More Reading: A Review of Trevor Carolan’s ANOTHER KIND OF PARADISE: SHORT STORIES FROM THE NEW ASIA-PACIFIC

The first thing self learns from Joseph Blake’s review of Another Kind of Paradise, published in the Fall/ Winter 2009 issue of the Pacific Rim Review of Books, is that “I couldn’t name a dozen writers from the countries included in Another Kind of Paradise.”

Ah, so this is precisely the kind of reader that the anthology aims at.

Blake then goes on to say that “the vast Asia-Pacific region that Carolan’s book reflects and its myriad neighborhoods of religion and culture share a history of village storytelling.”  Blake says his favorite stories from the collection are “written by women.” (Thank you, thank you so much Mr. Blake!)

Here are his favorites:

• Seiko Tanabe’s “The Innocent,” a “soul-wrenching, ash-dry portrait of a single, urban female office-worker’s relationships with men and girl friends” (Self really liked this story as well!)
• Vietnamese writer Pham Thi Hoai’s “Nine Down Makes Ten,” in which “nine men representing different facets of Vietnam’s workers’ paradise are portrayed with a sadly bitter and mocking tone limed with a dash of weary self-deprecation.”

The book is published by Boston’s Cheng & Tsui.  Not sure whether local chain bookstores will have it, but dear blog readers can certainly order direct from the publisher!

Here’s a little about the book’s editor, Trevor Carolan:

Trevor Carolan was born in Yorkshire and began writing professionally at age seventeen, filing dispatches from San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury music scene. He is widely published as a journalist, literary critic, anthologist, poet, and translator and has also worked as a media advocate for international human rights, Canadian Aboriginal land claims, and Pacific Coast watershed issues.

Stay tuned.

Go See: Stella’s Exhibit, Growing Up Filipino Reading, Self’s Class at Writer’s Center (Bethesda, MD)

Dear blog readers, you have just one more week to catch the group exhibit, GEOGRAPHY, featuring the photography of Stella Kalaw, John Mann and Anthony Marchetti at San Francisco’s Rayko Gallery, 425 Third Street.

* * *

The second volume of Growing Up Filipino, edited by Cecilia Manguerra Brainard, is

Tuesday Before Thanksgiving (2009): NYTBR 15 November

“No matter how good they were, some memories deserve to be forgotten.”

—  Gary Sinise (tonight’s episode of “CSI New York”)

Self doesn’t know how she can still find time to blog, when tomorrow is the day when she has to start brining that (damn) 16-lb. turkey, all so that son can tell his friends back in San Luis Obispo what a good cook his mom is! Bleaaah! Why did she ever etc etc etc

Anyhoo, tomorrow is tomorrow, and this evening is this evening, and here’s the short list of books self is interested in reading, after perusing the 15 November 2009 issue of The New York Times Book Review:

1. After reading Susan Cheever’s (rave) review of Mary Karr’s new memoir, Lit:

• Mary Karr’s The Liar’s Club
• Mary Karr’s Cherry

2. After reading Harold Bloom’s review of Peter Ackroyd’s retelling of Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales:

• Peter Ackroyd’s The Canterbury Tales: A Retelling

3. After reading Michael Greenberg’s review of Kay Redfield Jamison’s Nothing Was the Same: A Memoir:

• Kay Redfield Jamison’s 1995 memoir, An Unquiet Mind
• Kay Redfield Jamison’s Nothing Was the Same: A Memoir

4. After reading Clancy Martin’s review of Paul Auster’s Invisible:

• Paul Auster’s Invisible

5. After reading Marilyn Stasio’s Crime Column:

• Phoenix Noir, a collection of “noir” short stories edited by Patrick Millikin
• Dial H for Murder, Susan Kandel’s latest mystery featuring amateur West Hollywood sleuth Cece Caruso
• Derek Nikitas’ The Long Division (“At one point, we’re following three different cars on three different roads, each a vehicular stage where frantic parents and their miserable children can act out their sad fantasies.”)

