By Paulo Coelho
The first symptom of the process of our killing our dreams is the lack of time. The busiest people I have known in my life always have time enough to do everything. Those who do nothing are always tired and pay no attention to the little amount of work they are required to do. They complain constantly that the day is too short. The truth is, they are afraid to fight the Good Fight.
Naluktan ti maysa pay a blag a “pakaipaskilan dagiti kaudian a partuat, gannuat, pasamak ken damag iti daniw ken musika dagiti Ilokano,” ti daniw ken samiweng. Inlungalong ken tartarawidwidan daytoy ni premiado a mannaniw Ariel S. Tabag, poetry ken entertainment editor ti Bannawag Magazine. Malaksid a mannaniw, maysa pay a musikero ni Apo Tabag.
Naidumduma a poetry performance iti Ilokano a daniw ti banda nga Ilokano a buklen dagiti mannurat nga Ilokano a pakairamanan da Ariel S. Tabag ti Cagayan ken Mighty C. Rasing ti Isabela.
Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Adda sumagmamano a queries wenno clarification no ania, aya, daydiay dakdakamatek a descriptions wenno narativo a panagiladawan, panagiparang, exposition, wenno panang-characterise iti maysa a karakter, lugar, pasamak, situasion, pagteng, rikna, buya, kdpy.
No diak bigta wenno completely a mailawlawag ita, kas iti panangigunamgunam ni Butch Dalisay (iti librona: “…it isn’t enough to say that a character is ‘attractive’ or that an event was ‘memorable’…”), iparangko ngarud babaen ti sumagmamano a sampol a linia wenno parapo manipud kadagiti master works ti sumagmamano a master a fiksionista nga Ilokano (nga agsursurat iti Iloko).
Manipud ken daydi Apo Pelagio A. Alcantara, iti saritana a “Sangkap” a first prize iti salip iti sarita ti Bannawag idi 1964:
Kinupin ni A. V. Bertido ti pagiwarnak iti namitlo, impasayagna iti suli, sana inan-anat ti nagpuligos. Nagpababa-a-nagpangato ti napuskol nga anteohos. Kalpasanna, nakaan-anat ti pannakaakasna manipud iti dupap a darangidong a nagbinnennatan dagiti birit a mata. Rakab a rupa a pinangepngep ti kebkeb a buok. Naglalaga dagiti pukekek a ramay iti saklotna kalpasan ti panangidissona iti anteohos iti lamisaan. Saan a nagkuti dagiti panglabonen a bibig.
Dagiti birit a mata naitugkeldan iti kullapit a lampong ken imingan a mannurat a nakakaut iti bolsana. Awan ti langana a duapulo ngem ipapilit dagiti lesseb a matana, ken dilot a kawesna a saan a mapmapnek iti turog ken talinaay dagiti parsua a saan pay a napaay.
Manipud ken daydi Apo A. Sanchez Encarnacion, iti saritana a “Ti Narra, Ti Bagyo, Ken Ti Sagut” a first prize met laeng iti salip iti sarita ti Bannawag idi 1961:
Kasla umag-agneb ti sin-aw dagiti bibig ni Magda, kas kasam-it ti kappisi a naluom a sandia iti kalgaw a mangdepdep iti waw. Dagiti napungay a matana kasla singin a naapres nga alinuno a mangdayyeg ken mangulaw iti riknana. Ti nakipet a nalabaga a bestidona inna man inirteng ti nabaknang a pannakasukog ti pammagina. Ket dayta a panangdayaw ni Victor ti nangkalbit iti kuerdas ti pusona. Nariknana ti kinapagus a mangamiris iti kinapateg dagita a gundaway iti dalanna. Ngem adda nalagipna. Kalpasan ti namitlo a daras a panangabakna ken ni Magda, nagpakada ket simrek iti uneg ti siledna. Saan latta a naggibus ti bagyo. Ad-adda ketdi a rimmaba. Ket natimud ni Victor ti nasagiksik a timek ni Magda a kas napegges nga ulo-ulo ti danum a naggapu iti surong a mangteppang kadagiti naruka a daga. Nailabeg kadagita a darikmat. Napardas ti panaglayus ti dara kadagiti uratna. Kasla iyik-ikkisda: maysaka a parsua a nakawesan iti lasag!
