Jim Pascual Agustin's Blog, page 34
November 22, 2013
Rusted Radishes 2 will feature one of my poems!
My poem “If Palestine were a Treasured Painting” has been included in the second issue of Rusted Radishes! I need a working teleporter to attend the launch in the next few days. 
I submitted the poem a long time ago. Their fantastic editors suggested some changes which I gladly accepted. And finally it’s out there!
Filed under: Literary News & Articles, Mga Tula / Poetry, poetry Tagged: Filipino poetry, If Palestine were a Treasured Painting, Jim Pascual Agustin, Palestine, Philippines, poetry, Rusted Radishes, Sky for Silent Wings
November 21, 2013
Kalmot ng Pusa sa Tagiliran is now available!
My new book of poetry in Filipino, Kalmot ng Pusa sa Tagiliran (University of Santo Tomas Publishing House, 2013), is finally out! Readers in the Philippines should easily find the book at National Book Store and Fully-Booked, Solidaridad Bookshop and maybe a few others.
The fantastic introduction from Benilda S. Santos alone is worth reading, aside from the poems.
The cover is designed by John Marin Flores. I hope you find it disturbing.
Filed under: Baha-bahagdang Karupukan, Kalmot ng Pusa sa Tagiliran, Literary News & Articles, Mga Tula / Poetry, poetry Tagged: Baha-bahagdang Karupukan, Benilda S. Santos, Filipino poetry, Jim Pascual Agustin, Philippines, poetry, South Africa, UST Publishing House
November 19, 2013
My Middle Name is My Mother’s Surname. No, Her Father’s!
I finally have in my hands my contributor’s copy of The Sol Plaatje European Union Poetry Anthology Volume III! Took some time due to the mysterious appearance of a black hole, but what matters is that it has arrived intact ahead of the Cape Town launch in early December.
I feel lucky to be in this anthology despite sending my three poems in at the last minute. The poems, “Silent Wing,” “Human Patience,” and “Exit Music for the Disappeared,” are part of a nine-poem cycle called Endings are Beginnings which is the last section of my manuscript in progress, Sky for Silent Wings. I just wish my middle name – which is really my mother’s surname… no, wait, her father’s surname! – had not been left out altogether… well, not entirely. I see it in the biographical notes!
I’m not complaining, not at all. Just a niggle, really.
Thank you to Liesl Jobson and all the judges. Maybe next year I’ll be even luckier. Hahaha! Keep dreaming, Jim Pascual Agustin!
-o-
My country of birth is still reeling from the devastation of Haiyan/Yolanda. There is no forgetting how this tragedy has ruined so many lives. And yet human kindness and generosity shine through despite the petty politics of various parties (media, politicians, and individuals armed with keyboards). I am thankful for those who continue to help in countless ways the survivors, and all those who see beyond this catastrophe, those who seek new ways of lessening the blows of climate change. The human family can come together, I believe. This I say in a world where often there seems so little to believe in, to hope for. Yet we continue to surprise one another. We are never alone.
-o-
Filed under: Africa, Fragments and Moments, Life in a different world, Mga Tula / Poetry, poetry, Sanaysay / Essays, Sound Before Water Tagged: Alien to Any Skin, Endings are Beginnings, Exit Music for the Disappeared, Filipino poetry, Human Patience, Jim Pascual Agustin, Liesl Jobson, Philippine poetry, Silent Wing, Sky for Silent Wings, Sol Plaatje European Poetry Anthology Vol III, Sound Before Water, South Africa
November 14, 2013
Thank you to all who did whatever they can to help
This image is from Facebook. Maraming salamat. After aiding the survivors, the work of rebuilding begins. I hope more people continue to extend a helping hand.
-o-
Back in 2009 my family was among those who were severely affected by massive floods caused by heavy rains that lasted way beyond what anyone expected. I managed to get back to Manila a week after the floods and helped with trying to put my family’s life back together. Much later I wrote this poem which is now part of my new book, Sound Before Water. The first word of each line of the poem makes up the title of the musical piece which I continue to listen to when I need some solace.
