Category: Essays

[Taking off from this discussion, which is mostly based on the talk at the Taboan: The Philippine International Writers Festival 2009. Charles has made recordings of some of the discussions and linked to them here.] I am grateful - immeasurably grateful - to the local speculative fiction movement because it gives more avenues for speculative fiction in the country, and promotes local talent more than they have ever been promoted in the past. Hell, our realist fiction never had this much air time on the Web, even the most deserving ones! But there are some things the speculative fiction movement is saying that I don't find myself fully subscribing to. As someone who loves science fiction and fantasy, who has seen her English-language speculative work published in local magazines, I have no problem with speculative fiction being billed as "off the mainstream." I DO have a problem with agreeing that it's being "marginalized," because there seems to be a confusion of terms. Does being "off the mainstream" already mean you're marginalized? Not in my book because hey, speculative fiction has been published in the country. You have the freedom to independently publish whatever you want and set your own standards for the genre. You can even join our major literary contests and win, if you happen to meet the judges' criteria! (Guys, Greg Brillantes is an awesome writer, but he wasn't the ancestor of written spec fic in the country; we've had it since forever in mainstream non-English publications like pulp collections and local-language magazines, mostly in the form of horror and fantasy. Also, there are no grounds to say his work was "marginalized" - "The Distance to Andromeda" received awards and has been recognized as one of the finest literary works in the nation's history. [Edit: Some other works have received a similar distinction, e.g. Rosario Cruz-Lucero's “The Oracle of the One-Eyed Coconut”, which won the Free Press literary award in 2003, as shared by kristel in this post.] The way our literary contests and publication trends are carrying on, it's definitely not impossible for another work of speculative fiction to attain this status, as long as it meets our literary judges' criteria for good literature.) In my book, "marginalized" means exclusion. It means never having a shot. It means being shunned, discriminated against and relegated to a level that makes it impossible to catch up with the Joneses. It's definitely NOT a term I would apply to local speculative fiction, and to be quite honest the way it's being thrown around sometimes, it sounds like a catchphrase meant to gain sympathy when none is deserved. Simply put, "off the margin" =/= "marginalized". Here's what I'm presenting. By calling yourselves "marginalized," your movement appears dead set on billing "realist fiction" and the literary standards of the country as anti-speculative fiction. I don't subscribe to this, and I don't believe it's a healthy, productive image to promote. It feels a lot like destroying something just to build yourselves up. And frankly, as Philippine fiction has mostly been cloistered (read: unknown to international publishers) it's an easy target. You can say anything you want about it and international readers will take your word for it. We're struggling to get published and recognized, locally and internationally. All of us, no matter the genre. We're all struggling to get read. So if you aim to step on other people's efforts (yes, this includes realism - it counts even if it's "mainstream") just to get noticed, please don't be surprised if you get attacked. I listened to Charles' recording of the third day of the Taboan discussions (thanks for that BTW. You do us all a great service) and I felt like I understood what Dean meant when he said something like he was on the fence about whether or not they want to be accepted. Filipinos are world-class writers: I have always believed this. And as an editor, you receive all these awesome stories and get frustrated because they aren't read, they aren't granted any awards, and they don't even get noticed on the shelves! But you don't need to be mainstream or to be celebrated by the literary elite just to be widely read. Or even to change the world. So why demand it? Why force things just to make room for yourself, if it's not necessary? Here's my take on that. Spec fic in the west started off as "off the margin." It was published for and by sexist white dudes who liked wanking off to stories about exotic alien chicks or princesses locked in dungeons or girls who needed rescuing from mad scientists. The genre evolved over the years into works worthy of true literary merit, and how the world thinks and feels about genre fiction and the future has been shaped by these works. Classics like the Lord of the Rings, 2001: A Space Odyssey, The War of the Worlds, and Harry Potter changed the world even without clamoring to be "legitimate." They simply existed, they were simply read. They did not deny their roots, though in this era of political correctness and open-mindedness, most of it would fall under "dirty laundry." Stories that included 50-foot women and amazons from Mars and at the same time ignored intellectual heroines and characters of color are part of their traditions. Such stories were not brushed aside as "mainstream" or even "lowbrow" even when better alternatives existed - they are part of their literary traditions, after all. Moreover, these revolutionary works coexisted quite peacefully with fiction that would be called "realist," like The Grapes of Wrath, Uncle Tom's Cabin and The Godfather, which were also massively important in the big scheme of things. So to Mr. Dean Alfar and the rest - please don't stop writing. Just write, just get read, just keep publishing, and help our ailing literature grow, give it room to breathe. You are all awesome people and magnificent writers. But for God's sake, don't build yourselves up to be something you're not. And if there's anything you're not, it's oppressed, especially not now.

