LOVE NOTES --Issue 7

Featuring
Bianca Elorde Nagac on Nick Joaquin

Aileen Ibardaloza-Cassinetto on Ed Maranan

Jinque Romanban-Dolojan on Filipino authors including Nick Joaquin, Felisa Batacan, Eileen Tabios, Conchitina Cruz, and Merlinda Bobis

Aloysiusi Polintan on Sarge Lacuesta

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Bianca Elorde Nagac on Nick Joaquin

Among the Filipino authors I've known so far, I appreciate Nick Joaquin's thought-provoking essays about our national heroes and his takes on our culture and history. Joaquin's eloquence teaches us how to think more critically and makes us ask the right questions. The way he educates us with fresher perspectives gives us the liberty to learn on our own, enabling us to become limitless when it comes to seeking the truth—and the reasons behind the truth concealed to us.

Aileen Ibardaloza-Cassinetto on Ed Maranan

Ed Maranan, who won the most Palanca Awards in his lifetime, was my friend in London long before I realized what being a writer would mean to me. This master poet read my earliest work, rhyming and handwritten, and engaged it as though it were a good poem. So then, this is how I will forever remember him: brilliant and unfailingly kind.

Jinque Romanban-Dolojan on Filipino authors

They might rarely get the expectation they deserve but, sure, Filipino authors write some of the profoundest literary pieces. I am not saying this because I am a Filipino, but yeah…most of the time they are underappreciated. On the other hand, if one took time and a closer look to what these authors offer, one could then see the beauty of how they craft everything—like how you showcase an authentic heart…describing the flaws, the emotions and…unfolding both the blemishes and excellence…with nothing to hide, nothing to dread… Well, cheesy as it may seem, I will forever be delighted reading Pinoy works since every book is a reaffirmation of our prolific Filipino culture. Plus, the glowing exquisiteness of the Filipino author’s artistic writing styles which are polished with the country’s colonial and contemporary traditions sparkle with every touch and tones of their values, experiences and perceptions. And take note, their works continue to flower in various languages. So how could anyone resist such gems? Some of my favorite Filipino authors are Nick Joaquin, Felisa Batacan, Eileen Tabios (of course), Conchitina Cruz, and Merlinda Bobis.

Aloysiusi Polintan on Sarge Lacuesta

Sarge Lacuesta's latest collection of short fictions reminded me of how I fell in love with his stories when I grabbed a pre-loved copy of Flash and Other Stories (a year ago?). They were captivating, of course, in a sense that quietness and fluidity will haunt you down on the last page with a baffling question: What happened, and is it really the end? I categorize the half of the stories in the book as "city fiction" on which I am always hooked. I love the complexity of roads and streetlights, variegated billboards and towering suites, and especially the bleakness of pain experienced by some of the dominant characters: security guards, nannies and chaffeurs, not to mention girls lingering under city lights longing for compensated thrill. But this gem of a book cannot be boxed in a segment of genres, as is the color and vibrancy of the Filipino spirit against confusion, loss and monotony. (PS in query's form: Where can I have a copy of his debut Life Before X and Other Stories?)