Jim Pascual Agustin's Blog, page 36
September 4, 2013
another non-haiku
she squeezed lemon skin
close to my eyes. wake up, love.
pulp like still teardrops.
Filed under: Uncategorized
August 29, 2013
Lack of Logic Behind Dropping Bombs to Save a Population
Lack of Logic Behind Dropping Bombs to Save a Population
Will we ever know the truth? Misinformation on all sides. Meanwhile, those who are directly affected are practically helpless.
The term “terrorist” should include huge corporations and powerful nations that profit on grief and destruction.
Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: Syria, terrorism, US
August 27, 2013
Thinking out loud, wishing softly: an open letter
In the past few weeks, I have no idea how or why, I gained a number of new followers to this little blog. Some look like legitimate poetry lovers, others probably liked a single post they found at random and decided to follow what I write anyway. Whatever each reader's reasons may be, I would like to say THANK YOU. I hope to one day hear from you.
I posted this as a NOTE on my Facebook account and have had good feedback so far. The offer is still up. :)
August 23, 2013
Syrian Dawn
blue before dawn’s breath
stillness past sleep, past waking
man plays god again
-O-
Here is a LINK to a previous post where I offer a free set of poems for anyone interested.
Filed under: Fragments and Moments, Influences, Mga Tula / Poetry, Middle East, poetry, politics, terrorism Tagged: children in war, civil war, Syria
August 22, 2013
35 Years for the Innocent, Eternal Profits for the Wicked
This article from The Guardian should be read over and over. Monsters are real. They run governments and feed on our children.
Filed under: Capitalism's greed, Fragments and Moments, Imperialism, Influences, Middle East, politics, terrorism Tagged: Barack Obama, Bradley Manning, terrorist states, The Guardian, war on terror
August 21, 2013
Thinking out loud, wishing softly: an open letter
In the past few weeks, I have no idea how or why, I gained a number of new followers to this little blog. Some look like legitimate poetry lovers, others probably liked a single post they found at random and decided to follow what I write anyway. Whatever each reader’s reasons may be, I would like to say THANK YOU. I hope to one day hear from you.
A bit of looking back, looking forward now.
My first book of poetry, Beneath an Angry Star (Anvil Publishing, 1992), came out two years after I graduated from university. The book was one of the first in that publisher’s series of titles which appeared with, literally, back-to-back authors. Each poet had his/her own front cover. You had to flip the book to read the other. Romulo Baquiran, Jr’s Filipino poetry appeared with mine.
Two years later came Salimbayan (Publikasyong Sipat, 1994) a poetry book which I shared with two good friends, Argee Guevarra and Neal Imperial.
After a long gap, two books came out at the same time in 2011 (I had already been living in South Africa since October 1994). University of Santo Tomas Publishing House, with Cristina Pantoja Hidalgo at the helm, launched Alien to Any Skin and Baha-bahagdang Karupukan. As far as I know, no other Filipino poet has published two poetry books in two languages (not just translations of the same set of poems) at the same time. It was a great year.
This year, if all goes as planned, that is bound to be repeated with the publication of Sound Before Water (by end of August or early September) and Kalmot ng Pusa sa Tagiliran (September or October). I believe I have found my ideal publisher in UST Publishing House. The care they showed to both author and book has impressed me to such an extent that I find it unimaginable not giving them first look at future manuscripts.
There are plans to eventually put these titles out on digital format. I am hoping to convince them somehow that it will be worth their while to do that sooner rather than later. I want to ask them to take a leap with my poetry books – to begin with, the two titles in English (Alien to Any Skin and Sound Before Water) – and make them accessible to possible readers (buyers!) outside of the Philippines.
This is me hoping against hope that a small wish will be heard by the few followers of this blog. But one can’t just expect kindness and support out of thin air, one has to offer something. Here goes.
I’m busy putting together two new poetry manuscripts in English. One of them (tentatively called Sky for Silent Wings) has a section called “Endings are Beginnings” which contains a nine-poem cycle I am very proud of. I will send you the whole section if you send me a request in the form of a comment to this post. Your message should have your email address – which I promise not to make public – to which I shall send the file. If, after reading the poems, you think my poetry deserves to reach a wider audience, then please return to this post and show your support.
There is no obligation for you to buy my books – in print or future digital format. Although doing so would obviously make my publisher happy to continue supporting my work.
Is this too much to ask? 
I wish to thank you in advance.
-o-
Filed under: Literary News & Articles, Mga Tula / Poetry, poetry, Uncategorized Tagged: Alien to Any Skin, Baha-bahagdang Karupukan, Jim Pascual Agustin, Kalmot ng Pusa sa Tagiliran, Sound Before Water, UST Publishing House
August 16, 2013
One from my Haiku attempt folder
I like the new group of online friends I found at Goodreads. They are fun and make writing – even senseless stuff – seem like the most natural thing to do.
-o-
she clubs Ken limbless
with a diplodocus tail
elsewhere, Barbie’s head
-o-
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/669158?class=mediumText&order=a&page=111
-o-
For years now I’ve been writing short poems making use of the 5-7-5 syllable form, not really keeping to “pure” Haiku. Some of these short poems have appeared in some of my poetry collections (will have to verify which ones), but in the manuscript I am working on I intend to put a whole section of these little things that are unpredictable and wayward as alien critters that have broken out of a containment unit from a distant galactic prison pod. hahaha.
Filed under: Uncategorized
August 15, 2013
August 9, 2013
Poems from ALIEN TO ANY SKIN featured on The Houseboat
August 8, 2013
So I did write something called “The Ghosts have Left Fukushima”
But I only have it up for a while for critique at one of my poetry groups. Here is the LINK – temporary as I plan to delete the post when I’ve got a final version.
For those who have no idea what I’m talking about, read yesterday’s entry.
Filed under: Asia, environment, poetry Tagged: Jim Pascual Agustin, nuclear meltdown, Philippines, poetry, The Ghosts of Fukushima, tsunami
