuhay sa Panahon ng Digma (To Be a Woman is to Live at a Time of War), 1990 and Minatamis at Iba Pang Tula ng Pag-ibig (Sweetened Fruit and Other Love Poems), 1998; a collection of plays, Bailaya, 1997; and a collection of romance novels and essays on the romance mode, Ang Aking Prince Charming at Iba Pang Nobela ng Pag-ibig (My Prince Charming and other Romance Novels), 2000. In 1998, she was one of the one hundred outstanding women of the 20th century honored by the National Centennial Commission Women's Sector of the Philippines.

YANKEE DOODLE/LAYAS

Yankee doodle came to town
Riding on a pony
Killed and maimed and tortured us
And called it a … democracy.

Yankee doodle keep it up,
Yankee doodle dandy,
Burn the village and the town,
And with your gun be handy.

Balangiga, 1901. / Balangiga, 1901.
Ang hudyat ng batingaw / The bells signal
Ay tawag ng pag-aklas. / A call to arms
Hubdin ang balatkayo, / Remove your disguises,
Bayani at bandido ay iisa, / Bandit and hero are one
Lusubin ang kaaway, / Attack the enemy,
At itarak sa kanyang dibdib / And plunge into his heart
ang patalim, ang sibat! / The dagger, the spear,
Ang poot at himagsik! / Anger and revolt
Hayaang umalingangaw ang kampana, / Let the bells ring
Himig na nagbabanta’t nang-uusig / Music that threatens and condemns
Layas, layas, sa aming bayan ay lumayas / Leave, leave our land!

Yankee doodle comes again
Riding on a fighter
Brings his war to my country
And calls it a … democracy.

Taong 2002. / Year 2002.
Dito, sa Estados Unidos ng Amerika, / Here, in the United States of America
Nananahan ang batingaw, / The bells reside.
Sagisag ng kanilang hapis / A symbol of their grief
at ng ating miminsang tagumpay. / and our rare victory.
Dito, sa Estados Unidos ng Amerika, / Here, in the United States of America
Nananahan tayong lahat na nandayuhan, / all of us migrants live.
Tinig ba’y magsabatingaw? / Shall our voices ring as bells?
Dinala nila sa ating bayan ang digmaan! / They have brought the war into our land.
Hintayan pa ba ang hudyat? / Shall we yet wait for the signal
Ilang kababayan ang malalagas sa digmaan? / How many shall perish in the war?
Sa kampana lahat ay kumalampag, / Ring the bells!
Layas, layas, sa aking bayan ay lumayas!” / Leave, leave, leave our land.