Meritage Press

MERITAGE PRESS AUTHORS INVITE YOU TO

2012-01-09T07:03:00.000-08:00

Barry Schwabsky, author of OPERA and [ways], invites you to

The first Triptych Reading for the 2012 Spring lineup!
Monday January 23 at 7pm

DAVID SHAPIRO
BARRY SCHWABSKY
DANNIEL SCHOONEBEEK

David Shapiro is the author of several books of poetry, translation and art criticism, most recently New and Selected Poems: 1965-2006 (Overlook Press, 2007).

Barry Schwabsky is a regular contributor to The Nation and ArtForum and has edited several books of art criticism, including Vitamin P: New Perspectives in Painting. He is the author of several books of poetry, including Opera: Poems 1981-2002 (Meritage Press, 2003) and Book Left Open in the Rain (Black Square Editions, 2009).

Danniel Schoonebeek's work has appeared in Tin House, Boston Review, Crazyhorse, La Petite Zine, The Awl, and The Collagist. He curates the Hatchet Job reading series at Public Assembly in Brooklyn, NY.

Curators: Camilo Roldán, Alina Gregorian, Ted Dodson

The 11th St. Bar
510 East 11th St., New York, NY 10009

SELECTED MERITAGE PRESS PROJECTS

2011-12-22T05:14:00.000-08:00

(listed in reverse chronological order of publication date)

CARLOS VILLA AND THE INTEGRITY OF SPACES, Edited by Theodore S. Gonzalves
Meritage Press Link HERE
Order through LULU Account HERE.

*****

BOUGH BREAKS by Tamiko Beyer
Meritage Press Link HERE.
Order through Meritage Press' LULU Account HERE.

Reviews & Engagements:
At Lantern Review by Monica Mody, Aug. 4, 2011
At The Blood-Jet Writing Hour: Interview by Rachelle Cruz, July 12, 2011

*****

FLUX, CLOTH & FROTH (Vol. 1 and 2) by John Bloomberg-Rissman
Meritage Press Link HERE.
Order through Meritage Press' LULU Account HERE for Vol. 1 and HERE for Vol. 2.

Reviews & Engagements:
At L'Amour Fou by Tom Beckett, Feb. 23, 2011
At A Very Small Kitchen by David Berridge, February 2011

*****

ARCHIPELAGO DUST by Karen Llagas
Meritage Press Link HERE.
Order through Meritage Press' LULU Account HERE.

Reviews & Engagements:
At Galatea Resurrects No. 17 by G. Justin Hulog, Dec. 22, 2011
At Cha: An Asian Literary Journal, February 2011: "The 1.5 Generation: Karen Llagas's Archipelago Dust" by Abigail Licad
At Jacket2: "Kaleidoscope Reading Series report: Karen Llagas, Benjamin Bac Sierra & Brian Teare" by Stephanie Young

*****

THE CHAINED HAY(NA)KU PROJECT, anthology curated by Ivy Alvarez, John Bloomberg-Rissman, Ernesto Priego & Eileen Tabios
Meritage Press Link HERE.
Order through Meritage Press' LULU Account HERE.

Reviews & Engagements:
At Galatea Resurrects No. 16 by Nicholas T. Spatafora, April 5, 2011
At Galatea Resurrects No. 15 by Aileen Ibardaloza, Dec. 7, 2010
At Jean Vengua Blog, August 7, 2010 by Jean Vengua
At Butterfly Hunt, August 13, 2010 by Ernesto Priego
At Tribute-Airy Blog, August 23, 2010 by Allen Bramhall
An Ariadne Unst Review, August 29, 2010
A review by Amazon Top Ten Reviewer Grady Harp, Sept. 2, 2010

*****

HAY(NA)KU FOR HAITI
More information on this series HERE for the following Haiti Fundraiser Booklets by

