Mostly in Monsoon Weather Book Launch

from sir marne kilates:

"After movies, poetry makes a good antidote to the recession blues.
When economies are in recession more people go to the movies, according to economists and movie producers. Some people read poetry, poets and publishers would say. If you belong to the second kind, Mostly in Monsoon Weather, the third collection of award-winning poet Marne L. Kilates, may just be the book for you for just slightly above the price of a movie..."

Certain Elders

Speak in monotones,
love to mumble, gather
around the mahjong tables
all night, their gibberish
wafting past the thin curtains.

They keep to their own counsel,
check that principles are intact
and when, having had too much
to drink, or having lost a good sum
of money, they start to drone,

buzzing about politics and business,
how when they were younger,
they were so beautiful, so more
musical, more iambic. Like the beginning
of My Way—as if they have lost

their interest (and now, the end
is near…) but still they assemble back
to the gamble, grand shuffling of ivory,
wrecks of old postures recovered now
in the palming of an upturned flower.

Characters and numbers occupy their
newly-built piles. Continuous dull trochees
of order, scatter, order, scatter. Counting
later their collective losses, they fill in
the dead air with more Sinatra syllables

and ringing Blue Bayou choruses.

O.M.G.!

semi-final cover design for my next book. due (hopefully) to come out this November. from my beloved Alma Mater's printing press :)

***

announcement from sir Vim Nadera:

Exactly a month ago, we got invited to the Camp Rock Drilon – better known as Mag:Net Gallery.

We were in his most beloved branch, along Katipunan, and all the boyz in the hood seemed to be in a brotherhood mood, like more the Bonifacios than the Jonases, so we got into the next best thing to a blood compact, after the proposed toast by the Rock, we agreed to host – Every Last Monday Of The Month!

E.L.M.O.T.M. is too forgettable as the name “Duane Johnson,” as against “The Rock,” so we settled, in less than an hour of red wine and bamboo shoot in coconut milk, for O.M.G.

Or Open Mic Gig!

Yes, everyone can jam but for its opening on October 27, from 7 to 9 p.m., so we invited special guests, headed by our National Artist Virgilio and University Professor Emeritus Gemino Abad.

They will be joined in by Joes, Nicks and Kevins of Philippine Literature --
Jose Marte Abueg, Yanna Acosta and her band, Tata Funilas, Marne Kilates, Ed Maranan, Nick Pichay, Danton Remoto, Joseph Saguid, Angelo Suarez, Joel Toledo, Lourd de Veyra, Krip Yuson, and the Neo Angono Artists Collective that will hold again its 5th Public Art Festival on 20-22 November!

And next month, too, in celebration of Jose Corazon de Jesus' birthday, Teo Antonio and Mike Coroza will relive the Huseng Batute heyday with Ony Carcamo, Alitaptap Storytellers Philippines, U.P. Speca, and the Tribu Rappers on November 24.

For more details, please email mb.malay@gmail.com.

***

btw, a newer poem of mine titled "Sun in Empty Room" is up in the October issue of sir Marne Kilates' Poet's Picturebook. :)

The Ongoing WOW! That Is Happening Right NOW!

City That Does Not Sleep

In the sky there is nobody asleep. Nobody, nobody.
Nobody is asleep.
The creatures of the moon sniff and prowl about their cabins.
The living iguanas will come and bite the men who do not dream,
and the man who rushes out with his spirit broken will meet on the
street corner
the unbelievable alligator quiet beneath the tender protest of the
stars.

Nobody is asleep on earth. Nobody, nobody.
Nobody is asleep.
In a graveyard far off there is a corpse
who has moaned for three years
because of a dry countryside on his knee;
and that boy they buried this morning cried so much
it was necessary to call out the dogs to keep him quiet.

Life is not a dream. Careful! Careful! Careful!
We fall down the stairs in order to eat the moist earth
or we climb to the knife edge of the snow with the voices of the dead
dahlias.
But forgetfulness does not exist, dreams do not exist;
flesh exists. Kisses tie our mouths
in a thicket of new veins,
and whoever his pain pains will feel that pain forever
and whoever is afraid of death will carry it on his shoulders.

