{"id":3615,"date":"2012-04-28T15:59:51","date_gmt":"2012-04-28T12:59:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/patnubay.org\/?p=3615"},"modified":"2019-07-06T08:44:10","modified_gmt":"2019-07-06T05:44:10","slug":"usa-celebrating-the-written-spoken-word","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/patnubay.org\/?p=3615","title":{"rendered":"USA: Celebrating the written, spoken word"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Words and photos by Dionesio C. Grava
\nFirst posted in www.pinoywatchdog.com<\/a><\/p>\n

I wrote in her blog Literally Yours: \u201cOur authors help give expression to the soul and aspirations of the FilAm community. We should be grateful that they\u2019re out there making efforts to secure a foothold in the literary world \u2014 a task that would have been doubly difficult were it not for Linda Nietes\u2019 selfless service to her people in that regard.\u201d<\/p>\n

I was referring to an announcement about breaking bread and bonding with Pinay sisters expected to attend an event featuring lady authors who would say something about their books and sign them afterwards. But talk of a literary event involving our people in this part of the world more often than not it revolves on Ms. Nietes and her darling of a mail order Philippine Expressions Bookshop based in Rancho Palos Verdes \u201cdedicated to Filipino Americans in search of their roots.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was a weekend lunch event at Pizza Per Tutti Pizzeria & Tratoria in Lankershim Blvd., San Fernando Valley. A cozy setting for dining out or otherwise avail of the convenience of online ordering, the ad says. There\u2019s an open mike, too, and just a hint of entrepreneur Hilda Mauro\u2019s Philippine heritage.<\/p>\n

The announcement contained Ms. Nietes\u2019 signature reminder about 2012 being the 28th year that they have blazed the trail in promoting Philippine books in America. Spotlighting the creative writers and thinkers in the community is an ongoing program of the bookshop to reach out to the FilAm community and to increase the visibility of Filipinos in mainstream America, it says.<\/p>\n

Quite a stretch of time evidencing her passion for it. And quite an impact it must have on the community considering that as Clive Staples Lewis \u2014 the Irish novelist, poet, academic, essayist, medievalist, literary critic, lay theologian and Christian apologist \u2014 said, \u201cLiterature adds to reality, it does not simply describe it. It enriches the necessary competencies that
\ndaily life requires and provides; and in this respect, it irrigates the deserts that our lives have already become.\u201d<\/p>\n

Owner Linda Nietes is \u201cglad to be part of the cultural scene of the City of Los Angeles all these years. And we are happy to fulfill our Bookshop\u2019s vision to provide a home for Philippine writings in North America. In 1972, when martial law was declared in the Philippines, we provided a home for Philippine writings when we opened Casalinda Bookshop in San Antonio Plaza, Forbes Park, Makati.\u201d Casalinda Bookshop was closed in 1984 when Nietes decided to migrate to the US. She settled in Westwood Village close to UCLA and reopened her business as Philippine Expressions Bookshop.<\/p>\n

Cecilia Manguerra Brainard is one of the FilAm community\u2019s more prolific writers and a staple in this kind of events. She has a new work to show and being from the same place as she, I consider \u201cOut of Cebu: A Collection of Essays and Personal Prose\u201d a welcome addition to things should I read sometime. The book collects 28 essays about the author\u2019s Cebuano ties and her pride in her heritage, including colorful accounts about her mother\u2019s family, the Cuencos, a prominent political family in Cebu. The book also includes writings about the author\u2019s life and travels outside of Cebu.<\/p>\n

She is the author of the novels \u201cWhen the Rainbow Goddess Wept\u201d and \u201cMagdalena;\u201d of \u201cAcapulco at Sunset and Other Stories;\u201d \u201cPhilippine Woman in America;\u201d \u201cWoman with Horns and Other Stories;\u201d \u201cCecilia\u2019s Diary, 1962-1968;\u201d and \u201cFundamentals of Creative Writing.\u201d She has edited four anthologies: \u201cGrowing Up Filipino, 1 & 2;\u201d \u201cFiction by Filipinos in America;\u201d and \u201cContemporary Fiction by Filipinos in America.\u201d With Edmundo Litton, she co-edited \u201cJourney of 100 Years:\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cReflections on the Centennial of the Philippine Independence.\u201d With Marily Orosa, she co-edited three anthologies: \u201cBehind the Walls: Life of Convent Girls;\u201d \u201cA La Carte: Food and Fiction;\u201d and \u201cFinding God: True Stories of Spiritual Encounters.\u201d With four other authors, she co-wrote \u201cAngelica\u2019s Daughters,\u201d a Dugtungan novel.<\/p>\n