#1: PARTICLE AND WAVE and FROM THE CHAIR, two hay(na)ku sequences by Jean Vengua
#2: On A Pyre: An Ars Poetica by Eileen R. Tabios
#3: Hay(na)ku for Haiti by Tom Beckett
#4: when the earth moves by Lars Palm
#5: After René Depestre’s “My Definition of Poetry”, as translated by Edwidge Danticat, with lines at the end by Lafcadio Hearn by John Bloomberg-Rissman.
#6: Mrs. Quake by Nicole Mauro
#7: Through Having Been, Vol. 1 by William Allegrezza
#8: Through Having Been, Vol. 2 by William Allegrezza
#9: blonde topography: a terse set of tercets by steve dalachinsky
#10: Drop, Portion and Assignment by Peg Duthie
#11: As I Speed to Your Place by Amanda Laughtland
#12: REBIRTH by Cynthia M. Phillips
#13: in articulate concision of appendices by David C. Kopaska-Merkel
#14:from Delicacies in FRACTUS CORPUS by Ric Carfagna (Vol. 1), Hay(na)ku-ed Translations by Eileen Tabios
#15: Last word is the poet’s calling by Aileen Ibardaloza
#16: Times in Rhymes, Ruins by Jon Curley

Reviews & Engagements:
At Tributary by Allen Bramhall, Jan. 1, 2011
At Galatea Resurrects No. 15 by Jim McCrary, Dec. 7, 2010
At Mischievoice, March 10, 2010 by Lars Palm

*****

AUTOPSY TURVY by Thomas Fink and Maya Diablo Mason
Meritage Press Link HERE.
Order through Meritage Press' LULU Account HERE.

Reviews & Engagements:
At Galatea Resurrects No. 15 by Nicholas T. Spatafora, Dec. 7, 2010
At Galatea Resurrects No. 15 by Jon Curley, Dec. 7, 2010

*****

TRAJE DE BODA by Aileen Ibardaloza
Meritage Press Link HERE.
Order through Meritage Press' LULU Account HERE.

Reviews & Engagements:
At Galatea Resurrects No. 15 by Albert B. Casuga, Dec. 7, 2010
At Blood Jet Writing Hour, BlogTalkRadio, interviewed by Rachelle Cruz, July 30, 2010
At p-ramblings by William Allegrezza, July 28, 2010

*****

HOUSECAT KUNG FU by Geoffrey Gatza (2009)
Meritage Press Link HERE.

Reviews & Engagements:
At Galatea Resurrects No. 13 by Thomas Fink
At Geckos with Bristles by Kevin Killian at Amazon Reviews, May 21, 2009
At Galatea Resurrects No. 12 by Ruth Lepson

*****

“TINY BOOKS” FUNDRAISER FOR HEIFER INTERNATIONAL (2007-ongoing)
Meritage Press Link Forthcoming

Other information HERE on the Tiny Books Series (to date):
RANDION SCREPTS by Jukka-Pekka Kervinen (2008)
(B)ITS by Joel Chace (2008)
from THE TRADITION by Juliana Spahr (2008)
SOME HAY by Lars Palm (2007)
SPEAK WHICH: HAY(NA)KU POEMS by Jill Jones (2007)
“…AND THEN THE WIND DID BLOW: JAINAKU POEMS by Ernesto Priego (2007)
STEPS: A NOTEBOOK by Tom Beckett (2007)
ALL ALONE AGAIN by Dan Waber (2007)

Reviews & Engagements:
On b(its) by Joel Chace by Ruth Lepson, Galatea Resurrects No. 12
On Steps: A Notebook by Tom Beckett at Galatea Resurrects No. 8 by Ernesto Priego
At dbqp: visualizing poetics, Feb. 15, 2008 by Geof Huth
At Poetry Scorecard, July 31, 2007 by Crg Hill
At Faux Press by Jack Kimball
On from THE TRANSFORMATION by Juliana Spahr, at Galatea Resurrects No. 10 by Jim McCrary

*****

PELICAN DREAMING: POEMS 1959-2008 by Mark Young, Selected and with an Introduction by Thomas Fink
Meritage Press Link HERE
Order through Meritage Press' Lulu Account at: http://www.lulu.com/content/1955266