Simngay iti panunotna daydi damo a panagsarakda ken ni Magdalena. Simmurot ni Magdalena kada Peping ken Zenaida idi simmarungkar dagitoy kenkuana iti seminario. Kasla sumangdo a kalding dagiti wangwang-it ni Magda. Kasla balbaltik dagiti tignayna. Ti panagam-ammoda. Ti panangpetpetna kadagiti nalamuyot ken dumerderosas a dakulap ti balasang. Kas man berber ti pul-oy a nangyabyab iti apuy kadagiti naraber a pan-aw iti bakras ti bantay dagiti makapagpikapik nga isemna, dagiti nabagas nga itataldiapna. Amin dagitoy, nalagipna. Nalagipna. Amin. Amin!
Ken daytoy manipud ken daydi Apo Constante C. Casabar, iti umuna a paset ti novelana nga “Umuna a Bukel” iti Deciembre 14, 1964 a bilang ti Bannawag:
Naglangkapi iti abay met laeng ti baket. Kasla tinandaaananna a naimbag ti nagsaadan itay ti kutitna, ta isu met la ita ti nagtugawanna. Ngem apagsimpana, kinukotna ti tumengna, imbuatna ti sakana sana insaad ti dapanna iti ngarab ti bangko.
Kinusilapan ti baket. Dimo ingato ‘ta sakam, sika, impatigmaan dagiti matana. Ket ti lakay, a di met nairuruam a makusilapan, dinagusna nga impababa ti dapanna. Wen, aya, inyanamongna, iti unegna.
Ngem naladawen ti dapan. Liniputannan ida. Nangyegen iti bain kadagiti matada. Ta itan nagparangen ni Donia Nieves iti ridaw!
Nasiputanda, isuda nga agassawa, dagiti kimmastila a mata a nangsurot iti dapan. Dapan a di masapsapatosan. A di masinsinelasan, uray no mayudong. Dapan nga addaan iti tangan a kawweng ken ramramay a nagsappa, iti panagkawweng ken panagsappa dagiti ramay a tinawen a pagnanaen ti tarindanum. Manmano a maputdan dagiti kuko dagita a ramay, ket iti sirokda ngumisngisit lattan ti pitak a naiselsel; ket no maputdan met dagita a kuko, no kasta nga agiinumda iti basi iti linong ti kamantiris iti paraangan, saan a getteng ti maaramat, no di ket maasut lattan ti buneng a sibibirko, ket ti tademna siaaannad a mailagid iti ngudo dagiti kawweng a ramay. Iti ngatuen dagita a ramay, agkurkursing ti gurong, a manmano a masabonan, manmano a mapunasan, ta mabaybay-an lattan nga agmaga, uray maiturogen iti sardam, ken lumitlitem, no panawen ti panagtatalon, gapu ta malungpos iti rarasa a maagasan iti tutot ti dangla a nalanaan.
Iti met sarita a “Shorty Brown” ni Apo T. Gabriel Tugade a nangabak met laeng iti umuna a gunggona iti pasalip ti Bannawag, idi 1970:
Minulenglenganna ti langana iti sarming: ti pangaan, napuskol ken narakab a rupa a balidbidan manipud muging agingga iti timid; simmalog manipud iti nasilap nga ulona; dagiti napuskol a bibig ken agongna a kasla nalusdak ken nabistrad a pantok ti muhon; dagiti naliday matana a pinanawanen ti tarnaw…
Ala, wen, lakaykan, Shorty Brown. Ngem annugotem kadi nga agkabawkan? A dimon mawayas ti agbiag? A mapanka metten iti home for the aged tapno pataraken iti gobierno? Saan! Malaksid kadagitoy kuribetbet ken ti sangkabassit a panagkubbom, napunerka pay laeng!
