Literary briefs: JG Villa Can Earn His Keep!
Literary briefs: JG Villa Can Earn His Keep!
By Cesare A.X. Syjuco
Published in: The Manila Times, March 26, 1988
WHEN the national artist Jose Garcia Villa is finally home — God and the President be praised — he can be made to pay for his keep in a manner worthy of his stature.
JGV could teach at the UP, or better still, at the FEU or at Lyceum. Not by the sound of the class bell — languishing in the faculty lounge like a boxer between rounds — but on sturdy, flexible videotape. In this manner, he could teach our young writers and continue to teach them long after he is dead. The poet and filmmaker Alfred "Krip" Yuson could probably whip-up a comprehensive Villa workshop on U-matic or VHS cassettes, knowing well the nuances of poetry and poets. Come to think of it, Yuson could probably do the job with the CCP’s old video equipment if he had to.
JGV could also be made to administrate, for more or less the same salary we are now paying those bungling demons in shirtsleeves and glitter. He could head the Cultural Center of the Philippines, for God knows he has the greyness to qualify for it. And while he might be despised just like our current batch of cultural enforcers, it would certainly be more exciting to hate someone we admire. (In this regard, there is a persistent rumor that international artist David Cortez Medalla has offered his services as CCP/CAMP Curator, a rumor worth looking into in the light of CCP’s sagging reputation both here and abroad.)
JGV could edit a regular journal of new Philippine writing, capitalizing on the legendary editorial prowess of Doveglion. His name on the masthead alone could win a sizeable international following for our poets, playwrights and fictionists. He could sift our talent from our rubbish, and although that is a job that time itself will eventually accomplish for free, the great Villa can be expected to do it with brilliance and impeccable flair. And if we must be extinguished in our prime, then, by God, let it be by Villa!
Do, let’s bring JGV home, and for a purpose other than for humanitarian reasons. Arthritis and the good life may already have claimed the man’s body, but his immense gifts can still be put to good use.
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Received in the mail the other day was the latest edition of "FRANK", an international journal of contemporary writing and art that is edited and published in Paris for the North American and European markets. The issue (Number 8/9, Winter 1987/88) is particularly noteworthy because of a special section it devotes to recent Philippine poetry.
Compiled and introduced by one Reine Melvin, formerly of Metro Manila and the Ateneo University, the "dossier" includes selected poems by Virgilio Almario, Vicente Bandillo, Mike L. Begornia, Luis Cabalquinto, Fidelito Cortes, Eric Gamalinda, Marne L. Kilates, the late Emmanuel Lacaba, Jose F. Lacaba, Marra PL. Lanot, Fatima V. Lim, Victor Jose Peñaranda, Marjorie E. Pernia, Danton R. Remoto, Jose Ma. Sison (!), Rowena Tiempo Terrevillas, Ricardo M. de Ungria, Alfred A. Yuson, and Ms. Melvin herself. Some rather small, mousey illustrations by Nena Saguil and Ofelia Gelvezon-Tequi — both accompanying the lengthy discourse that immediately precedes the poems — are almost swallowed whole by a remarkable (if surprising) graphic rendering by the poet Ricky de Ungria, who, incidentally, is now on a Fulbright scholarship in the United States.
While I must reserve comment on the poems until I have had the chance to re-read them at leisure, I must say with well-deserved emphasis that the Philippine "dossier" does us more than the customary lip-service. For one thing, you don’t get any browner than the choco weave it’s printed on.
More to follow. In the meantime, interested parties may inquire about "FRANK" and the mysterious Ms. Reine Melvin through this section.
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Cesare A.X. Syjuco, “Literary briefs: JG Villa Can Earn His Keep!” (page 1 of 1), The Manila Times, March 26, 1988
