May's Featured Poet is Jean Vengua. But rather than featuring a poem by her, we are delighted to direct you to one of her blogs “Diaryo” at http://diaryo.blogspot.com/ . In this blog, you see poems as they arise in Jean's consciousness, diary-style, and they are always enchanting.

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CELEBRATE MOTHER'S DAY THE LITERARY WAY!

The Filipino American Center of the San Francisco Public Library presents:

Transcending Nostalgia: Filipino Writings in Diaspora

Please join us for the Bay Area launch of three Filipino-authored books:

BEHIND THE BLUE CANVAS , Stories by Eileen Tabios
NOT HOME BUT HERE , Edited by Luisa Igloria
OUR OWN VOICE , Edited by Reme Grefalda

Featuring Reme Grefalda, Luisa Igloria, Barbara Jane Reyes, Leny Mendoza Strobel, Eileen Tabios, and Jean Vengua

Sunday May 9, 2004 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm

As this event takes place on Mother's Day and all panelists are daughters and/or mothers, please consider including this event in your celebration of mothers. Note that the time (1-4 p.m.) means you can fit this in after brunch or before dinner!~

Latino/Hispanic Community Room Main Library Lower Level

100 Larkin Street (at Grove) 415.557.4277
http://www.sfpl.org

Copies of these authors' publications will be available for sale and signing.

All programs at the Library are free.

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THE PUBLIC IS INVITED TO BEAUTY

MAGANDA
THE reception!!
La Peña Cultural Center
3105 Shattuck Ave.
Berkeley CA 94705
Sunday, May 9th, Mother's Day, 2004
5-7pm, doors open @ 4:30pm
donations @ door always welcome
magazine sales:::::::$5 w/student ID;
$7-$10 sliding scale for non-student
artists of Issue 17 as always, receive one copy of m #17
beverages (all non-alcoholic) will be sold by the café @ La Peña

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PRE-PUBLICATION SPECIAL: MUSEUM OF ABSENCES BY LUIS H. FRANCIA

Meritage Press is pleased to announce the publication of a new poetry collection by Luis H. Francia, Museum of Absences , copublished with the University of the Philippines Press and due to be released this summer.

Museum of Absences grew out of Francia's insistent sense of the void that haunts our contemporary lives, whether because of politics, faith, history, or personal circumstance. With such themes as loss, transcendent love, and revelation, the book's three sections introduce us to a wide array of personae, from a Filipino old-timer looking back on a life of invisibility, to Cinderella in middle age, from a grandson communing with his deceased grandparents to a New Yorker responding to the horror of 9/11. However different the masks, the poet's voice remains consistently lyrical, with language heightened by irony, metaphor, and musicality. This collection is marked by poetic inventiveness--in a disaffected age, surely one of our most valuable resources.

Francia's collection has received advance praise, as follows:

In Museum of Absences we see a poet writing at the height of his virile, vatic powers. Luis H. Francia's themes of love, loss, and redemption weave through the collection with the expert hand of a Stéphane Mallarmé or a Federico Fellini. His uniquely New York poetic responses to the tragedy of 9/11 are some of the finest I have come across. This is a book you will return to again and again.
--Nick Carbo, author of Andalusian Dawn

In Luis H. Francia's Museum of Absences , the halls and corridors are lined with poems that assert their presence and history against indifference, erasure, and oblivion. These are poems that bristle with kinetic energy: They step out of their frames, ultimately refusing the cold elegance of a display case in order to run amok in the streets, start fires, stage rebellions, sing and fuck and love even in the shadow of apocalypse. Despite the variety in this collection, Francia's subject remains the Filipino:"The beauty of our darkness//... Our delicate bones, our/ Millennial colonial contradictions/ The humanity of the subjugated//...the thoughts of a brown man/ ...in the season of aridity." He gathers up the different fragments of our selves and treats them as reliquaries, uncovering their grammar and meaning, all the while offering the startling perspectives of "an aerialist of uncommon grace."
--Luisa Igloria, author of In the Garden of Three Islands and Encanto

