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It has been such a schizophrenic time these past few weeks for the
local artistic community, especially when it came to news about
writers. While some have been celebrating highs, people were also
feeling low with the loss of some writers in our midst.
One of the losses was Astrid Tobias who lost her
bout with lupus a few weeks back. Just thirty years old, Astrid
wrote children's literature and also worked at the Kabataan News
Network. I first met her through common friends but it was at Adarna
HouseÕs 2007 Barlaya Writing for Young Adults workshop where I
interacted with her the longest. I was a fellow of that workshop and
she was a panelist who gave very meaningful insights about the young
adult novel I submitted for that workshop. Her comments were very
useful and helped the revision of my manuscript a lot. I was
actually planning on seeking her out for added comments (I wanted
her to read the whole novel because the workshop only provided
panelists with excerpts and synopses) but I guess my luck ran out.
Still, I am very grateful for her help. May she rest in peace.
Another young writer we lost is 29-year old film
critic Alexis Tioseco. His Quezon City home was robbed and, together
with his girlfriend Nika Bohinc, he was gunned down in the process.
Most of the independent film cinema circle knew him as the hopeful
Filipino-Canadian critic who championed Filipino cinema via his
online film journal. His girlfriend was also a film journalist in
her native Slovenia. No one should die that way. I hope they find
the perpetrators soon.
Another young writer we lost is poet Winton Lou
Ynion whom I met at the UP National Writers Workshop in Davao in the
late 1990s. He was one of the poetry fellows and I was part of the
workshop staff that year. I offer my condolences to the families and
friends of these writers; such a huge loss indeed.
Even with such sad news in mind, the literary
community still went on with the usual highs designated this time of
the year. The Palanca Awards were handed out last September 1 and I
would like to congratulate all who won. Some wins elevated a couple
of writers to the Hall of Fame, particularly UP Prof. Eugene Evasco.
A known children's writer, he won first place for the newest
Palanca category in Filipino called Tulang Isinulat Para Sa Mga
Bata. In order to be in the Hall of Fame, a writer should have won
five first prize awards in any category.
The Philippines Free Press Awards were also
given out days before the Palanca's, and poetry and fiction writers
whose works were published in the magazine the past year were
awarded to a lot of first-timers.
Let's hope that the rest of the year will be
more peaceful for the writing community and the larger artistic
community as well; no more losses, please, and enough controversies
as well.
Comments? Suggestions? E-mail libay.scribevibe@gmail.com.
She is also at libaycantor.multiply.com.
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