Jim Pascual Agustin's Blog, page 29
November 7, 2014
New Friends in a Day
I need to tell you how everything went on the night of 4 November 2014 at the Goethe Institut in Johannesburg. But it’s going to take me some time. I also want to tell you a lot of other things that made the brief trip way better than I ever expected.
For now, I want to congratulate my new friends and fellow winners of the 2014 Sol Plaatje European Union Poetry Award – Rochelle Jacobs and Thabo Jijana! You guys are amazing people and I hope to meet up with you soon again.
Here is a LINK to the press release from the fantastic people of Jacana Media.
And this was my home made pin for the event, up close.
Filed under: Africa, environment, Fragments and Moments, Literary News & Articles, Mga Tula / Poetry Tagged: A Thousand Eyes, Filipino poetry, Jacana Media, Jim Pascual Agustin, Marikana, miners, Philippines, Rochelle Jacobs, Sol Plaatje European Union Poetry Award, South Africa, South African poetry, Thabo Jijana 
November 3, 2014
A day before the day
Jacana Media has generously made available the three poems up for the 2014 Sol Plaatje European Union Poetry Award. HERE is the link. My poem, “Illegal, Undocumented,” is part of my manuscript SKY FOR SILENT WINGS (or OSAMA, YOU ARE NOW OPEN COUNTRY… or THE MAN WHO WISHED HE WAS LEGO… yup, I still haven’t made up my mind which title to use, and neither has my fictitious publisher decided to accept it or not… maybe I should dream of another publisher?).
original image from WikimediaFiled under: Africa, Capitalism's greed, environment, Europe, Fragments and Moments, Influences, Life in a different world, Literary News & Articles, Mga Tula / Poetry, poetry, politics, Sky for Silent Wings Tagged: Jacana Media, Jim Pascual Agustin, Sky for Silent Wings, Sol Plaatje European Union Poetry Award, The Man Who Wished He was Lego
October 25, 2014
Jumping up and down at Checkers
Checkers is one of the big supermarket chains here in SA. They must have to deal with massive numbers of people who come to their premises – mainly to do their shopping, one hopes. Security, a word that means the opposite in some (most?) cases, has become a major concern to most businesses in this country, particularly as the holiday season approaches. The rise of armed robberies at shopping malls is a disturbing reality that shoppers here now face. In fact, one such incident had taken place just a few weeks ago at the particular mall we frequent.
This post has nothing to do with that. It has to do with the way I must have looked to the personnel monitoring the security screens at a Checkers when my beaten up cellphone notified me of an email. My daughter who was standing next to me thought her father had gone bonkers. I was trying very hard not to jump up and down. I was also beaming at every stranger who walked past. I was, to put it mildly, overwhelmed by a most unexpected news.
The official announcement has just been released, so I am posting it here. I have been warned that maybe I am blowing my own horn… sometimes a little too loudly. I want to think of it as sharing some good news. Here it is. Books LIVE has the same announcement up.
-o-
Filed under: A Thousand Eyes, Europe, Fragments and Moments, Literary News & Articles, Mga Tula / Poetry, poetry, Sky for Silent Wings Tagged: alien, Illegal, immigration, Jacana Media, Jim Pascual Agustin, migrant workers, miners, Sol Plaatje European Union Poetry Award, Undocumented
September 8, 2014
“The Unspoken Child” haunts up Aerodrome
My poem, “The Unspoken Child,” just went up on Aerodrome. It’s an odd piece that mixes memory and longing with elements from fantasy/horror movies – or one could just say a child’s imagination, just so potential readers don’t get creeped out. If you’re going to ask if any of this was real, as always my answer would be YES and NO.
I’m really glad that the poem has found a home so far from home, a place to haunt outside of my own head. Speaking of head, the original title was “The Head of a Child,” lifted from a line of a fantastic poem by Jimmy Pappas. Maybe one day I can get his permission to share that poem. For now, thank you, Jimmy.
My poem forms part of “Counting Backwards,” the opening section of a forthcoming book, A Thousand Eyes (UST Publishing House 2015 – hopefully).
There may be a bit of a gap between this and the next poem that sees publication as I have not sent out poems for a while.
Filed under: A Thousand Eyes, Asia, Creatures, environment, Literary News & Articles, Mga Tula / Poetry, poetry, Uncategorized Tagged: A Thousand Eyes, Aerodrome, Jim Pascual Agustin, The Unspoken Child, UST Publishing House
September 4, 2014
She Hates Elmo’s Voice and other poems on Kritika Kultura
Four poems free to download are featured on Kritika Kultura: Bulletproof, Nails on the Floor, Ignoring the Hand of God, and She Hates Elmo’s Voice. Be prepared. They are not for the faint of heart. (just kidding)
HERE is the link to Kritika Kultura
Thank you in advance to readers who might want to give me feedback which I always welcome.
Filed under: A Thousand Eyes, Literary News & Articles, Mga Tula / Poetry, poetry, politics, Uncategorized Tagged: dictatorship, Elmo, God, Imelda, Jim Pascual Agustin, Kritika Kultura, Marcos, Obama
September 2, 2014
A free gift… Sixfold Summer Issue
A few new poems got included in the latest issue of Sixfold. Here’s a page off the issue.
