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[av_heading heading=’ MY LIFE AS ART | The relevance of Peter Solis Nery, Part 2′ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=” subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=”][/av_heading]
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Monday, May 1, 2017
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I’M NOT very sure that it was a standard question from the school. Or from their assignment. But the students who interviewed me online in February (just after I’ve gone back to the United States), are smart. So, I wouldn’t be surprised if that one boy just asked the question to shut me up.
First, the context of the interview. Apparently, the students were assigned to look for a local artist or writer to interview him/her about his/her opinion on the state of literature and the arts in the region, in the nation, and the world.
So, the group asked me, over Skype, about opportunities and resources that could help them, the students, prepare for a career in fields related to writing, literature, and/or the arts, among many other things.
Pretty harmless interview, right?
***
But first, I asked them. Why me?
Why interview me when they could have easily ambushed many other writers and artists in Iloilo City?
Their answer was pretty simple. They know me! From my newspaper writings. And from my strong online presence.
They also liked the things they’ve read about me. They were intrigued by my personality. And they can totally relate to me as a real free-spirit.
One boy, in particular (very cute, I must say), said that he googled “famous Ilonggo writers” and the internet led him to me.
To verify that, I went to Google myself. I keyed in the words “famous Ilonggo writers” and clicked the blue magnifying glass search icon.
Reliable Google yielded this: Writers > Hiligaynon language – Peter Solis Nery, with my handsome picture; and one Guillermo something-something.
You got to google it to see for yourself; and learn a thing, or two, about Guillermo. You probably know him better, since he is a famous Ilonggo writer like me. Haha!
***
Anyway, the students’ big question for me during the interview was: “What is the relevance of Peter Solis Nery in the new millennium?”
I paused for a little bit before answering. Because I wasn’t sure if I should answer the question as a writer. Or as an artist. Or as a free-spirit. Or as Peter Solis Nery, who is a composite of all these labels.
And I was having a little problem with the word “relevance.”
The word has, for me, always meant “significance and applicability.” Thus, importance. Thus, suitability.
But I’m not stupid. I also know that “relevance” can just mean “having reference to the matter in hand.” As in relatedness. As in connection.
So, I said, “Thank you, for presupposing that I have inherent relevance in the new millennium. You are most correct to assume that. Because some people have become truly irrelevant in the new millennium. Some people are so stuck in the previous millennium that they don’t know how to survive the new.”
***
And then, I proceeded to explain that Peter Solis Nery is relevant to the new millennium as a writer, as an artist, as a free-spirit, and even as a brand because he is there moving along with the flow, and even expanding in the flux.
Like poetry, my significance is not so much as economic as it is inspirational.
Sure, I like the idea that I’m popular because I’m a bestseller. Or that I’m writing for a newspaper that sells.
Or that my books are available at Amazon.com. Or at the Manggad Literature racks at the Esplanade Uno Café, the Casa Real Gallery in the Old Provincial Capitol of Iloilo, or at the Cinematheque on Solis Street.
But no. I am important and relevant not primarily because I sell. But because I am still writing. And I am still selling, and still being bought. I’m still competing with the newer writers, and newer trends.
***
People have again and again predicted the death of books. But that hasn’t made me irrelevant as a writer. I’m still hunted by people to autograph their copies of my book!
And while I personally prefer books I can hold in my hands, most of my books published in the United States are available in Kindle format, too.
So, yeah, as a writer, I’m still in conversation. Unlike say Flavio Zaragoza Cano or that Guillermo guy on Google. They are supposed to be writers. Well, where are their writings?
I must confess ignorance of Stevan Javellana’s Without Seeing the Dawn (Little, Bown and Company: 1947). There’s a copy available at Amazon.com. But I’m not about to order it. I just don’t think of him as relevant to the new millennium. Sorry!
But, if at least five universities in Iloilo City can show me their copies of Without Seeing the Dawn, damn it, I’ll buy the book!
***
Look again. When the boy searched Googled for “famous Ilonggo writers”, two names were presented to him. Why did he, and his group, choose to interview me?
Because I am freaking relevant for the new millennium art and literary discussion! That’s why.
The students said they liked me. They connected with my humor and flamboyance. They can relate to the things I’m talking about. They understand. And they are sympathetic to my causes.
They think my campaign for AIDS awareness and routine HIV testing is sexy and important. They think that I am more than just a writer. And for the third millennium, diversity makes for relevance.
A writer does not just write. A star does not just rest on his/her celebrity.
To be truly meaningful, a writer has to write about his/her truest beliefs and highest ideals. Or, at least, think that what he/she writes entertains. If it does not educate, and enlighten, about the human condition in our new world order.
The star has to use his/her starpower for something beneficial to the community.
***
And finally, there is the question of accessibility.
If people want to be relevant in this new millennium, then, they better be on the internet, too. And how!
Careers are made from YouTube exposures. Most people rely on Wikipedia. Stars are discovered from Instagram, and maybe MySpace. News are fed, and are reposted, on Facebook. Famous people tweet. Even the Pope.
People get elected by the power of their social media savvy. In the US, Obama and Trump showed that it is so.
Even Panay News, via an electronic version of this article, gets online!
So, yeah, Peter Solis Nery is relevant in the new millennium because, as an artist, as a writer, as a celebrity and brand, he has all the bases covered.
He is connected to people who want to connect with him. By Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Goggle +, among many platforms.
***
Sure, my Facebook has reached its limit of 5,000 friends. But people can always follow me if they want. And I have never turned down any online, or email, interview from anyone in the Philippines, and elsewhere.
If people value my opinion, I have no problem sharing with them what I think.
If Panay News wants to publish my opinion, I have no problem writing this column.
If you think I’m irrelevant, that’s just your opinion. And I can say the same to you, “You are freaking irrelevant!”
Look again. I was asked about my relevance. You weren’t. You are just reading me now trying to relate to the order of the new millennium. Ha! (500tinaga@gmail.com/PN)
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