Reviews & Engagements:
At Issue 217 of Landfall, May 2009 [published by Otago University Press] by Martin Edmonds
At Scoop Review of Books, October 2009 by Scott Hamilton
Magritte's Razor at Big Bridge 14, 2009 by Tom Hibbard
At JACKET Magazine 36, 2008 by Nicholas Manning
At Stoning the Devil, Jan. 7, 2009 by Adam Fieled
At Slim Windows, Sept. 10, 2008, by Tom Beckett
At Fait Accompli Blog, Sept. 10, 2008 by Nick Piombino

*****

THE HAY(NA)KU ANTHOLOGY, VOL. II, Co-Eds. Jean Vengua & Mark Young (2008, co-published with xPress(ed), Finland)
Meritage Press Link HERE

Other information about the anthology HERE (Hay(na)ku Blog).

Reviews & Engagements:
At Galatea Resurrects No. 15 by Aileen Ibardaloza, Dec. 7, 2010
At Arroyo Chamisa, May 28, 2008, by Alex Gildzen
At Blind Chatelaine's Poetics, Jan. 28, 2009, by John Olson

*****

DISAPPOINTED PSALMS, poetry by Brian Clements (2008)
Meritage Press Link HERE

Reviews & Engagements:
At P-ramblings Daily Glance by William Allegrezza, May 5, 2010
An interview at The Argotist Online
An interview at Chicago Postmodern Poetry

*****

PRAU, poetry by Jean Vengua (2007)
Meritage Press Link HERE.

Reviews & Engagements:
At p-ramblings by William Allegrezza, June 1, 2010
At Galatea Resurrects No. 14 by Jeff Harrison
At New Mystics, Jan. 30, 2009, by Joey Madia
At Galatea Resurrects No. 11 by Brett Duchon
At Galatea Resurrects No. 9 by John Bloomberg-Rissman
At Galatea Resurrects No. 10 by Leny M. Strobel
At Philippine News by Allen Gaborro
A review by Joan Zimmerman
An interview at E-X-C-H-A-N-G-E-V-A-L-U-E-S, Jan. 1, 2006

*****

STAGE PRESENCE: CONVERSATIONS WITH FILIPINO-AMERICAN PERFORMING ARTISTS, Ed. Theodore S. Gonzalves (2007)
Meritage Press Link HERE.

Reviews & Engagements:
At Our Own Voice, February 2008 by Laura Huggins
At Philippine Daily Inquirer, Jan. 7, 2008 by Ben Pimentel, Jr.
At International Examiner, 2008 by Eydie Detera
At San Francisco Chronicle, February 27, 2008: "Stage Presence - New book on Fil-Am artists," Pinoy Pod (podcast)
At The Filipino Express, 2008, "Celebrating the Printed Word: Young Authors Hosted at Consulate
At Philippine News, May 2008 by Allen Gaborro
At JAZZ NEWS, October 26, 2010, Review by Ron Sagye La Rue

*****

COMPLICATIONS, poetry by Garrett Caples (2007)
Meritage Press Link HERE.

Reviews & Engagements:
At PhillySound Feature #7: Garrett Caples, Aug. 30, 2009, an interview by CA Conrad
At Galatea Resurrects No. 12, May 2009, a reprinted review by Talisman by John Olson
At Rain Taxi, Spring 2008 by Kevin Carollo
At Verse Magazine, April 22, 2008 by Brian Strang
At the Village Voice, April 22, 2008 by Alan Gilbert
At Galatea Resurrects No. 11 by Brett Duchon
At Galatea Resurrects No. 16 by Jeff Harrison

*****

FRAGILE REPLACEMENTS, poetry by William Allegrezza (2007)
Meritage Press Link HERE.

Reviews & Engagements:
At Galatea Resurrects No. 17 by Allen Bramhall
At Galatea Resurrects No. 12 by Tom Hibbard
At Bookslut by Gina Myers, July 2008
At Galatea Resurrects No. 8 by Thomas Fink
An interview at 12 or 20 questions, Jan. 14, 2008

*****

DAYS POEM, VOLS. 1 & 2, poetry by Allen Bramhall (2007)
Meritage Press Link HERE.

