Opportunities for Filipino Writers
Dr. Ricardo Ma. Nolasco, head of the Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino, once said that the national language is a combination of all our historical, economic and socio-political circumstances; it melded into a common tongue that unites the different ethno-linguistic groups in our country.
Nolasco quoted a study in his speech on how using the mother tongue has been proven to be the most effective way to bridge learning in all subject areas, including the learning of future languages.
There are certain influences that can be exercised to students, especially promising writers, who have potential for writing in Filipino. As teachers, encourage them to try any or all of these initiatives:
Write blogs.
In line with the Buwan ng Wika last year, there was a Wika 2007 Blog Writing Contest on the theme: “Maraming Wika, Matatag na Bansa”. It was a group writing effort hoping to emphasize the beauty and strength of the national language.
With the obvious importance of the Internet these days, blogging using Filipino will not only show a deep love for the mother tongue, but may also encourage and inspire other bloggers around the world to do the same.
Submit works to contests.
The University of the Philippines Institute of Creative Writing is celebrating UP’s 100th year by launching the UP Centennial Gawad Likhaan, one of the most rewarding literary contests in the Philippines.
PhP 200,000.00 will be the cash award for the winning original, book-length works in the following categories - novel or short story collection, poetry collection, full-length work or collection of creative nonfiction. All three categories are further subdivided into those written in English and those written in Filipino.
Deadline of submissions is this March 31, 2008 at 5pm, and entries should be addressed to the Board of Judges, UP Institute of Creative Writing (UP-ICW), College of Arts and Letters, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City.
Rules of the contest can be foundhere.Guidelines on how to win can be found here.
Read up on regional and national literature.
According to noted Filipino writer Bienvenido Lumbera, these two categories are differentiated by the fact that the former shows the specifics of life experiences and the latter expresses larger concerns and broader perspectives.
Panitikan.com has a wealth of archives on literature written in English, Filipino and regional languages, so encourage your students to read and become familiar with these works.
Some poems and works include:
ABDON M. BALDE, JR.- Arog Kaini Palan (Ganito Nga Pala)
ESTELITO BAYLON JACOB- Sa Kaskas Na Taraasan Nin Tingog
JENEEN R. GARCIA- Paggikan sa Sumilon
MACARIO D. TIU- Ang Bata Nga Dili Matulog
Join workshops.
Writers workshops are intensive sessions on writing meant to improve one’s style or guide participants on the do’s and don’t’s of writing. Experiences like these can be invaluable to any starting writer, so help in the submission of promising students’ works, and they will be forever grateful to you for it.
The following are the existing workshops in the country:
- Dumaguete National Writers Workshop - established in 1962 by the late Dr. Edilberto Tiempo and Dr. Edith Tiempo, this is the oldest workshop in Asia. It is a three-week live-in summer workshop that provides interaction between established writers and critics to selected writing fellows. Most of the well-known writers in the country today have been Dumaguete fellows.
- The University of the Philippines National Writers Workshop
- The Iligan National Writers Workshop
- Juliana Arejola Fajardo Workshop for Bikol Writing
- Iyas Creative Writing Workshop - is held every summer in Bacolod City. It was first conducted in 2001, becoming an independent workshop managed by the University of St. La Salle.
- Cornelio Faigao Memorial Writers Workshop - is also the annual Writers Workshop of Cebu. It was established in 1984 by the Cebuano Studies Center of the University of San Carlos (USC).
Help nurture your students’ writing talent and encourage them to use the national language as a way to best express themselves.
Sources:
Nolasco, Ricardo Ma. (n.d.) Maraming Wika, Matatag na Bansa. Retrieved January 27, 2008 from
http://wika.pbwiki.com/Maraming+Wika,+Matatag+na+Bansa+-+Chairman+Nolasco
n.a. (n.d.) UP Announces Centennial Literary Prize. Retrieved January 27, 2008 from
http://pinoycentric.com/2007/10/30/up-announces-centennial-literary-prize/
n.a. (n.d.) Wika 2007 Blog Writing Contest. Retrieved January 27, 2008 from
http://pinoycentric.com/2007/07/16/wika-2007-blog-writing-contest/
n.a. (n.d.) Workshops. Retrieved January 27, 2008 from http://www.panitikan.com.ph/workshops.htm
(Published 11 February 2008, Smart Schools Program)