Co-authors Ofelia V. Dirige and Aurora S. Cudal first published \u201cGlobal Filipino Cuisine: Healthy Recipes in 2009\u201d with the late Dr. Riz A. Oades. The revised, expanded edition contains 100 modified choices with nutrient analysis. This is a much-needed book for healthy eating in the community, it was said even as it also informed that proceeds from sales of this title will cover programs and services of the FilAm Wellness Center\/Kalusugan Community Services, which is located at 1419 E 8th Street, National City, CA 91950 (www.WebKalusugan.org ; Info@WebKalusugan.org).<\/p>\n

Other authors who attended and signed their books were Ludy Astraquillo Ongkeko, \u201cForty Years of Writing in America;\u201d Carina Monica Montoya (AKA Carina Forsythe), \u201cLos Angeles\u2019s Historic Filipinotown,\u201d \u201cFilipinos in Ho llywood\u201d and \u201cLet\u2019s Cook Adobo!,\u201d a juvenile cookbook; Roselyn Estepa Ibanez, co-author, \u201cFilipinos in Carson and the South Bay;\u201d Carlene Sobrino Bonnivier, \u201cSeeking Thirst: A Novel\u201d and \u201cAutobiography of a Stranger;\u201d and Myrna J. de la Paz, AKA Myrna Mulhern, \u201cAbadeha: The Philippine Cinderella.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another Philippine Expressions Book shop\u2019s meet-and-greet event with FilAm authors is scheduled on Friday, April 20 from 6:00pm \u2013 9:00pm at the Community Hall of the Asian Pacific American Legal Center (1145 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA). It is Filipino American Authors Night to celebrate the printed and spoken word and to launch ten new works by Filipino American authors.<\/p>\n

On the following two days, April 21 and 22, the LA Times Festival of Books will be back at USC Campus and sure as day follows night, Philippine Expressions Bookshop will be at one of the booths. Actually it will be Booth # 024, Ms. Nietes said and adding that our \u201cpresence means support for their creative talents and it will be a source of inspiration to them.\u201d LA Times Festival of Books is a free event and open to the public.<\/p>\n

It was learned that Expressions Bookshop has participated in the yearly Festival since 1997 starting with just a couple of FilAm authors. This year, a total of fifteen authors will be book signing at their booth. The authors come from different parts of the US \u2013 Ann Arbor in Michigan, Los Angeles, Long Beach, San Francisco, San Diego, Seattle, Washington; Tucson in Arizona, Washington DC. And one is coming all the way from Australia, Ms. Nietes said.<\/p>\n

Featured authors at this year\u2019s Authors Night include Ofelia V. Dirige, Aurora S. Cudal, Cecilia Gaerlan, Theodore S. Gonzalves, Greceila Jota, Paulino Lim, Jr., Carina Monica Montoya, Donna Miscolta, Ruben Nepales, Quirico S. Samonte and a guest author, Susan Vance. They will talk, read from their books, and sign them.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Source:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Words and photos by Dionesio C. Grava First posted in www.pinoywatchdog.com I wrote in her blog Literally Yours: \u201cOur authors help give expression to the soul and aspirations of the FilAm community. We should be…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":49,"featured_media":3189,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[22,16,17,37],"tags":[84,101],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/patnubay.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3615"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/patnubay.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/patnubay.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/patnubay.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/49"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/patnubay.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3615"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/patnubay.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3615\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12742,"href":"https:\/\/patnubay.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3615\/revisions\/12742"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/patnubay.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3189"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/patnubay.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3615"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/patnubay.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3615"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/patnubay.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3615"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}