Charles Tan wrote an essay here defining Filipino speculative fiction. He brought up a lot of good points and it is an essay well worth reading. However, I would like to call special attention to this passage: Philippine speculative fiction, on the other hand, recognizes that fiction doesn't always have to be socially relevant. Can't we write stories simply to entertain? That's not to say local spec fic isn't socially relevant or doesn't possess gravity. More than a few modern spec fic stories tackle that (spec fic is inclusive, remember?). But the biggest differences is that writers are now able to write and pursue their own agendas without feeling guilt about the lack of Filipino characters or Filipino settings or importance on how their work will change the face of Philippine literature while still being able to gain a certain amount of literary acceptance. I have to put my two cents out there. I'm not going to deny that we have realist writing traditions. We have celebrated literature that aims to represent our unique struggles, as people and as citizens, and even now we're in dire need of skilled wordsmiths who aren't afraid to reflect Filipino society, its glories and ills, in their fiction. But, you see... as a writer of speculative work, I have never felt like I had to break off from or go against any traditions. Or felt guilty or scared because I wrote stories that other Filipinos might not enjoy reading. (more…)

[note: apologies for not keeping the blog up to date. i have a few announcements lined up for when i have more time to post, please stay tuned.] This personal post was inspired by a blog entry in Philippine Genre Stories titled Generational Reading Gap [blog] [multiply].

---

I grew up in a library that my father built up from scratch. Most of my literary education came from this. But I'll have to admit, I feel like growing up with this repertoire led me to become more isolated from the readers and writers I correspond with.I know very few readers from my generation (or older) who call themselves "sci fi fans," and at the same time know who Cordwainer Smith even IS. They may have read a little Asimov, a little Clarke, a little Philip K. Dick - but for the most part they've read and liked more Carl Sagan, Greg Bear, David Brin, and people who got published WAY after the "golden age," than I ever will. I sometimes get vibes from younger readers that run along the lines of: "Well, you're not a real sci fi fan if you haven't read China Mieville/Iain Banks/Stanislaw Lem" and my knee-jerk defense is to go "Yeah? To me, you're not a real sci fi fan unless you've read "Doc" Smith/Theodore Sturgeon/at least one Aldous Huxley title that is NOT Brave New World." No, I'm not automatically resentful... and I don't blame people for this, of course. These are just some of the reasons why I don't: (more…)

Gotten from Kenneth Yu, who got it from Azrael:

Tals Diaz, journalist and marketing manager of Fully Booked, explains the rationale for the awards: “Neil’s theme is Filipino unrealism. It has to have that unique sense of Filipino-ness about it. We do have a rich tradition of Filipino mythology and folklore that we hardly explore in our literature. If you look at our literature right now, a lot of it is very realistic. That’s what Neil Gaiman wanted us to veer away from with this contest.” Romulo adds, “Don’t say that he doesn’t like the stuff that he got from here—the realist novels that he read, he liked. He just wanted to explore if we had other things. As for fantasy, he thought we could go beyond juvenile literature and explore what he thinks is an integral part of our culture—science fiction, horror or speculative fiction. It really is how you weave the genre into Filipino heritage.”

Read the rest here.

First off: HAPPY 2008 EVERYONE! Here's to another good year of fine Pinoy spec fic! A while back, Kenneth Yu called our attention to an essay about magical realism. I must admit though that my attention was more caught by a comment on that post by Jego, who linked to another blog post by someone on the novel jury of the SFWA. The post is titled "A lament for science fiction," and this passage stuck with me:

Science fiction has changed a lot, unfortunately, not for the better. It used to be adventure literature for young men, now it's romance literature for middle-aged women. That's why young men now play science fiction-based computer games instead of reading science fiction novels and so-called science fiction publishers churn out book after book about sexy vampires, seductive were-seals and strong independent forty-something single women looking for love in space.

Permit me to ask: where may i find this "romance literature for middle-aged women"? I probably won't have enough time to borrow the representative titles from my favorite library here, but I'm curious. (more…)

I was not able to attend the launch of Philippine Speculative Fiction vol. 3, but my mother and my cousin Marivic were kind enough to go in my place. My mother reported that everyone had a great time. But there was something she didn't tell me, and she blogged about it instead :P [ Reflections of a Writer's Mother ] Comments are most welcome!

Against All Odds

I take it as my chore to discourage as many 'aspiring authors' as I possibly can. Because you cannot discourage a real writer. I've said it a hundred times in print. Break a real writer's hands, and s/he will tap out a story with feet or nose. - Harlan Ellison, in the foreword to Dan Simmons' Prayers to Broken Stones

Charles is right: we do have a rather odd friendship. We disagree on quite a few things, but we don't normally end up hating each other because of them. As is the way with these things, though, it's probably just a matter of time >P I think Charles has blogged a few times about how he endorses a "proactive" mode of living. He's also elaborated on his thoughts on being "proactive" in private correspondence. I regret I wasn't able to provide a suitable reply, but I do respect what he has to say. I believe that what Charles is against is whining, more than anything. However, I think "whining" and "introspection" are separated by very thin lines outside of fiction. (more…)