One day
the horses will live in the saloons
and the enraged ants
will throw themselves on the yellow skies that take refuge in the
eyes of cows.

Another day
we will watch the preserved butterflies rise from the dead
and still walking through a country of gray sponges and silent boats
we will watch our ring flash and roses spring from our tongue.
Careful! Be careful! Be careful!
The men who still have marks of the claw and the thunderstorm,
and that boy who cries because he has never heard of the invention
of the bridge,
or that dead man who possesses now only his head and a shoe,
we must carry them to the wall where the iguanas and the snakes
are waiting,
where the bear's teeth are waiting,
where the mummified hand of the boy is waiting,
and the hair of the camel stands on end with a violent blue shudder.

Nobody is sleeping in the sky. Nobody, nobody.
Nobody is sleeping.
If someone does close his eyes,
a whip, boys, a whip!
Let there be a landscape of open eyes
and bitter wounds on fire.
No one is sleeping in this world. No one, no one.
I have said it before.

No one is sleeping.
But if someone grows too much moss on his temples during the
night,
open the stage trapdoors so he can see in the moonlight
the lying goblets, and the poison, and the skull of the theaters.

by Federico García Lorca

Translated by Robert Bly

"On this bridge, Lorca warns: life is not a dream.Beware, and beware, and beware!And so many think because then happened, now isn’t.But didn’t I mention, the on-going WOW is happening, right now!We are all co-authors of this dancing exuberance, where even our inabilities are having a roast! We are the authors of ourselves, co-authoring a gigantic Dostoevsky novel starring clowns!This entire thing we’re involved with called the world, is an opportunity to exhibit how exciting alienation can be.Life is a matter of a miracle, that is collected over time by moments flabbergasted to be in each others’ presence.The world is an exam, to see if we can rise into the direct experiences. Our eyesight is here as a test to see if we can see beyond it, matter is here as a test for our curiosity, doubt is here as an exam for our vitality.Thomas Mann wrote that he would rather participate in life than write a hundred stories. Giacometti was once run down by a car, and he recalled falling in to a lucid faint, a sudden exhilaration, as he realized at last, something was happening to him.An assumption develops that you can not understand life and live life simultaneously. I do not agree entirely, which is to say I do not exactly disagree. I would say, that life understood is life lived. But the paradoxes bug me. And I can learn to love, and make love to the paradoxes that bug me. And on really romantic evenings of Self, I go salsa dancing with my confusion.Before you drift off, don’t forget, which is to say remember. Because remembering is so much more a psychotic activity than forgetting. Lorca, in that same poem, said that the iguana will bite those who do not dream. And, as one realizes, that one is a dream-figure in another person’s dream: that is self-awareness!"

Timothy Levitch, monologue from Waking Life

Happy Mondays XXXVIII + Launch of Mads Bajarias' Book of Poems

featured readers for the 38th installment of the bi-weekly Happy Mondays Poetry Nights and the launch of Mads bajarias' first book of poems titled Pepsi Tastes Funny When It's Christmas Eve & You're Alone Eating Canned Tuna @ mag:net cafe Katipunan tomorrow, October 20, are as follows:

1. Lourd De Veyra

2. Adam David

3. Angelo Suarez

4. Conchitina Cruz

5. Voltaire Veneracion

6. Jay Bautista

*those above are reading poems from Mads' book

7. Camille Banzon

8. Arkaye Kierulf

9. Mia Tijam

10. Allan Pastrana

11. Marie La Viña

12. Emong De Borja

the launch of Mads' book will run from 730 to 830pm, followed the other featured 6 readers above for the regular Happy Mondays readings, which will commence at 830pm.