Tuesday Evening in November, Here Comes A Poem

Report

by Arvin A. Mangohig

You bring me the weather:  localized storms
in your absence, the mere thought of you
and small climate disturbances occur in the room
in your name, tides in my brain shift.

Once, without you for one whole year,
it rained around me, even my blood
flowed like flood waters.
You returned in time to keep the seasons
from swallowing me whole, island,
tropical, at the mercy of the seas.

Now, you lie in my bed like an eclipse;
your sun still covered in the sheets
where you touched me, burns with dark fires.
I touch you and there is dusk
all around me like your breast.
I take my clothes off within it like a soul;
there is moonlight around your heart.
Certain stars are moving near us.

2001

— From One Hundred Love Poems: Philippine Love Poetry Since 1905, edited by Gemino H. Abad and Alfred A. Yuson

What Self Learned This Evening While Browsing at Books, Inc.

The Chris Botti concert at Davies was loads of fun! But first self wants to share with dear blog readers some of the things she learned while spending over an hour browsing in Books, Inc. in Opera Plaza on Van Ness.

Self decided to look at the anthologies of the O. Henry Literature Prize (2009) and Best American Short Stories (2008). After perusing the Tables of Contents of these anthologies, self came to the conclusion that the O. Henry is the more interesting collection.

BASS 2008 was guest-edited by Salman Rushdie. The eminent man ended up choosing stories from (Don’t hold your breath) The New Yorker, The Atlantic, Harper’s, Ploughshares, The Paris Review and several other “established” literary journals. Self might as well read The New Yorker, The Atlantic, Harper’s etc etc. Why would she need to read Best American Short Stories? Just because these stories have been further anointed by Salman Rushdie?

The O. Henry anthology at least seemed to have a wider net. At least, self distinctly remembers reading a story that was first published in Grain. There was another one from The Florida Review. And one from Third Coast that self remembers reading and being struck by. And the O. Henry still includes a section at the back where the writers talk about the genesis of their respective stories. (Only, the list of “Recommended Stories” — that is, stories that made it to the short list but not to the final published volume — has shrunk to about five???)

There was one story that was in both the Best American Short Stories 2008 and the O. Henry Prize Stories 2009. Self forgets whose story it was. Deepest apologies, dear blog readers!

There’s a section of Books, Inc. that features “Books Set in L.A.” Now, that was interesting. Of course, the display included Joan Didion’s Play It As It Lays. But, self looked in vain for a section on “Books Set in San Francisco,” and there was none. How come only L.A. gets the distinction of having a separate section all to itself?

Also, self sprang for a Marie Claire with Katherine Heigl on the cover, and nearly choked when the cashier told her it was $8.99. Turns out the issue was the UK edition. The American edition (much thinner) has Fergie of the Black-Eyed Peas on the cover, and seems about only half as thick. But, at least it only costs $3.99.

Stay tuned, dear blog readers, stay tuned.

On Self’s Birthday This Year, and Thoughts on Andy Roddick

The ICW Panayam Series continues with a free lecture by Charlson Ong at UP Diliman, Quezon City.

* * *

The deadline for Patubas 2: An Anthology of West Visayan Literature is July 15. The first Patubas was published 10 years ago by the Philippines’ National Commission for Culture and the Arts. Patubas 2 will be edited by Dr. Leoncio Deriada. All writers from the Western Visayas, whether residing in or outside Region VI, are encouraged to apply. Send submissions to patubas2@gmail.com

* * *

Other happenings: Last weekend, Andy Roddick and Roger Federer went mano a mano at Wimbledon. Who among dear blog readers saw that game? Self fully expected Federer to win. She caught only the fifth set. The score was a ridiculous and sick 10-10. Even though self knew Federer was going to win, she couldn’t help wishing Roddick on, urging him (silently): Come on, come on! Because, in truth, self wanted to write the Roddick story: a story of triumph over mental vacillation, over a soul-destroying career slump.