These Days Every Time It Rains My Mother Trembles
after listening to Djivan Gasparyan’s “I Will Not Be Sad in This World”
I speak to my mother on the other side of the world, and wonder
will she see my eyes again one day? How do I convince her
not to fear the rising waters, my voice trailing on copper?
Be calm, I tell her. She takes nothing but family albums upstairs. No one
sad or afraid in those photos, no one in any frame I can remember is alone.
In minutes the broken marble floor becomes a riverbed. A quickening,
this grip suddenly gone loose. My sister takes her up. Then a raging
world thrashes about. The receiver I hold fills with droning.
-o-
Filed under: Asia, environment, Fragments and Moments, poetry Tagged: Djivan Gasparyan, I will not be sad in this world, international aid, Jim Pascual Agustin, Philippines, relief operations, Sound Before Water, super typhoon Haiyan, Yolanda
November 10, 2013
Philippine Red Cross | Donate
http://www.redcross.org.ph/donate
Please donate any amount you can in aid of those severely affected by the recent typhoon.
Filed under: Uncategorized
Protected: Philippine Red Cross | Donate
This post is password protected. You must visit the website and enter the password to continue reading.
Filed under: Uncategorized
October 28, 2013
October 25, 2013
A piece of wood, some string, mythmaking
Blame it on the James Cameron movie that made Leonardo and Kate household names (Kate Winslet is an amazing actress, but a blockbuster movie definitely did her good), this news item on the Titanic violin makes me feel sick.
Violin from Titanic sold for world record price of £900 000
I could think of a million things better to do with that much money. Or even a drop of that.
Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: James Cameron, Kate Winslet, Leonardo Dicaprio, Titanic, Violin from Titanic sold for world record price of £900 000
October 24, 2013
Neither Here nor There, but Definitely Somewhere
Doors close, doors open.
I sent an entry very late for this prestigious South African poetry competition, the Sol Plaatje European Union Poetry Award, but was lucky enough to be included in the “longlist” which means my poems now have a place in the anthology. They didn’t quite make it to the finals, let alone the “shortlist.” Hmmm… all these lists.
But who am I to complain? I’ve never gotten any award for my writing until this year with the DALRO. Before this, the only other claim to recognition I had was when my book, Baha-bahagdang Karupukan, was a finalist at the National Book Awards in the Philippines. I am always thankful for any chance to share my work with readers, and any recognition such as these are just extra ego boost. Something to make you feel better when there is so little else to be happy about.
The three poems in the anthology are rather new. They are part of a nine-poem cycle called “Endings are Beginnings” which is the closing section for one of the manuscripts I am still working on. My copy of the anthology hasn’t arrived, so this image is straight out of the Jacana website.
Congratulations to Kobus Moolman who won First Prize, and to Vonani Bila (editor for New Coin!) and Nedine Moonsamy who won Second and Third respectively!
Maybe next year I’ll get up one rung higher. hahahaha. Ever hopeful. Then perhaps a book deal from a South African publisher… keep dreaming. I will have to keep on making noise then.
Filed under: Africa, Literary News & Articles, poetry, Sound Before Water, Uncategorized Tagged: Alien to Any Skin, Baha-bahagdang Karupukan, DALRO, Jacana, Jim Pascual Agustin, Kobus Moolman, Nedine Moonsamy, New Coin, poetry, Sol Plaatje European Union Poetry Award, Sound Before Water, South Africa, Vonani Bila
October 22, 2013
The Floating City of Ghosts
I shall claim that as a good title for a poem or a story based on this article: “The Ocean is Broken”
For now, please read the article and let it weave nightmares as you sleep. When you wake up, you might have an idea how to fix this broken world.
Filed under: Uncategorized
