Filipiniana Rare Books & Ephemera

I have been immersed in the development of a collection on Filipiniana, rare books and the ephemera since August. It is an interesting branch of Library and Information Science. I consider the experience as a re-education. I thought I had it all - an education in the traditional library school that provided for the basic rudiments of the job and the liberal and progressive graduate studies after. As far as learning is concerned, it is never too late to expand one's horizons.

Last week, I had the pleasure of finally meeting Mario Feir and his collection of Filipiniana rare book and ephemera collection. Mr. Feir, collector and bibliophile invites librarians and scholars, even the curious to peruse and browse through his esteemed collection. He has a war books collection and a host of titles on Philippine folk tales. Blair and Robertson's encyclopedia on everything Filipiniana is in his roster of prized possessions.

I leaned towards the children's book collection. Of course. And dear me! Mr. Feir has a copy of Urbana & Felisa, c. 1896.

I've been to modern libraries here and abroad, but the sensual appeal of old books has its own charm and spirit that could easily win me over. I love technology, but there is something about paper that is so naturally endearing. Perhaps, when I set foot in the British Library or the Library of Congress in Washington DC, then my horizon and perspective on books, reading and the library will likewise change.

Mr. Feir can be reached via 02-856-0957. His place is in One McKinley Place, 11A, 26 St., Crescent Park West. Bonifacio Global City, Taguig. The posh condominium across Crescent Park is Pacific Plaza. There lives another Filipiniana and rare book collector. His story is yet another tale to blog about!

Live Blogging: At Terminal 3 Leaving for Catarman

No wifi connection at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, Terminal 3 so I'm doing this via 3G technology. The flight to Catarman will take one hour and a half plus, a jeepney ride and a boat ride to Capul. Cats Alcaraz of Sa Aklat Sisikat Foundation tells me how rustic the place is. I'll take as many photos as I can.

We will be training twelve teachers and as far as my SAS experience go, this has to be the least number of teachers I will be working with. We hope to finish early on Sunday. From the photos of Capul seen in the web, it looks like there are great places to see and visit.

Will keep you posted!

Storytelling In The Classroom--A Storytelling Seminar And Workshop

Storytelling In The Classroom--A Storytelling Seminar And Workshop By Zarah Gagatiga, will be held on April 13, 2009 (10 a.m. to 2 p.m.), Powerbooks, Trinoma Mall, Quezon City.

Learn the art of storytelling as master storyteller Zarah Gagatiga shares tips and techniques on how to deliver stories that kids will surely enjoy!

All PowerCard and PowerCard Plus holders are invited! Just purchase any ten (10) titles from the "Ang Mga Kuwento Ni Lola Basyang" series on the day of the event and present your receipt and PowerCard or PowerCard Plus I.D. at the registration booth for free entrance.

Zarah Gagatiga is a teacher, storyteller, writer, reading and literacy advocate, and the school librarian of Xavier School, San Juan. She is a member of Kuwentista Ng Mga Tsikiting (KUTING) and the former Vice-President of the Alitaptap Storytellers.

For inquiries, call Anvil Publishing's Marketing Department at (632)7471622.

Salaysayan 2008 Finals

The advantage of judging in both the elimination and final rounds of the Salaysayan Contest was that, I saw how much the contestants improved and grown into the competition.

Two days are not really enough to raise one's game, but all of the contestants (6 in the English Division and 8 in the Filipino) gave their best. In the end, it was "Kuya Lance" (Filipino) and "Teacher Michelle" (English) who brought home the cash, the medal and the prestige. Madame Sonia Rocco and Kuya Tony Yanza bagged the 2nd prize, while Kuya Claude and Ate Dyali were the 3rd prize winners.

It was difficult judging the Filipino Division, more so in the English Division. Every one was at their best! Michelle Agas, however, stood out among the rest with her tempered and restrained rendition of Lina Diaz De Rivera's Lazy Bug: A Love Fable. She had the right moves and animations to the characters' actions and dialogues. Hers was neither awkward nor misplaced. Her voice dynamics for each character was apt and pleasing. Though she has the tendency to spread her voice thinly to annoyance, her control was remarkable last night. For one, I learned she sang with the UP Concert Chorus. Her musical training and experience was her saving grace all through out the five-minute performance. Just imagine the effort and the energy that a storyteller puts forth when doing a complete program!

Storytellers use their voices a lot. Exhaustion would come in easy when air is taken from somewhere else. The diaphragm is still the best source for air; the stomach, a source for strength and stamina.