Pinalabsanna dagiti retratona iti diding iti kusayan ti katrena a nakaidalusonan ti kimmaki nga ulesna; pakalaglagipanna kadagiti pinullo a tawenna kadagiti plantasion ti unas ken pinia idiay Hawaii, kaubasan idiay Delano, kanatengan idiay Salinas, pagsalmonan idiay Alaska, pagsusugalan idiay Reno ken Las Vegas ken kamansanasan idiay Wapato ken Yakima iti estado ti Washington. Dakkel ti akinkanawan a ladawanna a tanda ti panaglumen ti pudno a naganna ken iti pannakairuamna iti birngasna a Shorty Brown.
Sa daytoy a parapo manipud iti sarita nga “Orkidia” ni Apo Juan S.P. Hidalgo Jr.:
Impalikud ni Saling ti atiddog a buokna tapno ipakitana ngata ken ni Leon ti kinalapsat dagiti takiagna ken ti kinatangsit ti barukongna. Nagkampuso ti rupana, naraniag ken dadakkel a nagbukel dagiti nangisit a matana, panuntundirisen met ti agongna, ngem namsek ketdi dagiti agar-arimasa a bibigna, nalasbangda a kas kadagiti pingpingna, ket tagiruotendaka tapno agkam. Dagita ngata a mata ken dagita a bibig ti nangawis iti rugso ni Leon itay damoda ti aginnisem ken agpinnerreng, ket dagita met a takiag ken barukong ti alsem ti riknana itay aginnasidegda iti sangonsango a ti laeng natidtid a kawayan ti namagsina iti ruar ken uneg ti garreta ti nagbaetanda.
Ken daytoy a parapo manipud iti sarita nga “Anglem” ni Apo Juan S.P. Hidalgo Jr. met laeng:
Iti agsumbangir a bit-ang, rimkuas iti namituen a tangatang dagiti napisang ken nagkuntirad ken nabalisungsong a bulong ti saba, ken ti kasla ipus ti pabo nga aringgawis dagiti kawayan ken kasla dapan ti itik a bulong dagiti pakak, ket iti isasaplid ti angin, inalun-on ti bit-ang dagiti karasakas ken ranitrit dagiti muyong. Ket manipud iti agsumbangir, nagsasarunon dagiti nagtagisilaw a tawa, agpadaya ken agpalaud, a kunam la no sibibitin iti kasipngetan. Iti puseg ti kabalbalayan, dua a kawitan ti nagsinnungbat. xxx Magustuanna ti alingasaw a bang-i ti taep a nayaplag iti bit-ang ken kasla nalamuyot a goma a rumukma no payatenna a maiwaris no masikkarudna, a pinagtitipkel dagiti timmangken ken nabasa a rugit ti nuang, baka, kabalio ken kalding. Manipud iti kaasitgan a balay a malabasanna, naallingagna ti maysa a lakay a mangisursuro iti apokona iti dallang. Saanna unay a maawatan ti agaon iti bibig ti lakay ngem nabukel ken nabiag ti aggapu iti ubing. Immisem ni Jorge Sanchez: di pay naisurat dayta ngem saanen a mapukaw, kinunana.
Wenno daytoy a parapo manipud iti sarita a “Karayo iti Tanap” ni Apo Prescillano N. Bermudez a first prize winner iti Andel Awards idi 2004:
Napaisem ni Ardo a nakakita iti kasla itatarabang ni Pedong iti pannakaipatugawna iti laem ti damara a dumna iti nagtimbukel a kalapaw iti nagbabaetan dagiti tallo a higante a silag iti tengnga ti purok dagiti nagdappat. Uray iti bessag a lawag dagiti kingki, agminar latta ti kinataer daytoy. Saan a mamangpang ti isem dagiti pamuskolen a bibigna. Adda apagterrem a ling-et iti pantok ti kalalainganna a katundiris nga agongna, kasta met ti nawada a muging a sagsagmuyan ti barikawwet a panguloten a buokna. Kurang la a bumtak ti barukong ti maris-gatas a kamisadentrona iti kinabayog ti barukongna. Ngem adda di mailadawan nga ila kadagiti nasingdat a mata daytoy a baro a kadua dagiti immuna a nagdappat iti Caliguian, ditoy Tanap ti Mallig.