Luis H. Francia is the author of the semiautobiographical Eye of the Fish: A Personal Archipelago , honored with the 2002 PEN Center Open Book and the 2002 Asian American Writers literary awards. A winner of the Palanca Poetry Prize, one of the Philippines' most prestigious literary honors, Francia has two earlier books of poems-- Her Beauty Likes Me Well (with David Friedman) and The Arctic Archipelago and Other Poems , as well as a collection of reviews and essays, Memories of Overdevelopment . He edited Brown River, White Ocean: A Twentieth Century Anthology of Philippine Literature in English ; as well as Flippin': Filipinos on America , with Eric Gamalinda as coeditor; and, along with Angel Velasco Shaw, Vestiges of War: The Philippine-American War and the Aftermath of an Imperial Dream, 1899-1999 . He writes, in New York, for The Village Voice and The Nation , and, in Manila, for The Sunday Inquirer Magazine . A tale of two cities--Manila and New York--Francia teaches at New York University.

In anticipation of Museum of Absences' summer release, Meritage Press is pleased to announce a Pre-Publication Special. For $12 (vs the U.S. retail price of $15) and free shipping/handling within the United States (normally a $3 value) per book, you can reserve a signed copy. This special ends on June 30, 2004. Please send checks, made out to "Meritage Press" to

Eileen Tabios
Meritage Press
2275 Broadway, #312
San Francisco, CA 94115

For more information, please e-mail MeritagePress@aol.com

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CULTURAL ACTIVISM, THE FAMILY WAY
A Report From Eileen Tabios, Los Angeles

At both the panel of Diasporic Filipina Writings and during the Book Signing at Philippine Expressions' Booth at the Festival of Books, several young Filipinas approached to share their happiness at having stumbled across such books as Babaylan and The Anchored Angel . These (I believe) are primarily students or new graduates who were delighted to find themselves being taught literature through the works of Filipino authors -- something that many contributors to Filipino anthologies like Babaylan never experienced as students.

One reason why I'm always happy to meet such people is because it validates one of the premises underlying such anthologies, which is to make books by Filipino authors accessible. The point is also important if it is true, as I've heard a number of times, that many immigrant or first generation children were raised in households where their parents and/or other older relatives didn't read much literature (I believe this was the case for novelist Tess Uriza Holthe, author of When Elephants Dance ).

This is why one of my most favorite encounters during my recent visit to Los Angeles was with Gerardo Alonzo Jacob, father of Ana Cristina (8 years old). Gerardo drove from Santa Barbara to attend the Filipino Diasporic Writers event at the Philippine Consulate General in downtown Los Angeles. After the panel, he bought several books including Babaylan which he asked me to inscribe to his daughter. Then Gerardo mentioned that he is setting up a bookshelf devoted to books and other ephemera by Filipino artists, because he wanted to ensure that his daughter grew up with role models and other such affirmations of Filipino culture. By "ephemera," by the way, I include Gerardo's request that I send a signed photograph of myself to Cristina -- that amused but also surprised me. It's rare, after all, for a poet to be treated like a rock star. Anyway....

Brilliant, generous and well-considered. Gerardo's idea seems so simple -- and yet how many Filipino parents are taking the care to do this? So who is Gerardo Alonzo Jacob? Here are his own words:

"I was born "First generation" here in Santa Barbara, California. My father emigrated from the Filipinas in the early thirties. He was from Urdaneta, Pangasinan. My mother is from Cuyapo Nueva Ecija. She arrived in the fifties after she married my father in the Filipinas. I was raised here in SB not unlike any other first generation Filipino. I had ALL white friends and my parents looked just like the "Ricardos" as in Lucy and Ricky Ricardo! Except for their Moreno skin tone, they were as American as Apple Pie and Baseball. As for my daughter, she is 7 yrs old and will turn 8 yrs old on May 26th. Her mother is from Urdaneta Pangasinan. Between her mother and I , she is learning Tagalog, Ilocano, Spanish and a very limited amount of Portuguese. The late three languages are being taught by myself and the Tagalog is being taught by her mother. She dances Filipino Folk Dances and is taking Flamenco regularly. She has been performing since age 5. The first dance she ever performed was "Pandango sa Ilaw", for her Great Lola in Suisun, Ca and then there was the Philippine Independence Day Fiesta in Los Angeles the same year. She is growing up to be quite a young Filipina and, as you must know, I can not be any prouder to her Father! I know when I was growing up, I had no one to teach me about my culture because of the lack of time and the fear of being recognized as a Filipino! This, I have vowed, shall not happen to my daughter! As I told you before, I am putting together photos of Filipino role models and a book collection, all about the Filipinas and written by Filipinos. I am sure she will grow to be comfortable being Filipino in an Anglo dominated society and that she will one day teach the value of our Filipino Culture, Heritage and Traditions to her children thereby helping to put an end to the generations of Filipinos born in the US who do not know what it is they are, FILIPINO."

