Author Chat with ZarahG: Rhandee Reads, Writes and Rises Above the Pande...

And finally, it is here - my author chat with Rhandee Garlitos. 

What I hoped would be an October-November offering of the blog and my YouTube Channel turned out to be a New Year's week special. Though the recording of this chat happened last year in late September, the topics that Rhandee and I discussed in the first part is just appropriate to the times. 

Here we talked about the hard blows that the pandemic has given everyone and yet, we see ourselves -- and everyone, rising above the challenges. Watch and listen as we converse on the changes and the adaptations that artists, content creators and innovators are making in this uncertain times.

Do watch out for announcements of workshops and online selling of Rhandee's books over at Facebook. This is the link - https://www.facebook.com/rhandee.garlitos

Rhandee Garlitos on LGBTQIA+ Stories for Children

May panayam ang blog kay Rhandee Garlitos, manunulat, makata at bonggang-bonggang nilalang tungkol sa panitikan para sa kabtaan na may tenant LGBTQA+.

1. Kamusta ang reception at readership ng LGBTQ book mo na Bonggang-bonggang Batang Beki? 

Since it was first published in 2013, it has made milestones in both children’s book publishing and in LGBTQIA+-friendly books.  As the very first Southeast Asian children’s picture book to discuss about sexual orientation and gender identity and expression (SOGIE) way before the term was even invented, it blazed the trail for other SOGIE books in the Philippines to be published and read by a wider audience of not only children but also grown-ups who now recognize what used to be a “taboo” topic that is too unsafe to be published in a country that has strong religious traditions and its prevailing biases or homophobia. 

2. Sa observation mo, ano ang status ng LGBTQ stories for children sa context at environment natin? Excluding provinces and rural areas.

Unti-unti nang namumulat ang ating mga mambabasa na may ganitong klaseng babasahin o mga aklat na maaari na ring basahin o ipabasa sa mga bata.  This would not have happened a few years ago. It also pays that the Internet, social media and mass media like TV and newspapers/news websites now feature LGBTQ stories and experiences.  One aspect that has become mainstream are stories like boys’ love dramas in very recent times or the Batang Poz series that tackle HIV-positive teenagers. Hindi na lamang ito para sa mga mambabasa sa  highly-urbanized areas kundi maging sa mga rural areas.

Of course, may initial shock ito noong unang lumabas. May iba na nagsasabing hindi ito inaakala given the situation of those times. May nagsasabi ring di dapat lumabas ito dahil it would encourage children to become gay, etc. o na hindi pa handa ang audiences sa ganitong mga paksa.  Still, a good majority welcomed the book because they thought it is time for children to get exposed to this kind of literature with proper guidance from the adults that rear them.

Hindi pa rin mawawala ang homophobia sa panahon ngayon at dapat nating gawin ang lahat para tuluyan itong mawala. Maganda siguro na ang lipunan, sa pamumuno ng mga religious institutions, ay maipaunawa na bahagi ng ating komunidad ang mga miyembro ng LGBTQIA+ community. 

3. Ano-ano pa ang dapat gawin ng book industry para mabigyan ng boses ang mas maraming authors and illustrators na gustong lumikha ng mga LGBTQ stories for kids? 

Simple lang – mag-publish lang nang mag-publish hanggang may magagandang mga kuwento na may ganitong paksa. Mas maging open-minded ang mga publisher at editor sa paglathala ng ganitong mga kuwento. Also, makakatulong din kung mas maraming independent presses hindi lamang sa Manila kundi maging sa iba’t ibang lugar sa bansa na maglalakas ng loob na maglathala. Maganda rin kung may mga kuwentong nasusulat sa iba’t ibang wika sa Filipinas. 

Ang kuwento ng kasarian at kalayaang maipahayag sa mundo ang ninanais ng kanilang puso ay hindi lamang personal; ito rin ay kuwento ng mundong ating ginagalawan. Bawat miyembro ng LGBTQIA+ ay ating kapamilya, kaibigan, katrabaho, kapanalig, katuwang sa lipunan.

4. Your top 5 LGBTQ stories for kids

   In no particular ranking or order:

a.    Dalawa ang Daddy ni Billy (Tahanan Books, 2018), written by Michael P. De Guzman and illustrated by Daniel Palma Tayona

b.    Ang Ikaklit sa Aming Hardin (Publikasyong Twamkittens, 2012), written by Bernadette Neri and illustrated by CJ de Silva

c.    Mga Batang POZ (Lampara Books, 2018), written by Segundo Matias Jr.

d.    My Princess Boy (Simon and Schuster, 2009), written by Cheryl Kilodavis and illustrated by Suzanne DeSimone 

e.    Sanctuary (Scribner Books, 1997), written by Paul Monette

Book Spine Poetry December 2013: Judge's Review (2 of 2)

Here is the second part of Rhandee Garlitos' review on the poems that made it to the finals in the library's Book Spine Poetry Contest. Part one can be read here.