If you like this one (which is now included in a manuscript in search of a publisher) maybe you’ll like the others in the issue. HERE is the SIXFOLD link. And if you end up liking my other poems, then maybe you can show them to other readers and then… maybe find enough time to vote for my books that are nominated at the Filipino Readers Choice Awards. HERE is the link. :)
I know it’s a long shot, as it is basically a popularity contest (haha! an excuse for those who are left unread or with a less supportive group of friends perhaps?). But hey, worth a try. I’m currently recording some of the poems in the books and thinking of putting them up on Soundcloud… and always that question, why? Which should always be answered with WHY NOT?
Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: Filipino Readers Choice Awards, Jim Pascual Agustin, Kalmot ng Pusa sa Tagiliran, Sound Before Water, UST Publishing House
August 22, 2014
2014 Filipino Readers’ Choice Awards… and my two books have a foot in the door
Never been the popular kid. I’m only sharing this news because it’s out there anyway, so why not. My two recent poetry books have been nominated at the 2014 Filipino Readers’ Choice Awards.
If you ever liked any of my stuff, then maybe this nomination will encourage you to at least vote for one (or both?) of the books. Better yet, buy my books if you can. There are rumors of an e-book version some day…
With this type of popularity contest, you never know what might happen. One vote might multiply magically. :P
Here’s hoping.
In any case, since you’ve read this far, maybe you can check out the poetry drafts on this blog and ask yourself if it is worth an effort to consider voting for me.
Thank you.
ps… in case you’re having trouble, my books are Kalmot ng Pusa sa Tagiliran and Sound Before Water.
Filed under: Uncategorized
August 14, 2014
Mother Tongue in a Twist and some news
My country of birth is celebrating Buwan ng Wika, “Language Month,” but what it means really, I think, is the celebration of all Philippine languages. The focus seems to be more on Filipino, a language based largely on Tagalog. It is considered to be more flexible than Tagalog in making room for other languages.
I grew up with Tagalog/Filipino (Marikina is in Luzon, the home of Tagalog), Ilokano (my father is from “Marcos country” in the north), English (TV in the care of Sesame Street, The Electric Company, and Philippine English-dubbed Japanese anime like Voltes V and Mazinger Z), and Spanish (forced upon us during university at a time when students were calling for more options). I wonder if there is room for more in my silly little brain.
I posted the following announcement on Facebook and will attempt to translate it for non-Filipino readers. (somehow it sounds odd and alien in translation).
-o-
Magandang balita para sa Buwan ng Wika para sa mga kaibigan kong mambabasa ng mga akdang nasulat sa Filipino… tinanggap ng UST Publishing House ang aking manuskrito ng maiikling kuwento sa Filipino, SANGA SA BASANG LUPA AT IBA PANG KUWENTO. Hindi ko pa alam kung kailan ilalathala, ngunit sana ngayon pa lamang ay pag-isipan na ninyong bigyan ng lugar sa inyong aklatan (sarili man o pampamantasan… pambaranggay o parokya, at kung saan pa! sa opisina simulan kaya?). Samantala, sana tangkilikin din ninyo ang mga koleksyon ko ng mga tula sa Filipino na inilathala rin ng USTPH: ang naging finalist sa National Book Award na BAHA-BAHAGDANG KARUPUKAN at ang kasalukuyang nominado sa Filipino Readers Choice Awards na KALMOT NG PUSA SA TAGILIRAN. Ayan, kahit malayo ako ay may paraan pa ring makapiling – kahit man lamang sa mga salitang inilatag sa papel. Isang araw iyan na lamang ang malalabi sa akin. Di tulad ng ibang yumaong nilalang na paulit-ulit pang mapapanood na gumagalaw at nagpapatawa, humuhugot ng mga damdaming sinulid sa kaibuturan ng kalungkutan. Ano nga ba ang ating ihahabilin?
-o-
Good news for Buwan ng Wika for all my friends who read literary works in Filipino… UST Publishing House has accepted my short fiction manuscript in Filipino, BRANCH ON WET GROUND AND OTHER STORIES . There is still no publication date, but I’m hoping you’d begin thinking of making room for it in your library (your own or your academic institution’s… your community library or even through your church and wherever else! at your place of work maybe?). Meanwhile, I hope you try reading my poetry collections in Filipino, also published by UST Publishing House: BAHA-BAHAGDANG KARUPUKAN, shortlisted for the National Book Award, and KALMOT NG PUSA SA TAGILIRAN which has been nominated at the ongoing Filipino Readers’ Choice Awards. And so despite the distance there might still be a way to bring us together – even if just through words on paper. One day only those willl be left of me. Not like others who are no longer with us yet we can still watch over and over, moving and making us laugh, drawing threads out of us from the pit of sadnes.What is it really that we leave behind?
Filed under: Sanga sa Basang Lupa
August 11, 2014
Israeli Soldiers Use Palestinian Civilians as Human Shields
The lies that the IDF and the Israeli propaganda machinery try desperately to force-feed to major media outlets can only be countered by the accounts of their victims.
Filed under: Fragments and Moments, Imperialism, Middle East, politics Tagged: human rights, human rights violations, Humanitarian aid for Gaza, Imperialism, Israel, Israeli apartheid, Israeli atrocities, Israeli propaganda, media lies, murder of civilians, terrorist state, Viva Palestina
