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LOGO: CARLOS V. FRANCISCO'S "BAYANIHAN"
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ANO'NG BAGO? Whether you have a book to launch, a poetry reading/ performance,
deadline for a workshop, contest, grant, call for articles, or maybe another book-burning, feel free to use
our Online Calendar.
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"There was art-making in the Philippines when Western colonial
art came... It was art-making bound up with the life of the community, in songs sung while rowing out to sea to fish, in pots
in which food and drink were kept where cooking and eating in the house took place, in poetry that accompanied religious rituals
and commemorations. The people did not see these items as art, and neither could the colonial masters whose concept of art
did not extend to such forms of expression by a populace considered to be uncivilized."
--DR. BIENVENIDO LUMBERA, Gawad CCP Para
sa Sining, Ramon Magsaysay Awardee for Journalism, Literature and Creative Communication Arts
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The Literary Arts Division of the Cultural
Center of the Philippines (CCP) aims to democratize creative writing as a means of creative expression. Creative writing puts focus not only on writing but also, and especially, performance which is rooted in
the native tradition, as is evident in debates in verse such as balagtasan (Tagalog), crissotan (Kapampangan) and bukanegan
(Ilocano), spontaneous recitation of poetry such as the siday and ismayling (Waray), duplo (Tagalog), arikenken and dallot
(Ilocano), binalaybay (Hiligaynon, Cebuano), the epic in various pre-Hispanic languages, the coronation poem, as well as the
song lyric or narrative.
The
native tradition has been “submerged” by print literature in town and city centers where literature that has gained
recognition is that in print, but the folk tradition is still mainly oral and performed as is true Asian literatures even
today. The Literary Arts Division aims to help in reinvigorating the folk tradition
through workshops and performances in the cities and provinces as well as participation in international festivals. Through the activities of the division, it is hoped that the Philippines will someday be known again as
a nation of poet-performers as it was in the time of Jose Corazon de Jesus (Huseng Batute, the king of balagtasan), at par
with the best in Southeast Asia and the rest of the world.
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NEED MORE SPACE FOR YOUR THOUGHTS?
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ARE YOU WILLING TO SHARE YOUR WORK? Among the problems of literary instruction in schools and community is the lack of materials, especially in
areas outside Metro Manila. Many of the people's readings are from very old collections, so that they have this impression
that literature is created by dead people. Yes, students even are awed by the knowledge that some of them are
alive. It might not be the best solution, but at least, if you share some of your poems, stories, essays, scripts, etc., people
can avail of additional (new) readings that they can download for their enjoyment. It does seem unfortunate you'll get
nothing in return, but it also feels good to know our people will be reading you, and that's healthy for literature. We guarantee
we will not collect any works for any of our own publications without your consent.
MAG-USAP TAYO! Watching the news to see policemen and rallyists clash, you
ask whether it achieves its purpose, i.e. “redress of grievances.” The scene leaves you thinking otherwise.
More often, it only benefits media. On top of it, what do we get? Maybe after trooping to that avenue of expression,
we could take the narrow strip where there are places to sit back. The camera may not be around to
shoot us, but here we could simply be ourselves. Let’s
talk. And may other people listen.
FROM THE
WEBMASTER: This is CCP Literary Arts Division’s experimental site, the seed for the future web community of Filipino
writers from different parts of the country and the world, speaking different languages, of different faiths, and
taking pride in the uniqueness of their varied cultures. You too, can do your share by volunteering your own, unique ideas
and suggesting ways of doing things. Let’s help each other out. Meanwhile, you can roam around the site. Feel
free to e-mail us for anything at aniyearbook@yahoo.com.
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