Wenno daytoy a parapo manipud iti Palanca Awards 2000 first prize winner a sarita a “Tupa” ni Apo Jaime M. Agpalo Jr.:
Nariknam ti panagkimay ti sibitsibit nga an-anatem a gaudan iti itatakder ni Ada a nangtengngaag iti rumanisak ken lumanagto a pangen ti bumra, diwal ken barrasot iti asideg a kanigidyo. Ti dumerosas a lawag ni Apo Init a nangkorona iti Bantay Dayasdas iti laud, pinaraniagna dagiti matam ta ad-adda a timmarnaw ti kayumanggi a kudil ti balasang ket dika mauma a mangmatmat kadagiti nakaranraniag a matana ken ti wayas a kallid iti kanigid. Iti takderna a lima a kadapan ken uppat a pulgada, a binungon ti rosas a daster ti immal-o a bagina, adtoyen a kasangsangom ti dayag a nabayagen nga inar-arapaapmo. Inisemam ti naapgad a sang-aw ti danum nga ikulkuldit kenka ti puyupoy.
Ken sumagmamano pay nga ehemplo a mabalin nga ipostekto ditoy. Kas pammaneknek ti ibagbagak wenno taltalanggutangek a nakapimpintek ken nakabilbileg a panagdesdeskribir wenno panagfikfiksion a mapukpukaw sa metten kadagiti dadduma a mannurat nga ilokano nga agsursurat iti Iloko. A pagkunaak nga addan sa ketdi “sadsadut” itan ti dadduma a mannurat nga Ilokano ta manmanon a makabasaka iti kas kadakita naiparang a sampol a parparapo. Ala, mabalin nga irason a paset ti moderno a panagfiksion a mangsursurot iti minimalismo iti fiksion dayta kaawan wenno kakirang ti kakasta a narrative description. Ala, mabalin nga idillaw a kasla “kadaanan” sa pay la ti ammotayo no dagita kakasta a kasla “tradisional” a panagdeskribir wenno karakterisasion ti intay’ sapsapulen wenno ex-expektaren. Nga addatay’ sa ketdi pay laeng iti old school nga ad-adda a nasanay iti direkta wenno explicit a napisfisikal a panagiparang iti tao, lugar, pasamak as against iti “kabaruanan” wenno “experimentalist” nga indirect wenno implicit a panagiparang a no sadino ad-adda a sikolohikal ti characterization ket makaammo ti reader (gagangay a reader man wenno intelektual a reader) a mangawat wenno mangimano wenno mangamiris. A, ngem uray pay kadagiti makuna nga experimental a panagparnuay iti fictive narrative, dayta “old school” a direkta a panagdesdeskribir ket masansan a masarakan. Dayta “old school,” mabalinmo a partuaten wenno kawesan a kas “retro” ket parnuayem iti experimentom dagiti makapikapik a balbalikas a mangiladawan ken mangiparikna. Para kaniak laeng, annugotek ken patiek a maysa a marka ti pudno ken naballigi a mannurat wenno fiksionista dayta kabaelan nga agabel wenno agpartuat iti nabibileg nga adjectives, ken verbs, ken adverbs, ken nouns a kas kadagita masarakan a nagbibileg ken nagsisimgat a balikas ken panagibalikas a naiyexampol.
The Silliman University National Writers Workshop is now accepting applications for the 51stNational Writers Workshop to be held April 30 to May 18, 2012 in the Silliman University Rose Lamb Sobrepeña Writers Village.
This Writers Workshop is offering fifteen fellowships to promising writers who want to have a chance to hone their craft and refine their style. Fellows will be provided housing, a modest stipend, and a subsidy to partially defray costs of their transportation.
