July's featured poet is Sandy McIntosh , only the second non-Filipino ever to be a featured poet on “Babaylan Speaks.” Sandy's poetry collections include Between Earth and Sky (Marsh Hawk Press), Endless Staircase (Street Press), Earth Works (Long Island University), Which Way to the Egress? (Garfield Publishers), and Monsters of the Antipodes (Survivors Manual Books). He has written a careers book, Firing Back (John Wiley & Sons, Inc.) and a best selling computer software program, Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing! (Electronic Arts), as well as a collection of Chinese recipes, From a Chinese Kitchen (American Cooking Guild). His contribution to the screenplay for the short film Ireland: The People and the Caring , won the Silver Medal in the Film Festival of the Americas. He is Managing Editor of Confrontation , the national literary magazine published by Long Island University.

Sandy is this months' featured poet for writing a fabulous poem in the “hay(na)ku” form, which originated on Eileen Tabios' CorpsePoetics Blog (formerly WinePoetics ) at http://winepoetics.blogspot.com . Hay(na)ku is a tercet comprised, respectively, of one word, two words, and three words (for discussions on and variations of the hay(na)ku, go to CorsePoetics' Archives). Here's Sandy's hay(na)ku which also deftly addresses the notion of whether Poetry consists of words or … something else found in the spaces demarcated by words:

My Hay(Na)Ku
(With Handy Pronunciation Guide for Public Performance)

Lorca!
His foot
in the doorway!

Pronunciation Guide:
“L" as second “l” in “Llewellyn”
"o" as “o” in “amoeba”
"r" as “r” in Southern US pronunciation of “cornpone”
"c" as fourth “c” in “acciaccatura”
"a" as “a” in “aesthetic”
"H" as “h” in “catachresis”
"i" as “i” in “poiesis”
"s" as second “s” in “sans serif”
"f" as first “f” in “afflatus”
"o" as second “o” in alternate spelling “encyclopoedia”
"o" as second “o” in alternate spelling “encyclopoedia”
"t" as first “t” in “attorney”
"i" as “i” in “poiesis”
"n" as “n” in “limn”
"t" as first “t” in “attorney”
"h" as “h” in “catachresis”
"e" as “e” in “eidetic”
"d" as first “d” in “addiction”
"o" as second “o” in alternate spelling “encyclopoedia”
"o" as second “o” in alternate spelling “encyclopoedia”
"r" as “r” in Southern US pronunciation of “cornpone”
"w" as “w” in “wrist”
"a" as “a” in “aesthetic”

NOTE: “Y” is pronounced “the the”.

********************************************

OUR OWN VOICE Announces Recipients of Global Filipino Literary Awards

OUR OWN VOICE , a literary ezine for Filipinos in the diaspora, is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2003 Global Filipino Literary Awards . The Awards honor authors, agents and publishers of books by Filipino authors from around the world, published in 2002.

Noel Alumit's Letters to Montgomery Clift , a growing-up piece set against the repressive days of the Philippine martial law era, garnered the Award for Fiction. The novel is published by McAdams/Cage. Love Gathers All, a groundbreaking collection featuring Philippine and Singaporean poets, received the Award for Poetry. LGA's editorship was shared by Alvin Pang and Aaron Lee of Singapore with Alfred Yuson and Ramon Sunico of the Philippines. The collection was simultaneously published by Anvil Publishing (Philippines) and Ethos Books (Singapore). The final category, Award for Literary Work in Drama, went to Mulat , an anthology of television scripts in Pilipino by playwright Frank G. Rivera and published by The University of Santo Tomas Publishing House.

“It is the intention of OUR OWN VOICE to recognize publishers worldwide who encourage the literary output of Filipino authors," Remé-Antonia Grefalda, editor, explained, "because generations of Filipino readers are coming of age and are hungry for contemporary literature on the Filipino experience in the diaspora."

The awardees will receive a plaque citation honoring the author and the publisher; the print edition of OUR OWN VOICE Literary Magazine , an anthology of essays, short stories and poetry featured online in 2001; and a copy of Reproductions of the Empty Flagpole by multi-awarded poet Eileen Tabios. Grefalda also acknowledged the contribution of Marsh Hawk Press (New York) who is donating a copy of Reproductions of the Empty Flagpole to a library of the awardee's choice.

Excerpts and selections from the awardees' works will be featured in OUR OWN VOICE's July/August online issue, www.oovrag.com/~oov.

********************************************

CONGRATULATIONS TO BARBARA JANE REYES FOR HER FIRST POETRY BOOK!