Therefore, these three best entries captured not only the essence of being a poem built on a stack of found titles.  I see this exercise somewhat done before by the American writer Annie Dillard, making something out of newspaper and magazine articles, creating poems from an obsolete almanac in the 1920s, putting together lines by obliterating the unnecessary weeds and hedges.

The third place winner captivates me with its premise – that there could be fun in poetry despite its serious messages.  Its humor is natural and appealing to the young with its premise on the oldest subject in the world, the monkey on every normal student’s back – Maths (When no one understands / Maths 1001 / Academic anxiety / A Game of Groans)

A few more editing touches, and if the last line was used instead as a title, it would be a very potent haiku on the subject, like this:

A Game of Groans

When no one understands

Maths 1001 —

Academic anxiety

The second prize winner had the strength of a strong message.  It speaks of the need for restraint in order to achieve atonement, and it cuts both ways, too.  It could be like a gentle advice to go easy as one passes by an offended elemental, or a stern warning to be careful not to disrespect the boundaries set by a higher being, sort of like the traditional Filipino superstition of “Tabi, tabi po”.  Although it suffers slightly from the natural lack of a preposition (If whispers call for / atonement), it impresses me with its brevity.  A few more tweaks and fine-tuning and this would have gotten my two thumbs-up.

Walk softly, Rachel, 

if whispers call 

atonement 

by the river.

If properly edited, this would read like

By the river

walk slowly, Rachel,

if whispers call (for)

atonement.

The first prize winner stands out above others simply because its author (or I would prefer to call “recreator”) knew how to piece together a four-line poetry that is cohesive in thought and message.

In the country of men,

Things fall apart.

Funny how things change

As I lay dying.

The first two lines join together seamlessly and conjure the image of disarray brought in by what would have been expected as a warranted chaos.  To me it speaks of a world where men destroy each other in quest for power and command of fear above others, and the world collapses because of their whims.  It also speaks of how someone who lays victim to this chaos speaks of it with a casual, almost cold, demeanor.  Then again, it may be a stoic response by someone finally gasping his last ounce of breath.  It is for this reason that its imagery, along with a powerful message, causes this poem to stand out above all others and deserve a much needed applause for its precision and careful marriage of irony and imagery.

Rhandee Garlítos (aka Raymund Magno Garlítos) is an award-winning poet and children’s book author in English and Filipino.  He has received four times the prestigious Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards (the Philippines’ premier literary contest); the Salanga Prize given by the Philippine Board on Books for Young People or PBBY; and the Gintong Aklat Award for his body of work.  He has published 12 children’s books, with his most recent being “Ang Bonggang Bonggang Batang Beki (The Fierce and Fabulous Boy in Pink)”, “Lauan, The Seed that Wanted to Fly” and “The Cat and the Bat and Other Fables.”  He edits and writes for the monthly travel magazine Cruising #Going Places, where he also edits its literary section.  He is currently based in Quezon City where he lives with his daughter, a sizable number of cats, and a house full of books.

Book Spine Poetry December 2013: Judge's Review (1 of 2)

Rhandee Garlitos, author and poet, sent his review and comments on the winners of our Book Spine Poetry Contest in school. He was the judge for the month of December. He had five poems selected as honorable mention (2) and 3rd, 2nd and 1st placers respectively. 

What do I look for in (found) poetry? As a poet and as a lover of books, I find the task of threading together words in order to produce an image very daunting and challenging.  But the basics remain – poetry should have the capability to hold a moment that should stun its reader, like venom that would leave an impression to its beholder, although in a positive way.  What makes this doubly tasking is to put it together in such a way that it comes out as a form that would withhold its meaning without being too cryptic.

Several of the entries stood out, and some of the entries contained some of the most arresting book titles that have seen the light of day. Though I personally feel that your library, where most of these titles where sourced from, would have carried more.  Imagine if someone started his/her poetry with one of Paolo Coelho’s – “By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept”.  I would have also wished that there would be more Filipino entries (Was it the lack of Filipino titles or the simple disinterest of the students with Filipiniana? I just wonder.) as Filipino titles would have elicited more images that would be more authentic to the Filipino experience.

Nevertheless I commend the creativity of the students who came up with some of the interesting stack of found poetry.  Some would have stood out had there been more care and restraint, but three of the entries followed what the American poet Stephen Dobyns calls “Best Words, Best Order” in poetry (I am actually quoting the title of one of his books.).  

