I’m a finisher.
I mean, I always finish what I start.
And I love challenges.
Like running marathons.
Like running poetry writing marathons.
That’s why I organized the 2014 poem-a-thon.
After four years, I wanna do it again.
*
I mean, lately, former students of mine from the University of the Philippines (where I taught Philosophy), and Santa Maria Catholic School (now Ateneo de Iloilo, and where I taught English) have been chatting me up online.
They shower me with praises.
Thanking me for affecting their lives so positively.
They say I should go back to teaching.
Because I am very good at it.
They say it’s my sacred calling.
*
Well, I was pretty great as a nurse, too.
And I like being retired.
But nice words get to me.
So, yeah, why not teach?
But this time, can I teach creative writing please?
*
I know I don’t have a degree for it.
No MFA in Creative Writing, no PhD in Literature or something.
But shouldn’t my accomplishment as Hall of Hamer of The Palanca Awards be enough?
I mean, if the Palanca Awards is the Pulitzer Prize of the Philippines, and is still the accepted standard by which literary writers are measured, shouldn’t my Hall of Fame honor be enough credential already?
I mean, it should count for something.
*
Anyway, I don’t believe much in classroom education anymore.
I mean, I’m sure it will be different if I am starting and running my own school.
(But even then, even then…)
But seriously right now, I have great faith in online education.
In fact, in the Creative Writing textbook I wrote for Philippine senior high school, I had plenty of online, rather than library, assignments.
*
I’m just practical.
Most school libraries in the Philippines do not have the writing instructional books that I own.
So, why recommend reference books that I know schools will not have?
But great a teacher that I am, I know what I want my students to learn.
*
I’m pretty much internet-savvy, too.
Not expert like hackers, but good enough for my purposes.
So I can point students to the right direction with my online assignments, too.
And they thank me for it!
*
So, back to creative writing online teaching. An online poetry workshop.
I wanna do this.
But I don’t want to throw my pearls to swine.
I want my students’ full attention.
Just like in the classroom.
So, I demand some commitment.
Thirty days of June.
*
I can demand because I can afford it.
I’m not charging anything for my online workshops.
(Maybe I should!)
But money is not my concern.
At least, not this time.
I can afford to give free workshops.
I only demand that I be respected.
Like a god! Haha.
*
Seriously, we can all plant a tree.
But only gods can make great poets from clueless wannabes.
I’m not “claiming” I’m a great poet.
I just am! Bwahaha.
I mean, I just know when a poem sucks.
And as a teacher, I only want my students to write poetry that do not suck.
*
Think what your want.
Winning prizes for my poetry is really meaningless to me.
I always try to write the best poetry I can.
By employing tricks and techniques I have developed and mastered over the years.
Sometimes, they work. Sometimes, they don’t.
Some people like my poems. Some are haters.
It doesn’t matter to me.
It doesn’t bother me.
*
I do not write poetry for myself, or to win awards.
I do not write poems to please the critics, and the vanguards of literature.
I write poetry for those who need it.
For those who like my vision of the world.
Or like how I feel and see the things and events in this our world.
*
When my poems are done, I don’t care whether people like or hate them.
I mean, I do appreciate it when readers like my work.
Sometimes that really boosts my confidence.
But most of the time, I’m just happy being able to produce.
The process and the journey, for me, is more meaningful and worthwhile than the arrival. (To be continued on Monday) (500tinaga@gmail.com/PN)