Reviews & Engagements:
At Galatea Resurrects No. 16 by Nicholas T. Spatafora, April 5, 2011
At Galatea Resurrects No. 9 by Anny Ballardini
At Galatea Resurrects No. 8 by Jeff Harrison
An Ongoing Interview at Antic View (3-plus years now) with Jeff Harrison

*****

KALI’S BLADE, poetry (with kali martial arts poetics) by Michelle Bautista (2006)
Meritage Press Link HERE. Kindle Edition (for a mere $0.99!) HERE.

Reviews & Engagements:
At Galatea Resurrects No. 12 by Jean Vengua
At Galatea Resurrects No. 11 by Katherine Levy
At Galatea Resurrects No. 7 by Julie R. Enszer
At Galatea Resurrects No. 5 by William Allegrezza
At INN OTHER WORDS, Nov. 8, 2007, by Barbara Jane Reyes

*****

DERIVE, poetry with visual art collaboration by Bruna Mori & Matthew Kinney (2006)
Meritage Press Link HERE.

Reviews & Engagements:
At HOW2, Vol. 3, Issue 2, Summer 2008, "Ecopoetics: Drawing on Calfskin Vellum by Jane Sprague"
At Otoliths 4, Feb. 1, 2007, by Thomas Fink
At Rain Taxi by Craig Perez
At Chicago Postmodern Poetry
At Amy King's Alias, March 23, 2008, by Amy King
At L.A. Lit
At Good Reads by Oscar Bermeo
At INN OTHER WORDS, Nov. 8, 2007, by Barbara Jane Reyes

*****

UNPROTECTED TEXTS: SELECTED POEMS (1978-2006) by Tom Beckett (2006)
Meritage Press Link HERE.

Reviews & Engagements:
At Boog City, 2008, by John Mercuri Dooley
At dbqp: visualizing poetics, Oct. 18, 2006, by Geof Huth
At Jacket Magazine 33, July 2007 by Carlos Hiraldo
At Jacket Magazine 34,October 2007, "The Poetry of Questions" by Thomas Fink
At Jacket Magazine 25, February 2004, Conversation with Richard Lopez
A reading report at dbqp: visualizing poetics, Nov. 5, 2007 by Geof Huth
At Shanna Compton's Blog, Nov. 27, 2006
At Galatea Resurrects No. 8 by Ernesto Priego
At Galatea Resurrects No. 5 by John Bloomberg-Rissman
At Galatea Resurrects No. 4 by Nicholas Manning
At Galatea Resurrects No. 4 by Fionna Doney Simmonds
At Galatea Resurrects No. 4 by Beatriz Tabios
At Pantaloons Blog, Nov. 8, 2007 by Jack Kimball

*****

NOT EVEN DOGS, poetry & first single-author hay(na)ku collection by Ernesto Priego (2006)
Meritage Press Link HERE.

Reviews & Engagements:
An interview at E-X-C-H-A-N-G-E-V-A-L-U-E-S, January 2007
At New Mystics Review, June 23, 2009 by Joey Madia
At Word For/Word #11, Winter 2007 by Thomas Fink
At Galatea Resurrects No. 7 by John Bloomberg-Rissman
At Galatea Resurrects No. 5 by Mario Mireles
At Galatea Resurrects No. 4 by Leny M. Strobel
At Kathang-Pinay Blog by Leny M. Strobel
At Galatea Resurrects No. 3 by Allen Bramhall

*****

THE FIRST HAY(NA)KU ANTHOLOGY, Co-Eds. Jean Vengua & Mark Young (2005, co-published with xPress(ed), Finland)
Meritage Press Link HERE.

Other information about the anthology HERE (Hay(na)ku Blog).