I commend two entries here that would have merited had they been edited well.  One, “The Old Man and the Sea / Fell / After / the Fifth Mountain / Snow Falling on Cedars / Catching Fire”, would have succeeded if it were threaded properly, so that it would read like this:

Catching fire

after

snow falling on cedars,

the old man and the sea

fell

the fifth mountain.

Had this been the order followed, this would have gotten my utmost attention and admiration for its stunning imagery.  Imagine Hemingway’s two most powerful adversaries (coincidentally the title of one of my most favorite books by a most respected author) being enclosed in what would be a conquest of the formidable, while at the same time it reads like a Zen poem, lush with the image of smoldering embers warming frostbit hands.

Another entry was able to gather some of the best lines/titles, but it suffered from one or two more extra (therefore unnecessary) words.  I always emphasize the need for restraint in poetry, that it should never reveal more than it should. Therefore, “Over a thousand hills I walked with you / Up the downstair case / going going / criss cross / thinking about almost everything / Piercing the Darkness / Breaking Dawn” would have been better if it read like this:

Over a thousand hills I walked with you,

piercing the darkness

up the down staircase,

breaking dawn

thinking about almost everything.

It would have personified the deadening pain of being with someone in a journey, trying to dismantle the fabric of the cold, unfeeling “darkness” from where the persona stands (up the downstairs case? or up the down staircase?), trying to break free and see the light from the chains of worrying too much.  It would have symbolized the weight of a mother’s anxiety, anticipating the arrival of her beloved (husband or child, one can choose) even as she imagines herself being in the process of going home.

Pinoy Children's Books I Won't Miss Reading to a Filipino Child

Carla Pacis, writer friend from the industry, sent an email requesting for my top five Pinoy children's books. Here's my list --

1. Ang Alamat ng Ampalaya by Augie Rivera - My all time favorite. This is the book I wish I had written. It is solid in plot and characterization. It speaks of justice and fairness. It does not moralize on the lesson of consequence. Kora Dandan Albano illustrated the book and her playful addition of the little red chili in every page adds "flavor" to the story. It becomes a character too, who, along with teh reader witnesses the unraveling of Ampalaya. Fantastic!

2. 'Sandosenang Sapatos by Dr. Luis Gatmaitan - Gatmaitan's best work, I believe. I like Gatmaitan's use of dreams (dream, rather) in the story. Unlike many a Pinoy children's story, the dream sequence in Sandosenang Sapatos amplified the mystery of love connecting the lead character, a handicapped girl, to her deceased father. Instead of using dreams as an instant solution to problems or an immediate response to change of bad attitude to good, Gatmaitan played on the magical element found in dreams as a way of channeling the metaphysical to the real and the palpable. Now that's putting back a sense of wonder in Pinoy Children's Literature! Beth Parocha-Doctolero illustrated the story.

3. Chenelyn! Chenelyn! by Rhandee Garlitos - Garlitos wrote this story the night before the Salanga deadline. Culling out his mother's experiences as a laundry woman and domestic helper, Garlitos crafted a poignant story that reflects the way we treat and relate to our humble house helpers.

4. Bruhaha! Bruhihi! by Ompong Remigio - Remigio's technique on onomatopeia and play of words is amazing! The story is short and easy to read; directly focusing on the relationship of the young girl and the old lady, one would understand the stereotypes and belief system that robs us of compassion for others.

5. Pop Up Dinosaur by Jomike Tejido - Tejido merged paper art and creative non-fiction. The result is brilliant! This book probably led to his development of Foldabots. The child needs to play and Tejido brought that to book making art.

Looking at my short list, I could not help but marvel at the genius of our Pinoy writers and illustrators. Mabuhay ang Filipinong manunulat at illustrador pambata!

Author of the Month: Rhandee Garlitos

I have featured and wrote about a good number of Filipino writers for children in this blog in the past. Turning five this year prompted me to make it a regular feature. So, every month the blog will have an Filipino author to meet and know about.

For this month of April, I've asked Mr. Rhandee Garlitos to answer five questions that tackle his experiences as a writer for children; the books he has published; the recent book that won him the prestigious Salanga Prize last year; and the creative process involved in his writing.

I hope you all enjoy his honest and sincere disclosure.

1. When did you start writing for children?

Before I started writing literature for children, I first became an interested reader of children’s books, and this goes all the way when I was still a young two-year-old kid. I was fascinated not only with the pictures but also with the words, trying to mouth them or when my grandfather read them to me, listening to every word that he says. Though I started writing poetry and essays when I was still in grade school, the topics I was writing about were way too “heavy” — fear, romantic love, death, sadness — something that I continued doing until I finished high school.