Gerardo's idea hits directly at one of the topics mentioned during the panel by diasporic Filipino writers -- whether 2nd or 3rd generation Filipino Americans have as much of an interest in the Philippines as immigrant or first generation Fil Ams. Wouldn't Gerardo's idea help continue the linkage between diasporic Filipinos and those in the Philippines? But, also, it's worth sharing that much anecdotal information -- as affirmed by at least one person in the audience during the panel -- has been offered positing that those born outside the Philippines have as much if not more interest in learning about the Philippines, and that it may actually be the immigrant generation (because they already know of the Philippines and because of immigration-related concerns) who may not as interested in exploring Filipino culture through literature.

So spread the word on Gerardo's idea. Filipino and Fil-Am parents, you may not have the time or interest now to read much Filipino literature (something I cite because it is an excuse I've heard at various events from some of you during discussions on why Filipino authors don't receive more support from the Filipino community). But if you are a parent or otherwise know of a young Fil-Am child growing up in the U.S., do consider sharing the same kind of gift that Gerardo has conceived for his lucky daughter Ana Cristina.

And with the idea the suggestion for all good ideas: start today.

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THE HAY(NA)KU ANTHOLOGY: A SUBMISSIONS CALL

Meritage Press is pleased to announce a Submissions Call for THE HAY(NA)KU ANTHOLOGY , co-edited by Jean Vengua and Mark Young. Deadline: December 31, 2004. Send submissions (cutnpasted in body of e-mail) to MeritagePress@aol.com. Submissions are limited to no more than ten (10) hay(na)ku per poet. If you have any commentary about the form itself, please feel free to share that as well as we'd like to incorporate other poets' thoughts in an Afterword essay.

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"Cameron was a counter. He vomited nineteen times to San Francisco. He liked to count everything."
--from The Hawkline Monster by Richard Brautigan, as quoted in June 10, 2003 WinePoetics Blogpost at http://winepoetics.blogspot.com

The "hay(na)ku" is a Filipino and diasporic poetic form conceptualized by Eileen Tabios, as inspired by the character "Cameron" in Richard Brautigan's novel The Hawkline Monster and Jack Kerouac's thoughts on the "American haiku." More information on the hay(na)ku's background is available in the June 2003 posts at Tabios' former blog "WinePoetics" at http://winepoetics.blogspot.com , as well as at the New Zealand Electronic Poetry Center at http://www.nzepc.auckland.ac.nz/authors/young/tabios.ptml . As illustrated by Oliver de Paz's hay(na)ku below, the hay(na)ku is a tercet where the first line consists of one word, the second line of two words, and the third line of three words:

Dogs
tongues loll.
Emphatic earth sponges.
--Oliver de la Paz

For this anthology project, variations on the hay(na)ku are also acceptable, e.g. hay(na)ku sequences where the poem consists of more than one tercet; reverse hay(na)ku where the lines unfold as three words, two words and one word; and any other such variations as the poet may propose. Hay(na)ku in non-English languages are also acceptable, as long as they are submitted with English translations.

For examples of hay(na)ku, feel free to check out the Hay(na)ku Blog at http://eileentabios.blogspot.com

THE HAY(NA)KU ANTHOLOGY will be published either in book form or as an e-book. If the latter, authors will receive contributors' copies. Expected release date will be in 2005.

