NCBD Blog Tour: My Dream Date with a Filipino Author

We are on the second week of the NCBD Blog Tour. Last week, it rained children's books and young adult novels in many a Filipino readers' blog. This week, we are to write about our dream date.

If you could spend a day/night with a writer or illustrator, who would it be?

The writer or illustrator, living or deceased, should have works for Filipino children and young adults. There are no restrictions on the number of answers, genre, etc.

So, who is my dream date?

Nick Joaquin.

It is more of a dream interview, really.

We would be in a cafe somewhere in Quezon City, Cubao perhaps or a hole in the wall cafe in the Morato area. Manila isn't that bad too. Though I could not think of an artsy cafe in the Ermita-Malate. But anywhere where beer and coffee is served is fine.

 He would be drinking beer and I would be satisfied with cups and cups of brewed coffee. I would ask him questions about his series, Pop Stories for Groovy Kids. How the project was conceptualized. What was the reception of readers at the time? Because, in this day and age, if a library has a copy of his series, it is a gem. In my dream, he would reply something intellectual and I would be so impressed because it will take me days to unravel it.

Another question I wish to ask him is his belief on writing for kids and teens. How does he see writing for children and teens compared to adults? I read an essay he wrote for when he won the Ramon Magsaysay Award, saying in the essay that there really shouldn't be any divide between journalism and fiction writing. Or something to that effect.

Going back to reality, I have only his books, letters, essays and journals to read that are kept in select libraries. And to access these is not going to be easy since I am not a full scholar of his works nor do I have the time to visit such repositories. But I remain a fan who will read and reread his works.

This coming NCBD 2015, who is the author you are looking forward to meet?

Umuulan ng Libro! The 32nd National Children’s Books Day will be celebrated through two events. The Philippine Children’s Book Summit on July 21 at Elements Centris, EDSA, and the Children’s Book Fair on July 25 at Rizal Library, Ateneo de Manila University.

The Librarian’s Workshop: Creative Reading Programs for School Libraries Servicing K-12 Learners will also be held on July 25. For more information about any of the above events, please email pbby@adarna.com.ph or visit Philippine Board On Books For Young People Page on Facebook.