Apart from Michelle's voice dynamics and well choreographed animated moves, she used a nice little tune to emphasize the bug's identity. Don't we all have a song or mantra to live by? This is what I was talking about from my last post on the Salaysayan Contest. Others show off their talents in acting and performance but fail to present the more important thing - the story and its message. We all are bedazzled with changes in voicing and lively actions. Then again, there's more to it than merely showing off one's chops.

By singing that little ditty, "I'm an insect, not a bird!", Michelle has offered her audience a significant human experience. She must have studied the story several times to truly understand and communicate its relevance. When she personified the beating heart of an old tree, to the surprise of the young bug upon these words, "You've found my heart", she had the grand prize in the bag. That lone dialogue meant so much. The way she said it was like finally discovering one's passion; one's reason for being. When she said those words, with a twinkle in her eye and a contented smile, it was as if she was challenging her listeners; asking them if they have found their heart's desire or if their hearts have been found and claimed. She has revealed an insight to Lina Diaz De Rivera's story.

I have not read De Rivera's story, but having heard Michelle tell it halfway made me want to borrow a copy from the library to read and see it for myself. If this is not storytelling magic, tell me what is!

The long and short of it, Michelle knows herself; her strengths and weakness; her gifts and her flaws. She knew how to balance them and was disciplined enough to climb a notch higher into the finals. She played and studied her piece. She gave a new perspective to the story. She was well prepared. She wanted to win. And she did win for all the right reasons - that, in storytelling, it is the story who is the star!

Having said all these, I dream of a day when I could tandem with Teacher Michelle. Should the time come, the honor would be truly mine.

MIBF 2008: Words Without Borders

The Manila International Book Fair will open on September 12, 2008 at the SMX Convention Center, Mall of Asia Complex, Pasay City. Head on to the MIBF website for a comprehensive look of the varied activities in store for everyone. And I mean everyone-from the serious to the curious.

Do click on Special Events for an overview of the seminars, workshops, exhibits, book launchings, etc. schedule during the four day book fair. Again, I invite you to join me in two of my seminar-workshops - the PBBY and the Vibal Publishing sponsored events respectively.

Apart from these two, I'm just as excited to judge for the Salaysayan Storytelling Contest of the PBBY and Alitaptap Storytellers Philippines on Sunday, September 14 and 16, 2008. What magical doors could storytellers open this time as they do the book based storytelling technique? Would listeners dare step into that magical land? How strong could storytellers, competing for prize and reputation, convince us that the magical world is just as real?

See you there!

Alitaptap Poster Design Contest

Here's a little push for friends in Alitaptap.

We are once again seeking assistance from illustrators who are willing to provide us illustrations for poster designs to be used in our storytelling competitions for 2007. We are launching this search through a small poster design competition opened to all illustrators.

Here are the details of the design contest. Please email if you need more info. Thanks for your interest in joining. We are excited to see your entries.

Guidelines:
1. You may submit as many entries as you want.
2. Poster theme should be included in the design.
3. Submit artwork – layout must be digital, layered, photoshop, corel, freehand, illustrator. 300dpi resolution, size must be 18x24 inches.
4. Contents of the poster is attached. If you received this through a forwarded message, you may ask for info from alitaptap_storytellers@yahoo.com.
5. Actual poster size is 18 x 24 so the texts in the poster may be adjusted to make them proportionate to the poster size.
6. Included in the design are:

For our general poster. Theme: "Pag Binasa ni Tatay, Mga Kuwento'y Nabubuhay."

Must have a father holding a book while telling a story to his kid(s) in a place of illustrator's choice.

For our Inter-College Competition:
Must include a standing teenage guy/girl holding a book while telling a story to a group of kids.

Four our Children's Competition:
Must include a standing little boy/girl holding a book while telling a story to a group of kids with some adults.

CD copy of design must be submitted to:

Alitaptap Storytellers Philippines
c/o Melanie Abad-Ramirez
The National Library of the Philippines
TM Kalaw, Metro Manila

Deadline for submission: June 4, 2007.

From the entries, we will select one design for each competition.

The winner is expected to make all necessary changes, revisions, etc. for the production of the poster.

Prizes:

1. Name of Artist as Grand Prize Winner of 2007 Alitaptap Poster Design Competition shall be included in the poster design.
2. The winner will receive P3,000 in cash. P2,000 shall be awarded upon announcement. And the balance of P1,000 shall be awarded after the completion of the printing of the poster.
3. An Alitaptap medallion shall be awarded to the winners during the Grand Finals of the Inter-College Competition.