*the following books will be raffled off to lucky readers, courtesy of avalon.ph:

1. Only Revolutions by Mark Z. Danielewski (HB)

2. The Lady and the Unicorn by Tracy Chevalier (TPB)

3. The Natural by Bernard Malamud (TPB)

*for those interested in reading during the open mic at 930pm, we will have a sign up sheet left with Rogel, the bar tender of mag:net cafe. please feel free to sign up and read your work. :)

performers/bands playing 10pm onwards are as follows:

1. Boyet Vasquez

2. Johnoy Danao

3. Armando's XP

4. Broken Sauce

5. Biscochong Halimaw

FREE ADMISSION the whole evening. kitakits po tayo! :)

YEARS LATER: Imagining October

the second installment of Years Later, the monthly new wave music cover retrospective gig @ mag:net cafe Katipunan this coming Saturday, Oct 18 will feature the following bands:

1. The Late Isabel
2. XLuthor
3. Dream Kitchen
4. Angel Radio
5. Sleepyheads

the shadow cabinet opens at 7pm with spinning of '80s anthems, oddities, and rarities by MC Mike and DJ Rayg of 33 1/3 . everyone's welcome to show-off their new wave dancing skillz!

bands start performing at 830pm. gate: P100

The Years Later Sessions take place every second Saturday of the month.

"we'll be as we are
when all the fools
who doubt us fade away"
--The Icicle Works



***
and, in keeping with the post-punk spirit, check out this Über-hilarious version of A-Ha's classic ditty, "Take on Me" on YouTube.

Happy Mondays XXXVII

below are the list of readers for the 37th installment of the Happy Mondays Poetry Nights @ mag:net cafe, Katipunan for tomorrow, October 6:

1. Karen Capco
2. Pancho Alvarez
3. Joseph Saguid
4. JL Poquiz
5. Sasha Martinez
6. Waps San Diego
7. Adam David
8. RJ Baliza
9. Pancho Villanueva
10. Marie La Viña

*reading starts promptly at 7:30pm followed by the open mic. for those interested in reading, we will leave a sign up sheet with Rogel, the bar tender of mag:net cafe. please feel free to sign up and read your work. :)

performers/bands at 9:30pm:

Johnoy Danao
Valet Parking

Agnes Ingarra
Pinup Girls

FREE ADMISSION the whole night. kitakits!

Happy Mondays XXXVI

below are the featured readers for the 36th installment of the Happy Mondays Poetry Nights @ mag:net cafe Katipunan this coming September 29th:

1. Javie Bengzon

2. Mikael Co

3. JC Casimiro

4. Ramil Digal Gulle

5. Keith Cortez

6. Brandz Dollante

7. Camille Banzon

8. Angelo Suarez

9. Hussein Macarambon

10. Iñigo De Paula

11. Allan Hernandez

12. Totel De Jesus

reading starts promptly at 7:30pm followed by the open mic. for those interested in reading, we will leave a sign up sheet with Rogel, the bar tender of mag:net cafe. please feel free to sign up and read your work. :)

*poetry books will be raffled off, courtesy of avalon.ph

performers/bands at 9:30pm:

Johnoy Danao

Los Chupacabras

Enero

FREE ADMISSION the whole night. kitakits!

Velocities

No wonder the rain rarely falls
in parallels, always nudging walls
toward noticeable leanings. The atmosphere
teeming with invisible, moving things:
sentient wind ruffling the leaves, sentence
ending for lack of breath. Before

it begins again. Light breaking
past their allotted brilliances,
dismantled dark, peeling barks
of trees. Maybe you can hear it
as well-- see it gliding in the firmament,
stirring under the stone’s bottom

the swelling voice that sends wisps of hair
flying across a woman’s face, bristling
in the petals of surrounding wildflower,
firm and unconvinced stems holding in
the pollen, resisting bees. The woman sits
in the shade, thinking of how she gained

this strange patience, how come
she can now hear foolish comforts,
distant chimes, sway of far away song.
She has a story to tell, but how her words
would quiver in the telling. And she is older.
She remembers when she was still

rushing toward rain, her young body stumbling
over to the next, fluid, and, she had thought,
moving forever. Can you hear me? There is
aching everywhere, shadows hovering over
our shoulders. Small whispers. And I am
leaning over, equally soaked, hushed as well.

For Mikael

***

Christmas

Caught by the evening darting
into darkness, pursuing stars and fire-
flies. How flimsy, how brittle the years.
And how they fly by— breaking

so many hearts, wrinkling too many
hands. And mellowed now the colors,
lingering and yellow. This much
I know, dull glow on sunlit faces

and clever placings of days, those
gilded edges of Poinsettias, vivid
red and solid green, children waiting
in grand seasons, for Christmas.

