Barbara Jane Reyes

The “Race” Conversation: When we talk about expectations for “ethnic” writing/writers, whose expectations are we talking about?

Barbara Jane Reyes — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 12:18:19 PDT

[Above is a "poem poster" I made many years ago as part of a Fil Am Lit project. The image is called "Bayanihan," by Mel Vera Cruz.] I must live in a “bubble.” I’ve read these three really great essays on ethnicity/”race” and writing: “You Are The Second Person,” by Kiese Laymon “Writer of Color,” [...]

Ongoing Process Notes: Morejón, Hagedorn, Evasco

Barbara Jane Reyes — Sat, 15 Jun 2013 14:44:54 PDT

A couple of things, as I continue to plug away at the manuscript. We were fortunate to see Nancy Morejón at La Peña a couple of days ago, and I’m glad we did. There is something about language I’m still working through in my head, something about communicating via translation, and also something about communicating [...]

You Spitfire Girl: The Poem and Manuscript, Some Notes

Barbara Jane Reyes — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 09:54:20 PDT

I love this image of Audre Lorde, not just as something “inspirational” (I really dislike the word “inspirational” anyway), but as a reminder to “practice what you preach,” “walk the walk, talk the talk.” A reminder to handle ourselves and our own shit. That said, my poem: To Handle Yourself You spitfire girl, you golden, [...]

“Why We Need to Read Filipino Literature”: Is this the question we need to be asking?

Barbara Jane Reyes — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 10:15:08 PDT

“Why We Need to Read Filipino Literature” is a Google search that has, for the last few days, been leading to a couple of blog posts: Revisiting Dogeaters and Other Possible Revelations in Filipino Literature Filipino American Literature, Filipino American Lovers of Books I am intrigued. Whose search? Is it for a class? Whose class? [...]

You Spitfire Girl

Barbara Jane Reyes — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 08:48:11 PDT

A nice image to think about as we forge ahead with the newly renamed manuscript: Progress and process on the manuscript! Some things (excerpted from my Pinay Narratives page): If I could do it all over again, my questions would read more like this: Who is your mother? What is her story? Who are your [...]

Manuscript Process Notes: On the Line

Barbara Jane Reyes — Wed, 05 Jun 2013 08:56:09 PDT

First, the damn manuscript needs a title. I don’t know what the hell is going on with me, that I can’t nail down a title for this thing. This thing, of course, is the Pinay narratives manuscript, and it’s been morphing, as some of you know. I am feeling much better about its newly taken [...]

Poem for the Pinay Manuscript: What Happens When a Pinay Howls 2

Barbara Jane Reyes — Tue, 04 Jun 2013 12:38:08 PDT

To Spend and Be Spent Inay, I’m with you in this homelessness Where you are more battered than I I’m with you in this homelessness Where your pedigree is a raging pheromone I’m with you in this homelessness Where we’re making it happen despite your terrible taste in lovers I’m with you in this homelessness [...]

Poem for the Pinay Manuscript: What Happens When a Pinay Howls?

Barbara Jane Reyes — Sun, 02 Jun 2013 20:27:08 PDT

To Remember I saw the best poets of my bloodline dig into themselves, starving for rice, scaling, treading, aging Touching one anothers’ hands through wartime skies, a thousand years old in a succession of heartbeats Who lost one another again and again, as imperial bombs fell on our capital city Who searched for their kin [...]

Broken Record Stylee: MFAs and Writers of Color

Barbara Jane Reyes — Fri, 31 May 2013 09:05:25 PDT

Above is the best photograph ever, of Jose Garcia Villa, taken by Eric Gamalinda in 1993. This is a great sum up of how many of us think of Villa, his work, his feelings towards established literary bodies. I love this; it both emboldens me (as if I need more emboldening), but it also makes [...]

I Write To Stand My Ground: What Makes This Possible

Barbara Jane Reyes — Thu, 30 May 2013 08:37:36 PDT

I write to stand my ground. http://bit.ly/133HFmI (That’s from yesterday’s blog post.) As tellers of story, use your creativity, perform generative and imaginative acts of storytelling, to counter the destructiveness, silencing, and invisibility ongoing in this world. Deploy your words, your voices, your talents and honor our stories — however difficult and painful, they are beautiful and [...]