Reviews & Engagements:
At Poetry Form, an anthology review by Joan Zimmerman
At Poetry Form, an interview of anthology editor Jean Vengua by Joan Zimmerman
At Galatea Resurrects No. 1 by Yvonne Hortillo
At Listen & Be Heard, Jan. 27, 2006 by Annabelle Udo
An interview with Jean Vengua at E-X-C-H-A-N-G-E-V-A-L-U-E-S, Jan. 1, 2006

*****

THE OBEDIENT DOOR, poetry by Sean Tumoana Finney with reproductions of original drawings by Ward Schumaker (2005)
Meritage Press Link HERE.

Reviews & Engagements:
At Galatea Resurrects No. 4 by Fionna Doney Simmonds
At Galatea Resurrects No. 1 by Laurel Johnson

*****

PINOY POETICS: A COLLECTION OF AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL ESSAYS ON FILIPINO AND FILIPINO-AMERICAN POETICS, Ed. Nick Carbo (2004)
Meritage Press Link HERE.

Reviews & Engagements:
At Moria Poetry by Veronica Montes
At Galatea Resurrects No. 2 by Rochita Loenen-Ruiz
At Galatea Resurrects No. 1 by Abigail Licad
At Boog City, 2003 by Jane Sprague
At Philippine Star, Manila, 2004 by Juaniyo Arcellana
At Galatea Resurrects No. 11 by Aileen Ibardaloza
An interview with Pinoy Poetics editor Nick Carbo at El-Ghibli.org-Letteratura della migrazione by Elisabetta Marino

*****

THE ORACULAR SONNETS, poetry collaboration by Mark Young & Jukka-Pekka Kervinen (2004)
Free Download at Meritage Press Link HERE.

Reviews & Engagements:
An interview at E-X-C-H-A-N-G-E-V-A-L-U-E-S, Jan. 23, 2006
An interview with Jukka-Pekka Kervinen at An interview at E-X-C-H-A-N-G-E-V-A-L-U-E-S, May 10, 2005

*****

[WAYS], poetry with visual art collaboration by Barry Schwabsky and Hong Seung-Hye (2004, co-published with Artsonje Center, Seoul)
Meritage Press Link HERE.

Reviews & Engagements:
At Galatea Resurrects No. 2 by Ernesto Priego
An interview at Here Comes Everybody
An interview at P.F.S. Post

*****

OPERA: POEMS 1981-2002 by Barry Schwabsky (2003)
Meritage Press Link HERE.

Reviews & Engagements:
An interview at E-X-C-H-A-N-G-E-V-A-L-U-E-S, May 6, 2007
At Boog City, 2003 by Jane Sprague
At Galatea Resurrects No. 4 by Fionna Doney Simmonds
At Galatea Resurrects No. 4 by Michelle Bautista
At Galatea Resurrects No. 2 by Laurel Johnson
An interview at Here Comes Everybody
An interview at P.F.S. Post

*****

MUSEUM OF ABSENCES, poetry by Luis H. Francia (2003, co-published with the University of the Philippines Press, Manila)
Meritage Press Link HERE.

Reviews & Engagements:
At Galatea Resurrects No. 11 by Monna Wong
At Galatea Resurrects No. 4 by Rhett Pascual
At Galatea Resurrects No. 1 by Yvonne Hortillo

*****

ER, UM, poetry with drawings by Garrett Caples and Hu Xin (2002,out-of-print)
Meritage Press Link HERE.

Reviews & Engagements:
At Boog City, 2003 by Jane Sprague

*****

100 MORE JOKES FROM THE BOOK OF THE DEAD, etchings-based collaboration by John Yau and Archie Rand (2001)
Meritage Press Link HERE.

Reviews & Engagements:
At Galatea Resurrects No. 9 by Brian Clements
At Columbia News, “Archie Rand’s Collaboration with Poets” by Suzanne Trimel
At Boog City, 2003 by Jane Sprague

*****

“COLD WATER FLAT”, a signed etching in a numbered edition of 37 by John Yau and Archie Rand (2001)
Meritage Press Link HERE.