But, well, the champion won again. Curiously, it wasn’t Federer’s record-setting win that stayed in self’s memory, all through the next two days (yes, even while beagle Gracie was suffering in emergency rooms) but the heroic effort by Roddick.

Stay tuned, dear blog readers, stay tuned.

ANOTHER KIND OF PARADISE Has Arrived!

Another Kind of Paradise is out from Cheng & Tsui! Self received her author copy just before leaving for the Association for Asian Studies Conference, happy happy joy joy.

Here’s an excerpt from the Introduction by Trevor Carolan, followed by a list of the authors included, grouped by country:

. . . whether looking forward or harkening back to colonial-era experiences, at the root of this anthology is the simple tradition of storytelling, the fundamental organizing ritual at the core of communal, agricultural life. It is in this that the writers of the Asia-Pacific plainly excel, and that elevates their works from quotidian documentary to meaningful discourse addressing both the individual’s and their societies’ moral and ethical dilemmas within the ongoing global crisis of spirit and meaning. As readers will discover, there is enlightenment here for the having.

• From Bangladesh: Niaz Zaman: “The Dance”
• From Burma: Nyi Pu Lay: “The Python”
• From Cambodia: Kong Bunchhoeun: “A Mysterious Passenger”
• From China: Hong Ying: “The Snuff Bottle”; Yu Hua: “Their Son”
• From Hong Kong: Xu Xi: “Until the Next Century”
• From Indonesia: Putu Oka Sukanta: “Storm Clouds Over the Island of Paradise”; Martin Aleida: “Dewangga’s Pendant”
• From Japan: Seiko Tanabe: “The Innocent”; Shogo Oketani: “A Day and a Half of Freedom”
• From Korea: Yun Dae Nyeong: “The Silver Trout Fishing Network”; Mi-na Choi: “Third Meeting”
• From Laos: Outhine Bounyavong: “Wrapped-Ash Delight”
• From Malaysia: K. S. Maniam: “Arriving”; Mulaika Hijjas: “Confinement”
• From The Philippines: Gilda Cordero-Fernando: “Bushouse”; Self: “Lizard”
• From Singapore: Alfian Bin Sa’at: “Pillow”
• From Taiwan: Ku Ling: “Lord Beile”
• From Thailand: Samruan Singh: “The Necklace”
• From Vietnam: Pham Thi Hoai: “Nine Down Makes Ten”

Self hearts Trevor!  And Frances Cabahug, who worked so hard to help put this volume together!

Self’s only regret is that there probably aren’t going to be any readings — since none of the authors reside anywhere near each other!

Stay tuned, dear blog readers, stay tuned.

Self Has a Whole Passel of Movies She Wants to See

. . .  if possible before leaving for Chicago, to be on a panel for the Association of Asian Studies Conference, on Friday.  (What?  Another trip?  Hubby can’t believe how much in demand self is lately!  Who knew?  But how can self resist?  Panel organizer was Teri Yamada, who edited Virtual Lotus: Modern Fiction of Southeast Asia.  Teri was the first to publish self’s story, “Mayor of the Roses” for which she earned self’s eternal gratitude.  A few years after the anthology appeared, we met again, in Berlin.  But, I digress)

Tomorrow or the day after, self hopes she can watch “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” one more time before returning it to Netflix.

She has carefully hoarded loose dollar bills and shifted around schedules so that she has tomorrow free and, with any luck, money left over —  after paying for essential groceries and mailing out a few pieces  —  to either:

1. scoot down to Palo Alto to watch Amy Adams and Emily Blunt in “Sunshine Cleaning” (showing at Palo Alto Square, off Page Mill)
2. head to downtown RWC Century 20 to watch Wes Craven’s “The Last House on the Left” —  Self knows that if she watches this one, she runs the risk of staying up late, sleepless, images of gore dancing in her head, but anyhoo  (Ooops!  Self just read terrible reviews of “Last House.”  Maybe she’ll substitute “The Class,” showing at the Guild Theatre on El Camino in Menlo Park)
3. steel herself to watch “The Reader” (showing at downtown RWC Century 20) before it leaves theatres forever —  Subject matter not exactly one self finds particularly appealing, but she wants to see how far La Winslet pushes herself, self knows this actress is absolutely fearless.

