turon

buddha used to preside over the store with incense drifting from the ceiling.
but now the crucified christ has come to spread his worldly charm all over.
food used to be bountiful, the product of an economy unsurpassed in raw materials.
but ever since christ came, the portions have been smaller, the meat less tender.

i did not mind the change in proprietors. after all how can you screw up pinoy food?
boil the chicken and pork in toyo and suka for an hour and you have adobo,
boil the rice in water and kanin appears. fry the pork in oil and lechon kawali pops out.
scoop the ube on the mixed nata de coco, langka and sweet beans and halo-halo is served.

wrap a banana with langka as if making lumpia, place into boiling sugar cooked
over medium high heat and turon the king of all merienda makes an appearance.
but christ in his holy charity prescribes that perhaps we should practice poverty
humility and some sort of piety so the proprietor of the store quartered the banana
and meekly placed it into the turon.

buddha was aghast at what his son christ's follower did. quarter a banana?
ridiculous. the saba costs the shine of FDR or ten lincolns, at most maybe a
washington coin. buddha cried when all the lovely friends he made through the
years stopped visiting the temple where christ practices piety.

slam poetry

i do not slam my poetry around
i'm afraid i do not have enough angst or anger
to summon the demons of alcohol, drugs or abuse
the worst my demons get is when i remember high school
i should have asked K to the dance floor or out for a walk
in UCLA's sculpture garden.

my parents never divorced each other though sometimes
i wonder if it would have been better if they did.
in america their lives were so intertwined by money that
petty jealousies would rear from something twenty years ago.
in the end though, my mother stayed in the hospital
as my father went through a series of chills and pills.

the closest my world came to an end was the death
of my mother. the sky was azurine blue with the hand of god
the wind gently kissed my ears and the sun was pure
the color of childhood milk. but worlds come to an end
and are reborn again if you choose to live your life.

slam fingers / slam feet do not materialize in the air
like cocaine fueling the economy. sometimes though when
the president wants a constitutional amendment to deprive
people of rights, my eye twitches, my fingers crack and
my head shakes at the stupidity of it all. but no, my fingers
do not point, my feet do not pace. my mind races and my heart
contorts at the absurdity. nothing else.

i am of age to a generation which never prized innocence because
it is only an illusion conjured up by ignorants and cowards. truth
comes in many forms and the more i and my generation see the
truth, the better of i and my generation are.

Simula

psst! hoy!

ako ay isang kolonyal
buong buhay nakatago
sa limlim ng siyudad.

lumaki at lumakas
mula sa hapag kainan
ng telebisyon at radyo.

marami akong mga kamay
na tumutubo mula sa aking
katawan. nakatago nga lang.

kung gusto mo naman ay
mata, mayroon din akong
pitong sa pikit ay marikit.

ang buhok ng karanasan
ay nagbigay kislap sa aking
nuong limang lipad ang tangka.

psst! hoy!

sa iyong sarili hanapin
ang kapatid ko.

Filipino Food Anthology Submission Guidelines

As expatriates, migrants, settlers in a world that
insists upon our Westernization, we lose so much. Our
language goes, economics necessitates the breakdown of
our family structures, and many of our cultural
foundations break down.

Increased urbanization has altered our living patterns
and our palettes. But what remains, unswervingly, are
our memories of food. Properly and lovingly prepared,
linked to rituals, a sense of community, geography.
Food brings us back to ourselves.

Submission guidelines:

-Up to 3 poems, short story, and/or other fictional
work.

-Each piece must make mention to or be inspired by at
least one Filipino dish. For example, green mango
shake would be considered a dish, but mangoes would
not.

-Included with the submission should be a recipe for
the referenced and inspiring dish(es). If all pieces
refer to only one dish, then one recipe may be
submitted. Author may choose which recipe to submit
if multiple dishes are mentioned in one piece.

Example: If all pieces refer to kare-kare, then one
recipe for kare-kare should be submitted. If the 3
pieces submitted refer separately to adobo, laing, and
kaldereta respectively, then a recipe for each of
these dishes should be included.

-Literary work may have been previously published.
However recipes may not have been previously
published.

-Author of literary work and recipe may be different.

-Author of literary work should have gotten permission
from recipe author for inclusion in anthology.

-Cover letter should include: short contributor's
bio(s), titles of pieces, list of recipe(s), and
contact info (name, address, and email or phone #)

Send cover letter with 2 copies of literary work and
recipes to:

The Filipino Food Anthology
c/o Barbara Reyes
1461 Alice Street #205
Oakland CA 94612

OR

Emailed in the body of the message (no attachments)
to:

pagkainbook@yahoo.com

DEADLINE: December 25, 2004

Do not send originals. Submissions will not be
returned. Questions may be sent to .

STUDY POETRY IN TRINITY COLLEGE, DUBLIN IRELAND
this summer with poets

NICK CARBO
DENISE DUHAMEL
CAMPBELL McGRATH

July 12th-August 12th 2004 (that's one whole month!)

Cost of trip $3395* (includes airfare, lodging at Trinity College dorms located in center of Dublin, and many other extras like literary tours, pub crawls, book of kels, etc. etc.)

Come join us in one of the most literary cities in the world. Land of Joyce, Wilde, Yeats, Beckett and many more.

Study the craft of Poetry with award winning poets at historic Trinity
College in the heart of Dublin.

The program offers both graduate and undergraduate credit and is open to anyone interested in learning how to write poetry.

Courses qualify for Teacher Re-certification.

You do not need to be enrolled in a college or University to participate.
  
* Price subject to change due to currency fluctuations March 1 deadline for applications. Only few spaces left, so hurry and sign up!

For more information follow link:

http://2studyabroad.com/default.htm

Any composers out there in California?

Obtained from the flips list:

The San Francisco Bay Chapter of the American Composers Forum announces individual grants of from $500 to $1500 as part of its SUBITO advancement grant program to composers in northern California.

SUBITO is designed to give an immediate financial boost to composers and performers of new music at a time when this help would have a significant career-enhancing effect. The application process is uncomplicated, and the peer review process is streamlined to provide quick turnaround.

WHO CAN APPLY? composers, performers, and sound artists who are strongly dedicated to their art, who show artistic merit, and who propose an excellent project.

Applications will be accepted from March 1 through September 1, 2004.

For application materials and further information, visit:

www.sfcomposersforum.org