More information about Barbara's book, Gravities of Center , may be found at http://www.arkipelagobooks.com/home.html , or at Barbara's website at http://barbarajanereyes.com .

Meanwhile, Barbara also shows herself quite adept with the hay(na)ku; here's one of hers which happens to mention Jack Kerouac, one of Eileen Tabios' inspirations for concocting the hay(na)ku. Barbara's version also coins the hay(na)ku with the prose poem form:

LULLABY IN KEROUAC ALLEY

1.
luminous
one she
knows the myth

of
morning star's
fall beauty's fall

a
bedtime story
how wings flutter

her
days shall
begin at sunset

when
predators are
guided by scent

moonglow
there are
silences and sirens

in
forests of
asphalt of spirit

crickets
in garbage
dumpsters chain fences

ringing
playgrounds radiance
in these alleyways

hazel-eyed
children of
legends climb concrete

composing
odes to
one-eyed cats wildflowers

insisting
on waxing
moons mustachioed dark

men
who don
fedoras and want

nothing
but goodness
luminous one her

every
step is
danger to smell

streets
at midnight
music and contagion

where
morning star
could want nothing

but
the candy-gloss
of her smile

to
cradle single
beads of her

perspiration
dewdrops in
his palms sleep

and
let salt
water erode this

place
sleep let
cement fill

this
city's open
mouth luminous one

2.
luminous one she knows the myth of morning star's fall beauty's fall a bedtime story how wings flutter. her day shall begin at sunset when predators are guided by scent moonglow there are silences and sirens in forests of asphalt of spirit crickets in garbage dumpsters chain fences ringing playgrounds radiance in these alleyways hazel-eyed children of legends climb concrete composing odes to one-eyed cats wildflowers insisting on waxing moons mustachioed dark men who don fedoras and want nothing but goodness luminous one her every step is danger to smell streets at midnight music and contagion where morning star could want nothing but the candy-gloss of her smile to cradle single beads of her perspiration dewdrop in his palms sleep and let saltwater erode this place sleep let cement fill this city's open mouth luminous one

********************************************

Growing Up Filipino: Stories for Young Adults
Edited by Cecilia Manguerra Brainard

Congratulations to Cecilia Manguerra Brainard and the authors represented in this anthology of stories for young adults, the first collection of its type that focuses exclusively on children and adolescents. While directed towards a young adult audience, the stories are also appreciable by an adult audience. Growing Up Filipino ties in with the increasing number of Filipinos in America who are now the second largest in the umbrella group of Asian Americans. Despite this fact, there is a scarcity of Filipino and Filipino American books available. This anthology can serve as an important resource for librarians, teachers, as well as the general public.

The anthology contributors are Gemino Aba, Paula Angeles, Cecilia Brainard, Alex Dean Bru, Erwin Cabucos, Libay Cantor, Ruby Carlino, Gilda Cordero-Fernando, Rogelio Cruz, Alberto Florentino, M. Evelina Galang, Wanggo Gallaga, Vince Gotera, Cristina Hidalgo, Connie Jan Maraan, Veronica Montes, Marily Orosa, Oscar Penaranda, Edgar Poma, Mar Puatu, Brian Roley, Ruth Sarreal, M.S. Sia, Ricco Siasoco, Anthony Tan, Joel Tan, Linda Ty-Casper, Marianne Villanueva, and Alfred Yuson.

The following review from School Library Journal captures much of this anthology's strength:

Paperback: 284 pages ; Dimensions (in inches): 0.80 x 6.00 x 4.00
Publisher: Philippine American Literary House; (March 3, 2003)
ISBN: 0971945802

Editorial Reviews
From School Library Journal
Grade 9 Up -- These 29 short stories offer a highly textured portrait of Filipino youth and an excellent sampling of creative writing. Thematically arranged, most of the pieces have been written since the turn of the 21st century. Each story is introduced by a thumbnail sketch of the author and a paragraph or two about some element of Filipino culture or history that is relevant to the story. Authors include those born and continuing to live in the Philippines, emigres, and American-born Filipinos. Tough but relevant topics addressed include a gay youth's affection for his supportive mother, the role of religious didacticism in the formation of a childhood perception, consumer culture as it is experienced by modern teens in Manila, and coping with bullies of all ages and stations in life. While the introduction seems more appropriate to graduate school than high school students, and the layout and book design are not attractive, there is much here to merit consideration. There are more Filipinos living in the U.S. than most people realize, but finding literature reflective of their experiences is difficult. The high caliber and broad but wholly accessible range of this collection, however, makes this title a solid purchase for multiple reasons.

--Francisca Goldsmith, Berkeley Public Library, CA
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.