Jim Pascual Agustin's Blog, page 27

Fire and the King – a first draft

Fire and the King

or why we have to keep our eyes open and not let them think we are all fools

The King is scared of fire. He needs

the biggest rubber duck with the biggest

hole to fit a belly that is shiny as his head.

A duck that can float without bumping

against the sides of the biggest pool

one cannot easily afford.

Oh, sorry, not a rubber duck,

I meant a rubber rooster that clucks

clucks clucks when sensors are set off,

when it smells smoke with its fleshy

red crown. The King himself

needs a crown the shape of a shower.

For he saw in a dream that fire

can eat up thatched roofs in one gulp,

a terrible fire that has sharp teeth but

does not chew up what it bites. This

is how it should be. This is how to protect

a King from the shadows of a dream.

-o-

Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: Nkandla

Reading at Franschhoek Literary Festival 2015

I’ve been lucky enough to be invited to read at this year’s Franschhoek Literary Festival. The organizers (thank you, Aerodrome’s Alexander Matthews!) have lined up an interesting set of poets. I’m still not sure what poems to read. Any chance to face an audience and gauge their reaction to your work is always an interesting experience.

I’m also going to use the event to reconnect with the friends I made during the awarding of the Sol Plaatje EU Poetry Award a few months back.

Tomorrow is also the day Palestinians commemorate Nakba. I feel I must read something to mark the day. And then there’s xenophobia. I wonder if there’ll be time to read something else, something about Lego and millipedes and SpongeBob. We’ll see. First I will have to negotiate traffic and wet, cold weather. Wish me luck.

Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: Aerodrome, Alexander Matthews, Baleka, Franschhoek Literary Festival 2015, Jim Pascual Agustin, Nakba, Palestine, poetry, xenophobia

Happiness: The Delight-Tree arrives in the post

This arrived in the postbox this morning. I only found out today that Marjorie Evasco also has a poem in this UN anthology. So extra happy! And some very big names from SA as well as other parts of the world.

My own poem comes from my 2011 book ALIEN TO ANY SKIN published by University of Santo Tomas Publishing House.

Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: Alien to Any Skin, Happiness: the Delight-Tree, International Day of Happiness, Jim Pascual Agustin, University of Santo Tomas Publishing House

Because lines are drawn, they can be erased

This editorial from The Mail and Guardian summarizes how I feel about what has been happening in South Africa, my second home.

READ THE EDITORIAL

Filed under: Uncategorized

Stubbornness and Wreckless Abandon

Two decades is a long time to be away from your own children. What if they were only made of paper, words on paper in a language you grew up speaking but now rarely use because no one else where you now live knows it? Would you still recognize them as your own? Would they seem as important and worth reading after all these years?

I am currently proofreading the text for my first book of short stories in Filipino, Sanga sa Basang Lupa, which is due for release later in the year. I had to stop for a while again. I remember the rough outline of each story, but I found myself getting all tense and fearful for the characters, or laughing with them at certain points of the narrative. Had they taken on a life of their own in all the time they had been in storage?

Would other readers feel the same way if and when they finally open the pages of the book and enter the worlds I had imagined? Will these stories even be given a chance by a single reviewer? A single reader?

I never thought of these at all when I was writing each story. If I had, none of them would be here now.

Stubbornness and wreckless abandon, I blame you, you twins of creation. And thank you. Now I have nothing but hope.

I just made up this design for this post and will not be used for the final book at all.

Filed under: Literary News & Articles, Sanga sa Basang Lupa Tagged: Jim Pascual Agustin, Sanga sa Basang Lupa, short story in Filipino, UST Publishing House

Kung Bubuuin, May Darating (haha… kung alam mo ang pinagmulan niyan, ngingiti o ngingiwi ka ba?)

Mahirap panatilihing buhay ang wika kung ikaw lamang ang tanging bumibigkas nito sa iyong kinalalagyan. Hinahagilap ng isip ang bawat hakbang ng salita, hindi madaling magtatakbo kung saan pumapanig-panig at kumakampay ang imahinasyon. Kaya nga dumadalang ang aking pagsusulat ng mga tula sa Filipino. Balak kong gisingin muli ito sa pamamagitan ng pagsasalin. Ang una ko sanang proyekto – idedeklara na kahit hindi tiyak kung mabibigyang-pansin agad – ay ang pagsasalin ng mga piling akda ko mula sa Inggles/Ingles (alin ba ang higit na popular na baybay?). Ito sana ang pamagat:

KaLaman at DayuHan: mga saling-sarili.

