PILF 2018 was held at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) last April 19 and 20. This event was organized by the National Book Development Board (NBDB). Weeks before this event, they asked for volunteers. I applied but unfortunately, I was not able to respond immediately to the email. I was not accepted as a volunteer, but I was very happy to be a participant.
The best part... Admission is FREE!
They only required a book donation. So I was glad to share two of my books.
Events happened simultaneously so it's impossible to experience everything. There was an online pre-registration, although during the event, many participants did not attend and walk-in participants are allowed. Here are some highlights of my experiences:
Day 1 - April 19, 2018
Ladies and gentlemen... Mr. Ricky Lee!
As part of the opening program, we had the opportunity to hear some words from the award-winning screenwriter and novelist, Mr. Ricky Lee. From the interview, we learned some interesting facts like:
- Ricky Lee wrote his first stories in English, thinking that to be a good writer one must write in English.
- He once used the pen name Rico Lee because he did not want people to know about what he has written.
Out of Books StorytellingTime: 10:50 am - 12 nn
Venue: The Little Theatre
Speaker: Zara Gagatiga
This workshop taught us many ways to tell a story: read aloud, oral telling, participant-interactive, reader's theatre, tandem telling, use of paper, hands, objects, kamishibai (Japanese street theatre) and story knifing. In the picture, my co-teacher, Ma'am Irene Geron (the one in pink), is holding Mr. Handkerchief, a puppet we made out of handkerchief. They used the puppets to tell a story.
Here's The Story of Joseph, performed by Ms. Zara. In this storytelling, she used the paper cutting technique.
Fiction for the Buzzfeed GenerationTime: 3:00 pm- 4:00 pm
Venue: Tanghalang Huseng Batute
Speaker: Maita Lu
In this talk, we are introduced to 'sachet novels.' These are novels in e-book form and are bought for P10 -price of shampoo in sachets; hence, it's called sachet novels. It is actually an app developed by Cherry Mobile. I think this is a good idea for inculcating the love of reading to children. Although as a teacher, I think it would be better for them to review the K-12 curriculum if their target clients are schools.
Cheap Books and Freebies!
My favorite is the book fair. Many publishers joined the event. I saw Adarna House, Anvil Publishing, Vibal Publishing, Ateneo de Manila University Press, University of Santo Tomas Press, National Bookstorem Philippine-Italian Association, Librong Lira, Brilliant Creations, etc. It was Anvil I loved the most. I bought Filipino versions of Scent of Apples and Summer Solstice for P10 each and a book by Virgilio Almario for P20. Very affordable! And it comes with a free Balagtas fan.
At the registration, the NBDB also gave away two volumes of the literary magazine called Agung. Happy reading for me!
Day 2 - April 20, 2018
Uncovering Filipino Book DesignVenue: Main Theatre Lobby
Speakers: Ige Ramos, R. Jordan Santos, and Karl Castro
In this talk, the book designers shared their masterpieces - from covers of novels to cookbooks. They discussed about the history of book printing and the struggles of creating book covers. I was really fascinated by the designs the speakers showed. One of my favorite covers is that of Makbet, a Filipino translation of Shakespeare's Macbeth. It was made by R. Jordan Santos for Anvil Publishing. I loved how he localized Macbeth by having the main character wear Ifugao clothing. You can check out his website to see his other amazing designs: http://www.coroflot.com/saintjordan/book-covers
The Bliss of Speed
Time: 10:20-11:20
Venue: Silangan Hall
Speaker: Niles Jordan Breis
Here, we were introduced to literary 'micronarratives.' According to Niles, this emerging literary form are usually brief, topical, partly reflective and partly confessional pieces of writing. Fb posts and tweets are examples of this. I was very much interested with what he called as 'twitterature." He said that it is a series of tweets that can be developed into a story. I felt proud of how creative Filipinos are. Though we are not all writers by profession, you can see literariness in simple writings such as fb posts and tweets.
