The Varsitarian

POLITICAL Science junior John Carlo Pacala won this year’s Rector’s Literary Award (RLA) for his Katha entry, “Liham,” during the 27th Gawad Ustetika last Dec. 3 at the Quadricentennial Park.

Pacala won the RLA in the face of a rather depleted arena of competition as there were no first-place winners in five out of eight categories. So depleted was the field that there was no winner declared in the Fiction category, not even an honorable mention.

Earlier, Pacala was proclaimed Tomasinong Kuwentista ng Taon for “Liham,” about the personal letters of a correctional prisoner to her mother. read more »

FILIPINO writers gathered for the 54th national congress of the the Philippine Center of International PEN (Poets and Playwrights, Essayists and Novelists) at the Cultural Center of the Philippines onDecember 1 and 2 vowed to work for a “literature of survival” to combat climate change and environmental destruction.

With the theme “Archipelagic Feasts, Tropical Disasters: The Literature of Survival,” the PEN led by National Artists F. Sionil Jose (PEN founder) and Bienvenido Lumbera (PEN chairman), who are both Thomasians, discussed issues revolving around natural calamities, environmental degradation, and social, economic, political, and cultural disasters that plague the nation,. read more »

IT TAKES a lot of patience for a child to wait until the time to open presents on Christmas Eve. Parents tuck them in bed and tell them to wait till the morning, but they always manage to scurry out of bed minutes before the clock strikes 12. They can’t wait to see their presents. read more »

THE FILIPINO literary community urged writers to get published and extend readership locally and internationally through its second Manila International Literary Festival held at the Ayala Museum in Makati City last Nov. 16 to 18.

The three-day event, with the theme, The Great Philippine Book Café, was organized by the National Book Development Board (NBDB). It included panels, performances, book launches, a book fair and daylong literary conversations on the craft of writing. Literary writers and scholars, teachers, parents, students, bibliophiles, and even Pulitzer Prize winners took part in the activities. read more »

LITERARY works of Palanca Hall of Famers and former Varsitarian literary editor Ophelia Dimalanta and Special Reports writer Rebecca Añonuevo, together with UST alumna Merlinda Bobis were presented in Ang Sayaw ng Dalawang Kaliwang Paa (2011), written and directed by Alvin Yapan.

The story depicts Marlon (Paolo Avelino), a college student, who stalks his literature professor Karen (Jean Garcia) and learns that she moonlights as a choreographer in a dance studio. Though Marlon is frustrated over his performance in Karen’s literature class, he plans to impress her by learning to dance.

He hires Dennis (Rocco Nacino) to teach him to dance. The progression of the film exhibits how love blossoms unexpectedly, even overstepping the boundaries of age and gender. read more »

TRUSTING a criminal to track down another criminal can be as intricate as Chinese calligraphy.

In his novel, “Blue Angel, White Shadow” (UST, 2010), five-time Carlos Palanca Memorial awardee Charlson Ong’s third novel proves that suspense-thriller detective stories are still popular today as he boggles the minds of the readers with a well-wrought crime mystery.

Ong pays homage to his roots by portraying Filipino-Chinese characters. Each of them are crafted to be fully independent, yet unexpectedly interrelated with one another.

The story unfolds when lead character Cyrus Ledesma, a police officer of Chinese descent, finds Laurice Saldiaga, 25-year-old singer, dead in her room at the Blue Angel Café. read more »

MONEY.

The sight of a white, rich-leather wallet on the ground made my senses tingle. The schoolgirl was sprinting down the overpass with her shoulder bag zipped open. I looked around to check if anyone else saw this—nobody did. Everyone was rushing to their respective destinations and it was too late to call the girl’s attention. I thought of picking it up and running after her, but she was already inside her school which I was forbidden to enter.

I picked it up and watched the girl trail further away. A part of me wanted to run after her and hand it over, but there was something that held me back. Instead, I pocketed the wallet and started walking back to the corner where I sat.  read more »

THE ESTIMATED 100,000 visitors of the 32nd Manila International Book Fair (MIBF) proved that the heady smell of freshly printed pages is still the best cure for poverty of thought.

Primetrade Asia, Inc., the organizer of the event once again held the MIBF at SMX Convention Center last September 14 to 18 to showcased the largest and most varied collections of books from international and local publishers.

Blooey Singson, publicist of the event, said that inspirational, cooking, and children’s story were the best-selling books.

“[The visitors] increase every year and I think we’re doing pretty well,” she said. “I really do not think that Filipinos don’t read.” read more »

YOU only become a better writer when you have finally figured out what writing technique works best for you.

The panelists of the seventh Varsitarian Fiction Workshop last September 4 and 11 challenged young writers to put an end to self-indulgence and give their literary works a sense of urgency. It was also the first time a poetry workshop was held in parallel with the fiction category. read more »

RUST was consuming the iron legs of the cage, while the wall was too filthy to lean on. The putrid smell was almost unbearable that I could gag in a heartbeat. Amid the bestial condition, it was the only place where I could be with my father.

The silence of the place seemed like the witch has just stopped dancing. The place freed me from scare of blasting bomb and shouting group of people in the street.  read more »