It was only when I was in college that I started writing literature for children, when I became a staff member of Malate, the literary magazine of De La Salle University. At the time, Rio Alma, who would become my mentor in poetry and a major influence in my writing, visited DLSU for a lecture. Adarna House, which he founded, was selling his poetry books and also children’s books that I grew up with. I started buying children’s books and wrote my first attempts to write children’s stories, with the aim of getting them published at the literary magazine. And when an announcement for a children’s book-making contest sponsored by a big publishing house was posted on one of the school bulletin boards, I decided to join, mainly out of curiosity and the experience. I asked an art staffer of my magazine to illustrate the story I will enter for the contest. Luckily, we won and months later, the first book I have written, Ang Paglalakbay ni Pepito Piso, got published in 1996, when I was only 18 years old.

2. What was your inspiration in writing May Higante?

My latest book, May Higante sa Aming Bahay, is a personal two-year writing journey towards coming up with a story that glorifies and demystifies the Filipino father. In a society where the Filipino mother is always put in a positive light and the Filipino father relegated at the background, I decided to write a story that could possibly break ground on the way the Filipino child considers an important figure in the family. The father in this story is a sketch of the father-figures in my life: my uncle Lenito Gatchalian who was a tall but gentle surgeon and loving father, and my mentor, Virgilio S. Almario (aka Rio Alma) who, despite his imposing credentials and strong voice, is a father to many Filipino young writers.


3. Describe the "creative process" you went through when writing May Higante. Did you undergo the same experience writing your other books?

It was a story that was never easy to write, mainly because of my detachment to my own father. Our relationship was like that of Shiva and Ganesh: my father is so absorbed with his own thoughts and problems so the rigors of raising a family fell to my mother, who became very over-protective and defensive, to the point of sometimes being insecure and overbearing; I was the stubborn child who protected his mother so we took all the attention and love she could give to her husband. Nevertheless, he was the guiding light that made this story possible. Too bad that he passed away not seeing this book coming to light.

Compared to my other work, it was written several times all over in a span of two years. I was carrying the idea in my head for a long time, struggling to get it done but trying to find a way to make it a fun story to read; that is, I want it to become a profound tribute without being a tear-jerker. I think that watching my own daughter growing up helped me understand the character of the father in my story. I put myself in her shoes and how she imagined me to be — a “giant” of sorts. I was literally the tallest and biggest figure in the family, my height and weight an imposing feature of me that I used as a detail to the character of my story. The rest of the details developed as time went by, but only got finalized in print in time for the deadline of the PBBY Salanga Writers’ Prize.


4. How many of your stories have been published into children's books and which is the most memorable?

I have written and translated several stories, but I was fortunate that almost all of them were turned into children’s books. Each of these books has a particular special place in my heart because I think of the rigors that come with their creation.

My first book, Ang Paglalakbay ni Pepito Piso, was memorable because it was my first children’s book. I was only 18 years old and in college when it came out in 1996. Although the story’s characters were dated, the lessons of the story are timeless — courage to discover what is new, ability to pick one’s self up from tragedy, and being rooted to your family and community.

My popular book, Chenelyn! Chenelyn!, was easiest to write. I finished writing it on the computer for only 30 minutes. The funny circumstance with this story was that it was my mother, more than anyone else, who inspired this story. I was frantic and stressed out while coming up with a story to beat the 5 p.m.-deadline for the 1997 PBBY Salanga Writers Prize, having decided to change my entry at the last minute. I kept on asking her to get things for me (something to drink and eat, a pillow, etc.) and she gladly obliged to my requests. Then I thought, why not write about a story about a maid who could do all these things and make it appear so fantastic to her ward? It was followed by ceaseless typing and after that, rushed to the PBBY office where I made it just in the nick of time, the last entry accepted for that day. The rest, as they say, is history.

I wrote Mga Lihim sa Gabi ni Ruming in verse form because of the influence of poetry in my creative writing experience. Most of my stories were written not in paragraph form, but in sentences broken into lines that simulate the appearance of a poem. This book was written out of a fascination with an image. At that time, I was still at the office at 9 p.m. when I saw the silhouette of a cat on one of the windows. I thought, what if I write about the night habits of cats? The name of the character was inspired by a cousin who frequently goes out at night, usually to drink with buddies or meet his girlfriend.

5. As a writer for children, where do you see yourself ten years from now against the backdrop of Philippine Children's Literature?

I see myself still writing books for children, enjoying the process along with fellow children’s book writers and friends, and inspiring and teaching those who would like to pursue the craft through talks, writing workshops and school visits.