OPP -- Original Pinoy Poetry -- kinda like OPM

I've never posted drafts of articles/column material so I thought I'd start now. I need feedback.

Future Manila Girl column -- when I stage my comeback in June.

Long ago and far away, or so now it seems that way, a group of kids gathered at a rock joint along Edsa, called Club Dredd. It was nothing fancy, a makeshift stage to perform, a bar with cheap drinks and eats. There, the Dredd Poets Society gathered to celebrate the spoken word. Some were poets, others musicians but mostly it was anyone with the guts to read a verse or two – self –penned or stolen, to the cheers or jeers of the audience, cold San Miguel in hand. There were no judges, good, bad and lame attempts at performance (mine included) poetry were always welcome. Later, I got more involved with the Dredd Sessions via Tones and Poems, which added a musical (preferably indie rock) performance, and multimedia aspects (i.e. photographs/art exhibited in the lobby area) to the gatherings. When Dredd closed, many of us moved on – to other lives, to other interests. We grew up, grew apart but for many of us an appreciation of the “word” whether in poetry or song remained.

Flash forward to a warm fall day in Washington DC... author Tim Saguinsin reads from his Angono book in Balagtasan style, sending shivers down the spines of those of us who recognized this lost art. It makes me think about Filipino poetry, makes me wonder about things, and most of all makes me wish I could recite poetry that way too!

And then I realize how sad it is that I cannot name any Pinoy poet let alone quote any Filipino poem the way I can recite Robert Frost or even Pablo Neruda. (Does Adios Patria Adorada region del sol querida...count? That’s as far as I go.)

Last year an unexpected gift of poetry came way via Miracle Fruit by Aimee Nez. (Is it still OPP when the author is half American?) Since then, I have been keen on finding the Filipino voice, dare I say, soul through poetry. So you can imagine the bonanza I got in the mail last month when Eileen Tabios sent me three books, and Patria Rivera sent her new book. I am slowly digesting their work, planning on acquiring other new books by the likes of Paolo, Sarah etc. but I a little insecure about reading them and what’s more, writing about them because I am no intellectual or scholar, not even a poet myself – what if I don’t get it? What if the words mean nothing to me?

But that is not what it’s about is it? The beauty of poetry lies in what the reader derives from the experience . As former Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky said: “Poetry connects us with our deep roots, our evolution as an animal that evolved rhythmic language as a means of transmitting vital information across the generations. We need the comfort and stimulation that this vital part of us gets from the ancient art.”

I search for those vital connections through our poets words. My quest for the elusive Pinoy soul/identity continues. *