To be considered, applicants should submit manuscripts in English on or before 10 February 2012. All manuscripts should comply with the instructions stated below. (Failure to do so will automatically eliminate their entries):
This week I shall analyze the exclusion of local languages in media.
First, I start with radio. Why is it that almost all the FM radio stations in Luzon are in Tagalog and English? I visited Pangasinan with my officemates and we excitedly flipped through all the radio frequencies looking for a Pangasinan radio station. Out of 11 stations, not one was in Pangalatok. One might justify the choice of Tagalog because it (or Filipino, to be precise) is the national language, so everyone can understand it.
But aren’t we forgetting the fact that many radio stations around the world are located in places where the language is not universally understood? In Canada, my home country, I can turn on the radio and find English or French FM radio stations, even though I don’t speak French and neither does everyone know English. In England, I can turn on the radio and find FM channels in Arabic, Punjabi, and several other languages besides English, even though English is far more widespread than the others. The majority of the listeners of the other language programs, like the Punjabi and Arabic stations, also understand English, but they CHOOSE to tune into these stations because they LIKE to hear their native tongue. My point is that we should have more options when it comes to FM radio in Luzon. There should be FM radio in local languages, Tagalog, English, and any combination thereof, as found in other countries with diverse populations.
You might ask, “Well, why is it necessary to offer FM stations that use local languages like Iloko or Pangalatok if you can already find them on AM stations?” First, AM stations rarely offer the frequency or modernity of songs that FM stations offer, so are less attractive to young people. Second, many of the smaller languages like Bolinao don’t even have AM radio stations. Thirdly, if there are English FM stations, why can’t there be FM stations in native languages too? The bias for English is perplexing given that the National Achievement Scores in English have hovered around 50% only, so English is not even understood very well anyway!
Many young people and professionals are abandoning their mother tongue in preference for Tagalog and English, and this is unsustainable for Filipino diversity. I am only 24, and it frightens me that in the same amount of time, many Philippine languages may become extinct.
Perhaps the most concerning threat to Philippine languages is the low level of knowledge about them. The vast majority of Filipino society do not even know that the tongues they call “dialects” are, for the most part, full-fledged languages. This is not a case of the public not remembering the proper terminology taught in school. It is a case of the schools themselves misinforming their students, with textbooks and teachers erroneously calling Ilocano, Hilgayanon, Bikolano, and the other languages as mere dialects. This claim, whether intentional or not, dangerously undermines the importance of the other Philippine languages. Losing a dialect is losing one variant of the same language, but losing an independent language—which represents thousands of years in the making—is even more serious. In dismissing a language as a dialect, therefore, one absolves oneself from the urgent responsibility to protect it.
Why is it incorrect to refer to Philippine languages as dialects? The mainstream, internationally accepted definition of a dialect is that it is mutually understandable with another dialect. That is, speakers of different dialects should be able to understand each other. If you say Ilokano and Kapampangan are dialects, for example, that implies that an Ilokano person and a Kapampangan person can understand each other even if it is the first time they have heard the other dialect. But that is clearly not the case. A Kapampangan cannot understand Ilokano, and visa-versa. Kapampangan and Ilokano, therefore, are separate languages. This applies to the rest of the 100+ languages of the Philippines. In fact, many Philippine languages have less in common with each other than European languages have, like Italian and French.
Professors teaching in the University’s MFA writing program, the famous “Iowa Writers’ Workshop,” have officially retracted the universal literary adage to “show, don’t tell.”
According to Professor James A. McPherson, “show, don’t tell” was originally a joke, played by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. on his classmates during his stint in the Writers’ Workshop.
“Vonnegut was such an asshole,” McPherson told The Iowa Iowan. “Piss-drunk in class every day.”
The phrase stuck, sources say, and until recently, it was still commonplace to critique a piece of creative writing by telling the author to “show” rather than “tell.”
“Honestly, it’s an embarrassment to writers everywhere,” McPherson said, “that it took us this long to realize that you can’t ‘show’—you have to ‘tell.’ Because it’s a fucking story.”
(from The Iowa Iowan)