Papers on Popular Culture Time: 1:15 pm -2:15 pm
Venue: Bulwagang Amado Hernandez
Speakers: Jessel Duque and Hazel Sadian
Hazel's discussion was focused on gender and social class reality codes. In her study, she compared the two teleseryes - "Pangako Sa Yo" and "Forevermore" - in terms of the characters' costumes, behavior and speech. She also pointed out the dominant ideology of patriarchal capitalism in a female-driven narrative. On the other hand, Jessel's discussion was focused on sexual orientation and gender identity expression in the song "Titibo-tibo" sung by Moira dela Torre. We also looked into characters such as Mona from the teleserye "Sana Dalawa Ang Puso" and Kute from "Be Careful With My Heart."
The Literary Life of Campus Journalists
Time: 4:10 pm -5:10 pm
Venue: Tanghalang Huseng Batute
Speakers: Jay-Vee Pangan, Jose Mari Calueng, Ronalyn Olea-Dabu
The speakers shared their journey as a campus journalist in which they highlighted their experiences during their Writer's Trip. In this trip, they immersed in various communities like Payatas for instance, for them to better understand what the people are really going through. And with that understanding, they wrote better. This talk served as an eye-opener for campus journalists, especially for those in public schools, that being a campus journalist is more than just joining and winning in press conferences. Being socially responsible and being able to enlighten people about the different issues in the society could give greater fulfillment than a bunch of medals.Tabletop Games!
There were a lot of tabletop games during the 9th PILF. Most are role-playing games like Tadhana, Itras by Menagerie and Darna at ang Nawawalang Bato by ABS-CBN and Mars Ravelo's Komiks. There is also a word game called Talinghaga which is based on the baybayin system of writing. This is set to be released this late 2018, and I'm so excited for that!
I had the opportunity to try this card game called Master Story Creators' Anthology. It is from Talecraft Publishing under Komikasi Games and Entertainment. It was edited by Maita Lu who introduced to us the sachet novels. I think this is a fun game, especially for those who loves reading and writing stories. In this game, you will be asked to draw cards and you will create your own story based on the genre, characters, and key words that you have drawn. Interesting! To know more about Talecraft, you can visit their website: https://komikasi.com/main/
Some Regrets...
What I missed for this year's PILF are the free film screenings. The films shown were Ang Larawan, Hinulid, Ang Sayaw ng Dalawang Kaliwang Paa, and Respeto. When the pre-registration opened for the films, I already pre-registered for talks and workshops, and of course, I can't cancel because I don't want to be banned from the next activities of NBDB. Probably, I'll make this one of my priorities next PILF and I'll spend more time with tabletop games.
So far, I had great and memorable experiences from the 9th Philippine International Literary Festival. NEXT STOP.... Book Fiesta 2018!
Just three days after the PILF 2018, the Book Fiesta 2018 was held at Plaza Moriones, Fort Santiago, Intramuros, Manila. The World Book and Copyright Day was filled with performances, workshops and other amusing activities.
Books, Books and More Books!
About 20 publishers set up their booths for the Book Fiesta 2018. Among them are 8 Letters, Mako, Komikasi, ABC Educational Development Center, Adarna House, Anvil Publishing, Ateneo de Manila University Press, Chamber Shell Publishing, Lapis sa Kalye, Batis Aware, KaDLit, Rex Bookstore, Saint Matthews Publishing, Pagejump Media, Lampara Publisshing House, UP Press, New Day Publishers and Visprint, Inc.
Balagtasan with The Makatas
Books or E-books? Here are the arguments of R. R Cagalingan and Carl Isaac Santos as they heat up our morning with their balagtasan (traditional Filipino poetic debate) performance.
The Poetic Humor and Wit of Prinsepe Makata
Prinsepe Makata was a semifinalist in Pilipinas Got Talent who is known for his funny hugots that gave us a lot of laughter and 'feels.' Here are some of his hugots that will make your day.
An Afternoon Filled with Learning and Fun
At 1:00 p.m., the Book Binding, Calligraphy and Spoken Word Poetry Workshop started simultaneously. I chose book binding because I don't have brush pens and I don't have the courage to perform spoken word poetry.