For Sasha

Chiaroscuro Book Launch Redux and other Nux(s)

above's the teaser poster for the upcoming full-length fantasy play titled Amihan, which I co-wrote with the award-winning playwright Liza Magtoto. It's based on my 1997 novelette for young adults, Pedro and the Lifeforce.

Directed by another award-winner, Tuxqs Rutaquio. Rehearsals are ongoing. It will be staged this coming November at the world-class Marian Auditorium of Miriam College. Please come and watch. This one's for and about our rich Philippine tradition of fantasy and folklore. Tikbalang, Kapre, and Mananang-galore! ahehe.

***

The formal UST Publishing House launch of Chiaroscuro and other new titles from the UST Press will be held tomorrow, September 15 at 3pm as part of the ongoing 29th Manila International Book Fair. The launch and signing will be in Rooms 5 and 6 of the SMX Convention Center in SM Mall of Asia Complex, Pasay City. kitakits!

***

btw, my poem "Piso" came out in this week's edition of the Philippines Free Press, which, btw, has shrunk a little in size--but not in value, of course; methinks it looks much better, actually. I'm talking about the magazine here, syemps. 'Yung Piso kasi matagal nang lumiit at na-devalue. hehe.

***

maraming salamat sa mga banda, kaibigan, at bisita na pumunta at sumuporta sa pilot run ng YEARS LATER: A New Wave Music Retrospective kagabi sa mag:net cafe, katipunan. kita-kita ulit tayo sa October 11 for the next installment of what we hope would be a monthly homage to the anthems of the '8Os. more bands, more post-punk, more to lose--este--gain! The people under X-FACTORY Projects are hoping to bring in some members of Identity Crisis.

btw, other bands interested in doing all-cover sets in tribute to New Wave, just let me know. tentative title for next moth's gig is YEARS LATER: Imagining October.

***

kudos to all my co-panelists and the fellows in the 14th Ateneo Heights Worskhop being held at the Casa Ibiza in Antipolo. The sessions began last friday and end today. mabuhay kayong lahat! let's "make... pitik" (sabi nga ng isang CNF manuscript) panitikan!

***

the book launch of the new workshop journal, Writing to the Future: Poetika at Pulitika ng Malikhaing Pagsulat edited by Rolando B. Tolentino and published by the NCCA and the U.P. LIKHAAN Institute of Creative Writing will be on Sept 19, 2008, 3:30 p.m. after the UP ICW Centennial Panayam of National Artist Dr. Bienvenido Lumbera at 2:30 p.m. at Claro M. Recto Hall Faculty Center, UP Diliman, Q.C. The book is a compilation/ anthology of poetics presented by 34 former fellows and speakers from the 2004 U.P. Writers' Kumustahan and the 2006-2008 U.P. Advanced Summer Writers Workshop in Baguio. Punta kayo at bili ng libro! :)

***

Boomerang

Threatening the throw,
the betrayal of weight
and the resistances
of wind, tail, aim.
Fingers unfolding
and darting into space.
Any moment now
you will let it go—
flick of wrist, the stroke,
and sullying forth now

the release. But this is not
the point. At the tip of all light
lies the consumed thing.
An eye for an eye, swish
and arc. Slingshot arched
toward bird or desired slope,
enough hope of hitting
the mark, voices that keep
coming back given uneven
mountains, right heights.

Such wide berths we give
to space, the many presences
that it keeps. We whistle
for wind, calling out
to the missing, and in the dark,
that elaborate maneuver
of pointing to ignited things,
great capture or failure.
Perfect human gestures forever
motioning risk, raise, return.

Back to the Old House

below's the Factory Records alternative, homage version poster for the upcoming first project of X-Factory. Please come and support this back-to-the-edge gig. Spinning starts at 7pm followed by performances of the five bands. An all-out cover night of anthems and rarities from the shadow cabinets of the '80s.

and below's the main poster. both designed by Pancho Villanueva. kitakits, mga tsong!