Reviews & Engagements:
At Columbia News, “Archie Rand’s Collaboration with Poets” by Suzanne Trimel
At Boog City, 2003 by Jane Sprague

HAY(NA)KU FOR HAITI

2010-02-21T06:55:00.000-08:00

MERITAGE PRESS ANNOUNCEMENT

A Haiti Fundraiser with Complimentary New Book by Eileen R. Tabios

Marsh Hawk Press has teamed up with Meritage Press to provide a poetry fundraiser for Haiti Relief.

Those who order five or more "Hay(na)ku for Haiti" booklets from Meritage Press' Open Palm Press will also receive a complimentary copy of Eileen R. Tabios' latest Marsh Hawk Press book, THE THORN ROSARY: Selected Prose Poems & New, edited by Thomas Fink.

As five booklets are available for $15 and Ms. Tabios' book retails for $19.95, we hope poetry lovers will find this offer an attractive way to contribute to Haiti relief. The following provides details on this Haiti fundraiser:

Open Palm Press
(an imprint of Meritage Press)
is pleased to announce the series:

Hay(na)ku for Haiti

-- a fundraiser for Haiti, edited by Eileen R. Tabios and blessed by support from chapbookpublisher.com.

Poets who write in the hay(na)ku form (about which more information is available at http://haynakupoetry.blogspot.com) have consented to create hay(na)ku for helping Haiti's recovery efforts. The results are to be released as "pocket poem booklets" by Open Palm Press. Each will be sold for $3.00, reflecting the hay(na)ku's three lines, with all proceeds to be donated for Haiti relief.

The series begins with:

#1: PARTICLE AND WAVE and FROM THE CHAIR, two hay(na)ku sequences by Jean Vengua
#2: On A Pyre: An Ars Poetica by Eileen R. Tabios
#3: Hay(na)ku for Haiti by Tom Beckett
#4: when the earth moves by Lars Palm
#5: After René Depestre’s “My Definition of Poetry”, as translated by Edwidge Danticat, with lines at the end by Lafcadio Hearn by John Bloomberg-Rissman.
#6: Mrs. Quake by Nicole Mauro
#7: Through Having Been, Vol. 1 by William Allegrezza
#8: Through Having Been, Vol. 2 by William Allegrezza
#9: blonde topography: a terse set of tercets by steve dalachinsky
#10: Drop, Portion and Assignment by Peg Duthie
#11: As I Speed to Your Place by Amanda Laughtland
#12: REBIRTH by Cynthia M. Phillips
#13: in articulate concision of appendices by David C. Kopaska-Merkel
#14:from Delicacies in FRACTUS CORPUS by Ric Carfagna (Vol. 1), Hay(na)ku-ed Translations by Eileen Tabios
#15: Last word is the poet’s calling by Aileen Ibardaloza
#16: Times in Rhymes, Ruins by Jon Curley

Over time, more releases will occur as it is anticipated that Haiti's relief requirements will be prolonged and deep. Poets interested in exploring the hay(na)ku through this fundraising effort may contact the series editor at MeritagePress@aol.com

"H for H" booklets are lovingly produced by http://chapbookpublisher.com on lilac-colored paper to fit, at 2.75" x 4.5 X 2", on an open palm -- ideal for giving engagements.

To order some or all of the series, please send checks made out to "Meritage Press" for $3 per booklet and send to

Eileen Tabios
Meritage Press
256 North Fork Crystal Springs Rd.
St. Helena, CA 94574

This offer is also available to non-U.S. residents, but with extra arrangements required for international shipping.

For more information, including on international orders: MeritagePress@aol.com

*****

REVIEWS:
Mischievoice, March 10, 2010: Review of Hay(na)ku for Haiti by Lars Palm
AT: http://larspalm.wordpress.com/2010/03/10/reading-haiti/

Galatea Resurrects No. 15, Dec. 5, 2010: Review of Hay(na)ku for Haiti by Jim McCrary
AT: http://galatearesurrection15.blogspot.com/2010/12/haynaku-for-haiti.html

Tribute-Airy, Jan. 1, 2011: Review of Hay(na)ku for Haiti by Allen Bramhall
AT: http://tribute-airy.blogspot.com/2011/01/haynaku-for-haiti.html

2010 WINNER OF MERITAGE PRESS ANNUAL HOLIDAY FILIPINO POETRY CONTEST CONTEST

2009-01-06T14:35:00.000-08:00

Water
by Jun de la Rosa

A ball floats on the sea. Water

is not a place of falling. Nothing

is too heavy there, an older boy tells

his brother who is afraid to step in.