Ngayong taon ilalabas ang una kong aklat ng mga maikling kuwento (SANGA SA BASANG LUPA) sa wikang kinagisnan. Gayong matagal nang nailatag sa papel ang mga salitang naipon bilang mga kuwento, ngayon lamang sila sabay-sabay na hahakbang sa mas malawak na daigdig. Pangamba kong matindi ang kanilang kahihinatnan. Magiging mabuti kaya ang kanilang paglalakbay? Paano kaya sila tatanggapin ng mga mambabasa? Sino kaya ang aampon sa kanila? Ilulunsad sila kasabay ng aking ikapitong aklat ng mga tula (A THOUSAND EYES) sa mga susunod na buwan. Sana, o sana, pagbuksan sila ng pinto, o kahit man lamang ng bintana. Lagi, kakambal ng “sana” ang “pag-asa.”

(ROUGH TRANSLATION: I’m worried I am losing my ability to write in my mother tongue so I am embarking on translating my selected poems from English to Filipino, even as two new books are due to be launched this year – SANGA SA BASANG LUPA (my first collection of short stories in Filipino) and A THOUSAND EYES (my seventh book of poetry). I hope to have an online launch of both books in Manila and a launch of the poetry books in English in Cape Town – if all goes as planned (more “as hoped for”).

Filed under: A Thousand Eyes, KaLaman at DayuHan, poetry, Sanga sa Basang Lupa Tagged: Filipino poetry, Filipino poetry in English, immigrant, Jim Pascual Agustin, poetry in translation, translation, UST Publishing House

The First Four Poems

Most of my friends are scattered in various parts of the world. Not a single one was able to attend when I read at Off the Wall on Monday night.

It would have been nice to see familiar faces. But that night I also made new friends, I hope. Thank you to those who came to listen, and for those who wished they could’ve been there, I’ve made a brief recording and put it up on Soundcloud. Tell me what you think. And thanks again for all the support. Soon I hope to announce the release of A THOUSAND EYES.

photo from The Guardian of a Lego man depicting what took place in Abu Gharib, Iraq

Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: A Thousand Eyes, Alien to Any Skin, Cape Town, Filipino poetry, Filipino poetry in English, Jim Pascual Agustin, Off the Wall Poetry Observatory, poetry, Sound Before Water, Soundcloud, UST Publishing House

Off the Wall on 9 March 2015 – THE HAND THAT LEFT THE PUPPET GASPING

If all goes well, I’ll be reading at Off the Wall in Observatory’s A Touch of Madness bar and restaurant here in Cape Town. One of the poems I intend to read is “The Man Who Wished He was Lego” which appeared in Sixfold. I shared a link to that in an earlier post. But for those who missed it, HERE IT IS AGAIN.

I’m hoping not to make the audience fall asleep. Well, an audience would be nice to have in the first place. So if you are in Cape Town or plan to have a weird night on Monday, come on over. :)

I’m also going to read work included in the recently released NEW COIN POETRY bumper issue. If you ever read contemporary poetry, this journal has got to be on your list. Convince your local library to subscribe to NEW COIN POETRY (check them out on Facebook).

Hmmm wait, might as well post the poem here for lazy readers who cannot even click to a link. haha.

-o-

The Man Who Wished He was Lego

His hands would be yellow

and forever curved

into a semi-square ���C.���

Designed only for quick

and easy snapping

of pieces meant

to fit. His shoes

would be the same color

as his pants with no zips

or buttons, no pockets

for slipping in notes

that could be shredded

in the wash. He would need

not worry about the shape

of his head, or haircuts

and thoughts for that matter.

And best of all, his chest

would be stiff and hollow,

far too small

for a heart.

-o-

Filed under: A Thousand Eyes, Influences, Life in a different world, Literary News & Articles, Mga Tula / Poetry Tagged: A Thousand Eyes, Africa, Alien to Any Skin, Filipino, Filipino poetry, Filipino poetry in English, Jim Pascual Agustin, New Coin Poetry

A few goat poems from ALIEN TO ANY SKIN

Amber Fort Goats

The first one I saw was close

to the hotel, standing on its hind legs,

udders dangling like a pair

of lifeless arms.

She was the neighbourhood���s

resident pruner of shrubs and trees,

chewing away at the reds and greens

of bougainvillae along a spiked fence.

Later as I took on the stone steps

up Amber Fort I saw more.

Long limbed and silent hooved,

nudging not a pebble as they trotted.

