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BY PETER SOLIS NERY
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Monday, January 30, 2017
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I AM NOT a big player in the Ilonggo art scene. I’m just a big personality. Sure, my name is kind of big now, but it is a product of much work and positioning. Look, I enjoy being Peter Solis Nery, but I love more the fun I get as “the” Peter Solis Nery, agent provocateur and avant garde artist.
Most people know me as the writer Peter Solis Nery, thanks in most part to my 18 Palanca awards. The thing is, I have a sustained Palanca winning streak since 2006; and that’s a whole decade of winning that is well-documented in the public eye.
My Palanca status has opened a lot of doors for me. I am constantly being invited to give lectures and workshops on creative writing. I mean, if I am giving a workshop on how to write in order to win writing competitions, how can people resist?
If I offer a workshop on how to be a famous writer before you are dead, and I give my writing career as an example, that can sound very convincing, because, well, I hold the record as the first Filipino author invited to the Sharjah International Book Fair after 35 years. And well, and since no other Filipino was invited last year, I am “the only” Filipino author invited so far. And that, mostly, on the basis of my strong online presence, and all these well-documented Palanca Awards.
Anyway, aside from my touring lectures, what really flatters me is being invited by The Stage: Institute of Communications to be among its initial rooster of instructors. The Stage has a home at Robinsons Jaro, second floor; and for their first offerings, they included my four-session course, Creative Writing: Flash Fiction.
I didn’t have the 50 students I expected (I think the class size is limited to 20), but I am inspired by my first students. One of them is a nine-year-old who asked her parents to enroll; and she Googled me before deciding to take the class, so that really melted me.
Another participant is close to 70 (I don’t pay attention to a woman’s age, but she said she’s pretty much retired), and she just wanted to attend my class. She’s a busy woman with a bakery and a traveling agency, so she missed some of my classes, but I like her. Yes, she called me for a makeup class over the phone. How cute is that?
If The Stage can set up the technology to allow me to teach creative writing online, or maybe over Skype, or something like that, I’d still be very happy to do it even when I’m in the US.
In addition to Peter Solis Nery the writer, I also enjoy my fame and notoriety as a performance artist. I mean, I’m totally shameless. I dress up, I wear makeup, and I do even the most outrageous when I am asked to perform in public.
At the Urban Baylehan 2017 organized by Project Iloilo in mid-January, my performance in their Spoken Word program was judged as a “best moment”. It’s really flattering because I have so much admiration for the people behind Project Iloilo, and not just because their best writer and photographer also profiled me on their website in October. Thank you, Joseph Batcagan and Xtian Lozanes.
I take pride in Project Iloilo’s pronouncement because, well, I am more than just a writer. I am also a performer, an actor, a bold star. I mean, twice I have been invited to do poetry readings at Esplanade Uno Cafe, and twice I have performed there with people strongly reacting to my performances. So what, if it’s only because of my erotic and/or heart-wrenching poems?
Esplanade Uno Cafe is becoming the new hub for writers and artists in Iloilo City. It is hosting cultural activities like street music and poetry readings almost every weekend. During our Chinese New Year event there (Vietnamese New Year for Esplanade Uno because the Blairs, who own the place, have strong sentimental Vietnamese ties), poets Mel Turao and Felino Garcia, Jr.; playwright August Melody Andoy; filmmaker TM Malones; and a customer named William S., read poetry with me, and even bought my books of erotic poetry from the Manggad literature racks, which have found a home at Esplanade Uno Cafe. The gig opened with music by our friend Debbie Bartolo, and when she soulfully sang a Cher number, something like do you believe in love, I even danced with a lady patron of the cafe.
I’ve always considered Mr. Les and Ms. Grace Blair as a blessing to the Ilonggo arts community since I first performed at the October Poetika at Esplanade Uno. And then, they agreed to be a venue, and seller, for the Manggad literature racks that display the best works of our very own Western Visayan authors.
Our constant talk about the Manggad racks, and the flourishing art and literary scene in Iloilo, has now led to a commitment from the Blairs to support poetry readings, performance art, short theatrical pieces, even standup comedies at their Esplanade Uno Cafe. How cool is that?
On Wednesday, Feb. 1, I am holding a soirée at the Casa Real Gallery starting 6 p.m. It will be a fine gathering of Ilonggo artists, patrons, and art enthusiasts. It is free for the public, and I hope you can drop by. There’ll be pica-pica, booze, friendly artists and writers, talks of art, poetry readings, and a special screening of my short films.
Just our way of kickstarting the February National Arts Month in this our beloved city, Iloilo./PN
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