A glass finds its way to the bottom

without breaking. Not even a crack.

To die in the sea is painful

but less tragic.

Across the waters, the weather bureau

spots a new storm, names it Pepeng.

The storm pounds hard on doors,

demanding an answer. How can you tell

a different storm? How dare you

give me a new name.

A waiter opens the tap. The pressure

is too strong, he senses. It seems like

water wants to break free from the sea.

Or the sea is blowing itself out

through the pipes.

A glass is filled. In a clear container,

water is tamed sea. Not blue with anger.

Across another sea, a woman looks up—

hands outstretched to feel the drops of rain.

This is a new one. Gentler. This is how

tears fall from where she came from.

A drop on the woman’s forehead

is an apology she accepts.

Everyone is cheering and the bride

holds up her glass to a toast.

It breaks against the groom’s glass.

An impact so intense like this

is called passion, he says. She laughs.

Wine drips from the cracks,

staining her powder blue gown,

turning purple. The guests’ mouths

are still gaping in surprise.

A woman seated alone at the back

asked for a glass of water that never came.

Her eye, the surface of the sea.

2008 WINNER OF MERITAGE PRESS ANNUAL HOLIDAY FILIPINO POETRY CONTEST CONTEST

2009-01-06T14:33:00.000-08:00

Letras y Figuras
By Rodrigo V. Dela Peña Jr.

Their names are a kind of narrative

though imagined, the way history
                                    unfolds

                        before the page.
Before the canvas the letters
                                    shape the scenes—

                                    fin de siècle
settings and measured gesturings.

            *

                                    JOSE FERCED
Y TEMPRADO, BALVINO MAURICIO…
                        Who is to say

                                    the dead
tell no stories? In the afterlife

                                                they long to be
and be remembered.

Who can tell if the dead make

            up lies?

                    *

                                    T is a man
with a sugarcane upon his shoulders,

C a languid mother
                                    carrying a baby.

                        To be burdened
by one thing

            or another, a lifetime's

                                    occupation—
the loop of P a weathered face, wrinkled
                        as dry earth.

                    *

Out of this silence:

                                    cockcrow,
gossipy chatter, gossamer music
                        stirring the air.

If you listen closely, you will hear

secret

                                    conversations.

                    *

                                    Letter
                        by ornate letter,

the wor(l)d is represented.

                    *

                        How to describe without
description, how to paint a portrait

                                    without
the subject's image. There is

something to be gleaned from this: the real
                                    resists

                        to be
                                    represented.

                    *

                                    Interspersed
between figures, between letters

                        are vines and shrubs,
                                    sprawling

tropical flora. And in all
                        this labored realism,

                        the obsessive attention
                                    to detail,
the letters themselves

            appear almost incidental.

                    *

Almost. Their names are still out-
                                    lined,

                        epitaphs
                                    of the upper class:

WILLIAM P. PIERCE, FRANCISCO
                        GARCIA ORTIZ.

                        They know how
the equatorial heat and monsoon rains
                                    afflict us with

                        amnesia.

                    *

And now this fate more than

                        a century hence:
                                    to be housed

in a museum or private
                                    collection;

                                    to be recognized
extant, time's only surviving
                        form. Let this

                        fiction of a past
                                    be memory.

+++++++++
(Note: "Letras y Figuras," which literally means letters and figures, was a popular art form in the Philippines from the late 19th to the early 20th centuries. Rendered using watercolor on brown paper, it depicts tableaus of ordinary Filipino scenes, with letters of the patron's name cleverly formed to mimic human figures engaged in various activities.)