language

Sylvia L. Mayuga of the Philippine Daily Inquirer reviews "Salamanca" here. It's a fair review and got me thinking even more about language - in particular, how I lack the capacity to write in Tagalog. I agree that stories told by Filipinos have that certain something when told in the vernacular, but I also think that we, as Filipinos, have taken and molded the English language into our own thing. We need to be careful to not so easily equate nationalism with what language we write in or speak or think in.

As for the other observation, well, I am a devotee of the Latin American magic realists, and agree that our country, our culture, is a perfect fit - which is why the novel is written in that manner. With the next novel (working title: "Sinverguenzza"), I hope to explore more themes and our "fractured" national culture, in the context of speculative fiction (natch).

What made my day were words from author and poet Ed Maranan. I can't post them here, but they're about "Salamanca" and new modes of literary thought.

All in all, very encouraging. But really, what matters more is what new works tomorrow brings (audacious or not LOL).