As for “Knowing,” self thinks this is one of those popcorn movies best viewed with hubby, so that will have to wait for post-Chicago.

And now, self bids dear blog readers adieu while she goes back to savoring the last few pages of Jim Harrison’s excellent collection, The Summer He Didn’t Die.  Self didn’t think anything could top the elegiac title story, told from the point of view of a lovelorn Native American named Brown Dog, but now she’s on the last story, “Tracking,” and almost every page has language whose effect on self is simply electric.

And, by the way, whoever wrote Harrison’s bio on wikipedia needs to be congratulated.  It is succinct, yet moving (Obviously written by a fan).  Stay tuned, dear blog readers, stay tuned.

Letter From a Man Who Has Re-Read GOING HOME TO A LANDSCAPE

I get these letters from time to time.  They are addressed to:  “Author, Going Home to a Landscape, Calyx Books.”  Calyx always forwards them to me.

This one, dated February 6, 2009, reads in part:

Dear Marianne,

I came across your book again and have a renewal of interest in poems and stories with a more in-depth look.

. . .  Your other stories are thought-provoking.  My favorite poems are “We Go Back to Manila” (by Angela Torres), “My Father Has Stopped Eating” (Virginia Cerenio), and Leny Mendoza Strobel’s “The Power of Adobo” (makes me hungry)

I think your book Going Home to a Landscape deserves a wide readership that extends beyond the Asian community.

Regards,

B. Stafford

*  *  *

Sometimes you enter into a zone.  I was just at AWP, on a panel with Luisa Igloria, Grace Talusan, Angela Narciso Torres, and Karen Llagas (three of whom are writers represented in Going Home), and Angela read part of “We Go Back to Manila in 1999,” which I’ll excerpt below. 

We Go Back to Manila in 1999

by Angela Narciso Torres

What will our children remember
of the shape of that year? Perhaps
the city skyline, swathed in blue
smog, a plane landing at daybreak,

arms reaching to encircle their small,
flight-weary bodies as they melted
into the waiting crowd. But those
were fleeting glimpses, through eyes

still fogged with sleep. More likely,
the sticky heat and stench of fumes,
a van weaving through early traffic
to the village that housed their mother’s

memories, verdant still, a jungle-green
deeper than California’s silver-sage.
Most certainly, the tile-roof house, where
they learned to call their grandparents

Lolo and Lola, learned to say ulan for rain;
rain filling potholes and gushing in gutters,
drumming on the low eaves, on windows
slammed shut to monsoon winds. Breakfast

of sweet sausage and rice, the clatter of pans
begun long before morning’s hushed light,
punctuated by the calls of a bread vendor
peddling hot pan de sal on a bycicle.

— from Going Home to a Landscape, Calyx Books, 2003

How can I repay this stranger for his kindness in writing? I turn once again to Sage Master Shih Cheng-Yen, who writes, in Still Thought # 44, “A person’s heart is like a field; if no good seeds are sown, nothing good will grow.”

So, plant seeds, dear blog readers. Plant many, many seeds.

Good News: Coming in 2009

Thank you sooo much, Trevor Carolan of the Pacific Rim Review of Books! For including self’s story “Lizard” in the forthcoming:

Another Kind of Paradise: Short Stories From the New Asia-Pacific, edited by Trevor Carolan (Boston: Cheng & Tsui Company)

And, for selecting self’s interview with Linh Dinh for inclusion in:

Against the Shore: the Best of Pacific Rim Review of Books, edited by Trevor Carolan & Richard Olafson (Victoria, British Columbia: Ekstasis Editions)