Happy Mondays XXXV: The Palanca Awards Night Edition

featured readers for the 35th installment of the Happy Mondays Poetry Nights tonight, September 1st at mag:net cafe katipunan as follows:

1. Sasha Martinez
2. Pancho Villanueva
3. Pancho Alvarez
4. Glenn Atanacio
5. Israfel Fagela
6. Iñigo De Paula

7. Kash Avena
8. Jonar Sabilano
9. Carljoe Javier
10. Lawrence Bernabe
11. Joey Nacino
12. Joselito De Jesus
13. Pocholo Goitia

14. Claude Despabiladeras
15. Allan Hernandez

*PLUS surprise guests and readers coming from the Palanca Awarding.

please do bring your works if you want to read during the open mic. thanks!

followed by the music of:

Angel Radio
Johnoy Danao
Whappak
The Love Team (featuring Wincy Ong)
Enero

7PM Onwards. FREE ADMISSION.

kitakits!

***
btw, congrats to bayaw Lourd De Veyra, Amado Bajarias, and Larry Ypil for winning in last wednesday's Philippines Free Press Centennial Literary Awards! at sa iba pang mga bayaw at hipag na hahabol sa Happy Mondays dahil nasa Palanca Awarding sila! wasak! dumarami na ipapatumbang baka!

Oppositions

The persistent
pairings of nature:

butterfly and moth,
all grace and flutter,

flame and death. Always
terror crosses over into

beauty, the tender
undersides of caterpillars.

Then wings. Tremor of color.
Great shakings of flowers

and from somewhere,
waft of burning candles.

Tell me, where do
they die, effervescent

and funereal,
where do they live?

August and Everything After

below are some photos from the 33rd installment of the Happy Mondays Poetry Nights last August 8. huge thanks to all for the continuous support of the readings. hulaan n'yo kung sinu-sino sa mga 'to nanalo ng unang (o na naman ng) Palanca o Free Press o may padating na nobela, etc. this year. :)

______________________________________________________

finally, the debut collection from the criminally underrated Amado Bajarias is coming out! sometime later this month or early september. cover design pa lang wasak na wasak na!

"Amado Bajarias’ debut collection of poems heralds a Philippine poetics that chugs along with the rumble of the city’s decrepit trains, on the way to the gentle twittering of countryside aviaries. Inasmuch as the collection’s title Pepsi Tastes Funny When It’s Christmas Eve and You’re Alone Eating Canned Tuna is already a mouthful, the poems here likewise thrive on a kilometric and crafty gathering of modern wit, irony, and understatement. Within these pages are haiku-ish commentaries, Gonzo reprimands, and lots of longing for missed pets.

In many places reminiscent of both Bukowski and Simic, Bajarias’ often surreal and sardonic lyric is wide awake and dilated, forever poking and plucking at both the living and the inanimate (the departed?). The poet takes his sweet time digging for leftover bones and loves in rambunctious urban landscapes. And, whenever he gets tired of the act, there is always the great soda in his system insisting that the apartment door is always open, and there are miles and miles to go before he sleeps."

-- JMT

***

the first review and a little interview re: chiaroscuro is out, over at the abs-cbn news website. muchas gracias to Ramil Gulle for the kind words.

also, the poem "Sun in Empty Room" came out in this week's issue of the Philippines Free Press. Many thanks to Sarge Lacuesta. btw, the awarding of the 2007 Free Press Literary Awards will be on August 27.

Happy Mondays XXXIV: This is Not A Book Launch by KHAVN

the 34th installment of the Happy Mondays Poetry Nights on August 18, 2008 at mag:net cafe katipunan features the book launch of two books by Khavn De La Cruz -- Ultraviolins (Fiction, UP Press) and Lines On The Sole (Poetry, UST Press), with readings and performances by:

1 JOSE F. LACABA

2 BENILDA S. SANTOS

3 V. E. CARMELO D. NADERA, JR.

4 JUN CRUZ REYES

5 JOSE Y. DALISAY, JR.

6 CHARLSON ONG

7 BIENVENIDO LUMBERA

8 CONCHITINA CRUZ

9 ISRAFEL FAGELA

10 ALLAN PASTRANA

11 MARNE L. KILATES

12 L. LACAMBRA YPIL

13 DARYLL JANE DELGADO

14 NOEL DEL PRADO

15 KARL R. DE MESA

16 CARLJOE JAVIER

17 FRANCEZCA KWE

18 SARGE LACUESTA

19 LOURD DE VEYRA

20 ONY CARCAMO

21 MIKE COROZA

22 TEO ANTONIO

23 ARMI MILLARE

Cocktails: 6:30-7:30pm

Readings/Performances: 7:30-10pm

Hosted by ANGELO SUAREZ

followed by the music of:

Johnoy Danao

Toi

Black Monkey Idol

Taggu Ndios

Weedisneys

Jesus Mafia

kitakits!

The World And Other Expletives

"Ang Iba't Ibang Ngalan Ng Hangin".

Mikael De Lara Co.

Unang Gantimpala.

Tula.

2008 Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards.

Sa'n ka pa.

Back to back.

1st Prize English 2007.

Ngayon sa Pilipino naman.

Bilingual.

Bi-medal.

Bayaw!

Wasak.

Tumbahan na naman ng ito ng Baka.

Mookie Katigbak. 2nd Prize Poetry in English.

Marie La Viña. 3rd Prize. Poetry in English.

Congrats sa inyong tatlo!

Happy Mondays XXXIII + Chiaroscuro Book Launch

The upcoming 33rd installment of the Happy Mondays Poetry Nights on August 4, 2008 @ mag:net cafe Katipunan will kick off earlier than usual, with cocktails at 6:30 pm for the launch of Chiaroscuro, followed by readings at 8pm by the featured poets and fictionists listed below:

1. Marjorie Evasco
2. Jimmy Abad
3. Butch Dalisay
4. J. Neil Garcia
5. Marne Kilates
6. Krip Yuson

7. Rebecca Añonuevo
8. Mookie Katigbak
9. Sarge Lacuesta
10. Ramil Gulle
11. Larry Ypil
12. Mikael Co
13. Angelo Suarez
14. Arkaye Kierulf
15. Conchitina Cruz
16. Daryll Delgado
17. Pancho Villanueva
18. Waps San Diego
19. Marie La Viña
20. Joseph Saguid

21. Kash Avena
22. Sasha Martinez

23. Khavn De la Cruz
24. Kris Lacaba

Hosted by Lourd De Veyra

Readings up to 10pm, followed by music from
Los Chupacabras and Dead Pop Stars

FREE ADMISSION the whole evening. Punta naman kayo, pls.

At sana bili na rin kayo ng libro. :)

Stone-turning

Cover study for The Long Lost Startle (Anvil, 2009) by Pancho Villanueva

Sun in Empty Room

No need for furniture and moving figures
and heartbroken women. For now,
the light is enough to point out the many exits
existing in the shade, pointing to them as if
they have always been there and there

leaning sharply into the corner, found by the after
noon emerging from the floor, more and more
doors opening in the walls so that nothing
is remaining when you get there. And never
mind the window, which is only for entry.

After Edward Hopper

Happy Mondays XXXII

featured readers for the 32nd installment of the Happy Mondays Poetry Nights @ mag:net cafe Katips are as follows:

1. Emong De Borja
2. Kris Lacaba
3. Waps San Diego
4. Karen Capco
5. Enuh Iglesias
6. Marie La Viña
7. Adam David
8. Pocholo Goitia
9. Mia Tijam
10. Drey Teran
11. Jonar Sabilano
12. Keith Cortez
13. Chingbee Cruz
14. Khavn Dela Cruz

15. Angelo Suarez
16. Ramil Gulle

plus other guest poets and regulars. please bring your stuff for the open mic.

reading starts at 730pm sharp. please come earlier as the first 30 guests will get a chance to take home genuine Moleskine notebooks and journals courtesy of Jasper Ong from avalon.ph.

rakenrol begins at 10pm with the music of (dyandyararannn!)

Carnival

Taggu Ndios

Chongkeys

Dissent

FREE ADMISSION the whole evening. This Happy Mondays installment with be hosted by Gabe Mercado.

Taralet's!