The Book Binding Workshop was organized by the National Library of the Philippines. They provided all the materials. The instructors were so approachable and helpful. They patiently taught us one-by-one.
So here is my finished product. And I was allowed to keep it.
Since our workshop ended early, I also visited the other workshops as an observer. The Calligraphy Workshop was facilitated by Ms. Christine Gonzales. They also provided the materials. I saw brush pens lying around and each participant was given practice worksheets. Ms. Gonzales also showed her creations and shared her techniques.
The most stressful workshop is the Spoken Poetry Workshop. They tried to pull me in but this is really not for me. I'm too shy for this. The facilitator, Verlin Santos, asked the participants to create a poem out of the secret shared by his partner. They were given a few minutes to write and afterwards, they performed in front. Whew! In their last activity, the participants performed an on-the-spot poetry creation and recital out of the last word mentioned by the person before them. These guys were really amazing! And I think Kuya Verlin did a great job, their workshop was very exhaustive and engaging.
Since I still have a plenty of time in the afternoon, I visited the On-the-Spot Face Painting, Caricature Making and T-shirt Printing Booths. I had much fun watching these people create these marvelous masterpieces. They are such remarkable artists!
I also visited the Freedom Wall. Unfortunately, it seems that all spaces had been filled up and the pens had all dried up. But I had a nice time reading what other people had written.
Enlivening the Afternoon with Music
The sleepy afternoon was made livelier by the Ukelele Underground Philippines (UUP) with their ukelele performances of old and new songs, and their original song. UUP is open to 'anyone' who loves to play the ukelele. So if you're interested, you can simply follow them on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ukuleleundergroundph/
Spoken Word Poetry Performance of Words Anonymous
Book Fiesta 2018 ended with the heartfelt performances of Louise Meets, Henri Igna and M Menese from Words Anonymous. Their poetry are very relatable and are able to touch the soul. Here's a glimpse from Henri's performance. To see more of their events, you can follow them on their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/wordsanonph/
Finally...
This ends my National Literature Month Adventure. I am now excited for the 10th PILF and Book Fiesta 2019. So for those who are also looking forward to these events, or events like these, here are some tips:
- Come early. It's better to come early so that you won't miss anything. The on-the-spot caricature making and face painting is on first come first serve basis. I waited for about 3 hours for the caricature because I'm on #33 already. And of course, if you come early, you get the best seats in the venue and the best spaces in the Freedom Wall.
- Bring pen, paper, and handkerchief. Well, you need the pen and paper for writing notes during talks and the handkerchief because it's very hot. Sometimes, you also need a pen because there is no pen in the registration table! And sometimes, the paper and handkerchief will come handy specially if they are needed in storytelling workshops!
- Make sure to have your phone fully charged and with a lot of space. There are a lot of things that you will experience in this kind of events. You should make sure that your phone is ready to capture those memorable moments. It's also better if you have a power bank.
- Wear comfortable clothes and shoes. Since the National Literature Month is held every April, we can already assume that it will be very hot. And since these events are usually held in large areas, we should also expect a lot of walking.
- Bring a lot of water. Manila experienced one of the hottest days last April 23, which was the Book Fiesta. I brought water but it was not enough. I was so thirsty so I bought a small mineral water from the canteen in Fort Santiago. It was worth P50, but I have no choice.
- Try to experience everything. I know this is impossible if talks and workshops are held simultaneously. But make the best out of your time. Move around and explore what else you can try, and don't be shy!
- Bring a friend. These events are something to be shared with our family and friends. It's better to have someone with you so you can take each others' photos, you can eat lunch together, and you can create lots of happy memories. My co-teacher was with me on the first day of PILF, but she did not make it the next day because she wore uncomfortable shoes that made her feet hurt. So, as an additional tip: Have your friend read the tips I mentioned above.
Well.. I hope you enjoyed reading my first post. Happy Literature Month to all! And good luck on our next adventures...
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