BIOS OF EDITORS:
Jean Vengua lives in Santa Cruz California. She is co-editor with Elizabeth Pisares of Tulitos Press. Her poetry has been published in various print and online journals and anthologies, including Proliferation , We (print and audio CD), Babaylan, Returning a Borrowed Tongue, Moria, Sidereality, Interlope and X-Stream . As Jean N. V. Gier, her introduction "Variations on a Circle in Blue," appears in Eileen Tabios's book of short stories, Behind the Blue Canvas ; other essays appear in Jouvert (N.C.S.U.), Critical Mass: A Journal of Asian American Cultural Cultural Criticism (U.C. Berkeley), and Geopolitics of the Visual: Essays on Philippine Film Cultures (University of Ateneo Press). "Flux & Abilidad: Notes on a Filipino American Poetics," is forthcoming in PinoyPoetics , edited by Nick Carbo. She maintains the blog "Okir" at http://okir.blogspot.com.

Mark Young is a New Zealander who has lived in Australia for a number of years. He was published widely in both countries during the 1960s & the first half of the '70s, but then drifted away from writing for almost 25 years. A request to include some of his poems in the anthology Big Smoke: New Zealand Poems 1960-1975 (http://www2.auckland.ac.nz/aup/books/big_smoke2.html) was the prompt that got him back writing again. In the last few years his poems have appeared in both print & electronic journals from Alba to xStream & many places in between. His books include New Zealand Art 1950-1967 (1968), Blues for New Lovers (1969) & The right foot of the giant (1999). He has two weblogs, Pelican Dreaming (http://pelicandreaming.blogspot.com) which is his main one, & Series Magritte (http://seriesmagritte.blogspot.com) which is an on-going series of poems inspired by the great Surrealist painter. There is also an author's page at the New Zealand electronic poetry centre (http://www.nzepc.auckland.ac.nz/authors/young).

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GOING HOME TO A LANDSCAPE MAY READINGS

Friday, May 7, 1:30 PM
Asian American Activities Center
Stanford University
Rm. 14, Old Union
Stanford, CA 94305

Readers:
Luisa Igloria
Henrietta Chico Nofre
Angela Narciso Torres
Marianne Villanueva

Saturday, May 8, 3 PM
Borders Milpitas
Milpitas Ranch Marketplace
Milpitas, CA 95035

Readers:
Arlene Biala
Luisa Igloria
Veronica Montes
Barbara J. Pulmano Reyes
Angela Narciso Torres

GOING HOME TO A LANDSCAPE was recently selected as a "Notable Book" by the University of San Francisco's Kiriyama Book Prize. Chitra Divakaruni has called it "an evocative melange of history and memory", and Jessica Hagedorn calls it "a wonderful new addition to the growing body of Philippine diaspora literature."

This anthology gives voice and vision to the current condition of Filipinas throughout the world, while celebrating the lessons of childhood, memory, and place. 50 Filipina writers challenge the traditional ideas of home and show how landscapes inhabit us, making up who we are, how we think, and how we live.

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READING: BEST GAY ASIAN EROTICA

Saturday, May 8th at 7:30 pm
888 Valencia Street at 20th Street
San Francisco, CA 94110

Joël B. Tan, editor: Best Gay Asian Erotica (Cleis Press) with contributors R. Zamora Linmark, Philip Huang, Sandip Roy & Cleavon Smith Go beyond the locker room in this playful, imaginative, and lushly written collection of gay Asian erotica, with settings that range from a bamboo grove in China to a sleepy crank caller's Los Angeles apartment. Best Gay Asian Erotica brings together stories of lust and adventure—each with a queer Asian man as the focus of desire. Editor Joel B. Tan was born in Manila in 1968. He is the author of a poetry collection, Monster , and editor of the Lambda Literary Award-nominated Queer PAPI Porn .

EVENT BOOKS ARE 10% OFF.
MODERN TIMES IS WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBLE.
ALL EVENTS ARE FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.
For a complete schedule of author events, look online at www.moderntimesbookstore.com
May Events at Modern Times Bookstore
www.moderntimesbookstore.com
Telephone: 415 282 9246
FAX: 415 282 4925