Eliza Victoria

poetry at the ayala triangle gardens

So on March 21, World Poetry Day, I read a couple of my poems at the Ayala Triangle Gardens.

That’s the stage. I wasn’t able to bring a decent camera, so sorry for the lack of event photos. I’ll snag some from other people once the photos are posted.

Photo credit: Frankie Torres http://heykeytorres.blogspot.com/

I read two poems, both called “Maps”, which both appeared in Metro Serye and in my collection which won in last year’s Palanca Awards.

reading — Photo credit: National Book Development Board

Of all the poets who read at the event, J and I were most taken by Ramon Sunico. Beautiful poems read in a heartfelt manner. You should have been there. The crowd went “oh” and applauded after the last line. I really really really wanted to approach him and tell him this in person but shyness took over.

Anyway, I found a copy online of one of the poems he read (“Huwag Ka Sanang Magagalit”). Beautiful.

Thank you Mookie and Anina and Filipinas Heritage Library for inviting me. And thank you for the Bonchon dinner and these gifts!

2012-03-21 21.29.14 — Issue 2 of Metro Serye

2012-03-22 06.57.14 — An umbrella from FHL

2012-03-22 06.57.49 — Featuring sketches by Jose Rizal.

J and I headed to Wee Nam Kee for a dinner date. Two ladies recognized me from the event and congratulated me. Thank you!

First time to eat here! Try their chicken rice, and have some lime juice with your meal. Yum.

coming soon from visprint: a bottle of storm clouds by eliza victoria

VISPRINT, Inc., publisher of Manix Abrera’s Kikomachine Komix series, the National Book Award-winning Trese series, and Bob Ong’s numerous books, has released a list of their upcoming titles. Exciting times ahead!

Tomb Keeper by G. M. Coronel (The prequel and sequel to his first horror novel, “Tragic Theater”.)
It’s Not That Complicated Bakit hindi pa sasakupin ng mga alien ang daigdig sa 2012 ni Eros Atalia
Kikomachine Komix Blg. 8 by Manix Abrera (Official release will be on this year’s Summer Komikon.)
A Bottle of Storm Clouds stories by Eliza Victoria
Mga Angst ng Isang Di-Mahapayang-Gatang ni Resty Cena

My poem, “Elegy for the corridors“, can now be read online on the Philippines Free Press website.

Also, Paolo Chikiamco links us to this review of Alternative Alamat by Jaymee Goh:

ALTERNATIVE ALAMAT
OK, if you only read one anthology all year, please let this one be it. I’d like to have this one in hardcopy, actually. Anyway. There’re a few appendices talking about mythology and researching / recording mythology in the Philippines. I wish there also had been a glossary of the deities featured in the stories, but they’re major deities, and it really is a “For Flipinos” sort of anthology in this way.

“Ana’s Little Pawnshop On Makiling St.”
This story is about Anagolay, now called Ana, told from the perspective of Eric, who finds himself employed by Ana in her little pawnshop, which she now runs, and sells the unclaimed things that appear in her closet. It’s a delightful magical realist sort of story, where the gods mingle with mortals, and Ana’s pawnshop is in the middle of a block owned by Mariang Makiling, another local goddess, who is now a stockholder. Ana doesn’t really need Eric around, but she gets a bit lonely, as gods probably would do, and so through Eric we get a glimpse into how the extraordinary meets the ordinary in different ways. Things come to a head when development happens. The story doesn’t really resolve itself, but there’s a bittersweet farewell, a gift that was foreshadowed. I just find this story utterly charming (“I’ve poured the nebulae here. They’ve been busy. Look how many stars they’ve made!”) and a wonderful start to the anthology in general. Re-reading it makes me smile.

Thank you for the kind words, Jaymee. :) Read more.

month number 29 + a baby shower

Waited for J to finish his one class in UP. While waiting, I watched Awake and Red Dwarf on my Galaxy Tab, and tried in vain to look like I understood the Math long exams on the professors’ windows. Also used the faculty-members-only washroom on the second floor. How liberating.

Off to Trinoma for monthsary lunch. There was a crack on the wall so of course this picture had to be taken.

Fish & Co. First time to dine here! Had a raspberry drink and Grilled Seasonal Fish (Cream Dory) in Cajun sauce.

Cupcake froyo with mixed berries and almonds from Golden Spoon.

The baby shower was for J’s sister, who will be giving birth to a baby boy in April.

There were games! We won in Pinoy Henyo (of baby-related terms) and won two boxes of this:

We traveled South for the second leg of the baby shower, but oh my god, THE TRAFFIC WAS HORRIBLE. Horrible! We spent 4 1/2 hours on the road, more than enough time to take me back home to Bulacan. And we were just traveling from QC to Paranaque, a trip that should have taken just two hours at most!

Anyway. Still a happy day.

sneak peek: lower myths by eliza victoria

I am proud and happy to announce that my two-novelette collection, Lower Myths, which won in the 2009 Pinoy Story Writing Contest for the Horror & Crime/Suspense category, will (very) soon be published as an ebook by Flipreads under Flipside Publishing Services.

Many thanks to Flipside VP and General Manager Honey de Peralta for approaching me about the possibility of partnering with them, Acquisitions Editor Kristine Reynaldo and Online Marketing Specialist Charles Tan for their invaluable comments on the manuscript, and Production Editor Adam David and his team for their work on the beautiful cover and interior art.