SERIOUSLY, I did not want to comment on the new CCP Encyclopedia of Philippine Art.
I didn’t even want to tell you that it was already the second edition of the tome that was launched in November last year.
The first edition was published in 1994. Who knew?
The second edition is a 12-volume compendium that records Filipino art covering architecture, visual arts, films, music, theatre, broadcast arts, and literature.
Price tag: P50,000.
You should buy it.
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The second edition of the CCP Encyclopedia of Philippine Art boasts of over 5,000 entries featuring essays in art history, major works, biographies, and profiles.
Accompanied by over 3,500 photos and illustrations.
To be very honest, I didn’t want to say I wasn’t included in there — because I felt that I deserved to be in there.
And it is as if saying it means I badly wanted to be in there.
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Being included in the encyclopedia would have been a good thing.
Because in truth, I am a Filipino artist, a Filipino writer.
But at 50, I have learned to love my artistic position as the outsider.
The marginalized.
The decidedly other.
That which the establishment does not recognize.
That which survives despite the odds.
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I am a Filipino writer with awards to boot.
19 Palanca awards including the Hall of Fame as of 2018.
And my awards cover three languages: Hiligaynon, Filipino, and English.
And my awards cover various genres: short story, play, and poetry.
Which means, I can write almost anything, and in the languages that matter to me as a Filipino writer.
I can assure you that such award record is more than what most writers featured in that encyclopedia have.
And lest you forget, I was also the first Filipino author ever invited by the Sharjah International Book Fair in the United Arab Emirates in 2015.
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So, as far as literary achievements and merit are concerned, only a fool would think that I do not deserve to be included in that “over 5,000 entries”.
But then somebody raised the issue of “respect and esteem of peers” as part of the criteria.
Apparently, the screening committee(?) that chose which writers from Iloilo and Western Visayas are to be included decided that I do not have the respect and esteem of my peers.
Which brings us to the question of “Who are the peers of a writer like Peter Solis Nery?”
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The easy answer is, of course, No one.
Peter Solis Nery is peerless as a writer.
Peerless meaning incomparable, unrivaled, beyond compare, matchless, without equal, second to none.
I think I can live with that.
I was not included in that damn encyclopedia because I am on a league of my own!
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But then, I think of my 19 Palanca Awards.
Because the Filipino people are of the consensus that the Palanca is still the standard by which Filipino writers are measured.
Most often, the competition is judged by writers and literature professors.
And the Palanca contest has always been seen as a process of peer evaluation.
Shouldn’t a Palanca award mean the respect and esteem of peers?
So, what was the local screening committee missing?
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In fairness to me, I did not raise the issue of my exclusion in the CCP encyclopedia.
I told you earlier, I don’t want to comment or promote it.
I didn’t even know the encyclopedia was launched in Iloilo.
It was my friends who asked me on Facebook, “Why were you not included in the CCP encyclopedia?”
My friends who raised the issue are creative writers, journalists, visual artists, and active consumers of literature in the region.
At first, I didn’t really want to talk about it.
I’ve been asked since February.
But I’ve been flooded with questions in June.
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So, I finally posted this on Facebook on June 19—
“Favorite question of the week: Why are you not included in the CCP Encyclopedia of Philippine Art? — My thoughts: Good question! Politics of art?”
And, of course, I got responses like: “True indeed. Peter Solis Nery should be in the Encyclopedia of Philippine Art!”
And somebody commented: “You aren’t the only one who voiced this out. Ironically, the same person (I talked to) also noted that you should have been included. I was told the people asked by CCP to interview actually included themselves in the list.”
And this was added: “The writer I was talking to had the same arguments that he was also shocked to find out you weren’t included in the CCP Encyclopedia. He wasn’t included too. You rightly deserved to be included. But sadly, there are people who insert themselves on the list instead of giving room to those who deserve it more than them. And well, they needed evidence to back up their (false) bragging rights.”
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Here’s my position as a writer, as an artist.
And as a person:
“What is questionable for me is not who they include, but which deserving people they exclude.”
Do I want to be included in that encyclopedia? — Yes.
Do I badly want to be in that encyclopedia? — Not badly enough to lick boots, and play dirty politics.
Do I feel I deserve to be in that encyclopedia? — As certainly as the sun will rise tomorrow.
Here’s the thing:
The writers who judge against me in Iloilo and Western Visayas, they’re a clique.
And they hate me because I will not be a part of their literary politicking.
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But I’m not done yet. Watch me.
Read my next columns. Ha! (500tinaga@gmail.com/PN)