Free to roam the ruins, more at home

here than the lumbering elephants

forced to ferry tourists past arches,

brown as burnt french fries.

Perhaps in another life

they were princes,

courtiers, palace officials,

a conquering raj.

I must practice my curtsey, wag

an ear or attempt the humblest bleat.

I might have a turn one day sifting through

garbage, savouring petals of velvet red.

Dream again of being king.

�� February 2010

-o-

Goat, Rope, Rock

There is a goat in front of a house surrounded by sand.

Its left foot is tied to a rope

attached to a chunk of rock.

The desert town of Jaisalmer grows dark.

It is possible there are other goats

like this one, tied similarly to a rock.

But this is the goat that will not surrender

gnawing at the rope even as darkness reigns.

It will not give up while rope

taunts the limits of teeth.�� Even when I

am no longer by the window to witness

its freedom.

March 2010

-o-

The Camel, The Poodles, the Pygmy Goats

There was a flourish of canned music and a wild

bouncing around of the one lone spotlight,

but the curtains didn���t part.�� We sat

on plastic chairs that grew

even more uncomfortable.

Suddenly a camel came charging through

the golden curtains, the trainer unable to keep up.

Perhaps sensing there was no desert night,

it reared.�� Front hooves

the size of a child���s skull.

The frantic trainer called for help

and the beast was led away amid screams

backstage.�� More waiting until two poodles

shuffled like mechanical toys to the centre

of the ring.�� They did their routine: hoop-leaps,

Two-legged spinning in tutus.�� With ���Awww so cute���

and giggles we soon forgot the previous commotion.

They left the ring with a yelp

after the last doggie treat

disappeared down their throats.

And so we came to watch the last

animal act: Billy and His Kid.

Being pygmies, they quickly drew a sigh

from the audience.�� Small is beautiful

even if barely trained to do more than cross a plank.

I suppose we���ve come a few more steps

away from the sight of roaring lions made to jump

through flaming hoops.�� We didn���t see

a single whip, though next to the pouch

of treats was a black stick.

���Perhaps next year,��� the ringmaster blared,

���our lion cubs will be old enough for the show!���

We couldn���t wait to leave.

But the kids gave us the look, a reminder

of how we pay for our mistakes.

-o-

Late Autumn, Early Winter

Hadeda ibises scythe the air

with their cries.�� Not like crows

or vultures, but something closer

to a human voice caught

between a wail and a screech.

I cannot see them among the branches

of an invasive American pine tree

just twenty paces away

from where I struggle.

They watch me dig

this sandy soil

that slips back into the hole

almost as quickly as I try

to make it wider, deeper,

with a rusty shovel.

This is a grave

for a pet who is still

munching lucerne in the garage.

Not the first grave

I have dug.�� And I know

it won���t be the last.

I lean the shovel

against the trickling wall of sand

to pause and measure.

Do I need to keep digging?

Is there room enough

for Marie?�� Born with back legs

that were as limp as fallen branches,

she defied the pull of the earth

and used her front legs to run

almost as fast as any goat

for many years.

Now this.

Almost a week now

her legs have lost all strength.

The vet knows Marie���s genes

had struck the dreaded hour.

I have prepared a blanket

for her when he���s done.

The appointment is at 11:00.

It is late autumn, early winter,

then suddenly there is sunshine

on the damp grass

at level to my hips.�� Dark clouds

broken as brief as a breath.

But it happens.

�� May 2008

-o-

Happy New Chinese Year! Here’s my small way of bleeting. :P

I have been promised by my publisher that sooner rather than later the book will be available on digital format. Here’s hoping.

ALIEN TO ANY SKIN (UST Publishing House, 2011)

Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: Alien to Any Skin, Chinese New Year 2015, goats, Jim Pascual Agustin, poems from ALIEN TO ANY SKIN, poetry, year of the goat, year of the ram

Esperanza Street by Niyati Keni

I highly recommend getting hold of Niyati Keni’s novel that has just been released, ESPERANZA STREET. Set in the Philippines, the novel managed to make me remember home.

Described by Kirkus Reviews as a ���luminous, revelatory study on the connection between person and place���, Niyati Keni���s debut novel, Esperanza Street, portrays the dissolution of a community in pre-EDSA revolution Philippines. The novel is narrated by fifteen year old Joseph, houseboy to the once wealthy Mary Morelos. Esperanza Street is about freedom, or the lack of it, and about how the choices that we make are ultimately the true measure of who we are.

Kirkus Review LINK

Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: Esperanza Street, Niyati Keni, Philippines pre-EDSA 1986