Friday, January 27, 2017

Well Deserved, Prof!


                        
                                                            Well Deserved, Professor!

OK, I just want to say that I'm not surprised.  When I started to teach a course in U.S. Postcolonial Literature, one of the first books I selected was Sarcophagus and Other Stories by Jose Y. Dalisay Jr.  That was back in 1992, the year that book was published.  At the time I didn't know the author.  In fact it's only now, in the UP Diliman news release below, that I have discovered what the "Y" stands for.  I had the good fortune to correspond with the author and then later meet him in Manila. 

We have become good friends and colleagues since.  The only irritation I have with him is that Professor "Butch" Dalisay (known as Filipinos usually are by their nicknames), is that his command of the English language surpasses my own.  That wouldn't be so bad except that English is my native language, Butch's second (or third?).  I am not exaggerating, my irritation that is.  Nor am I when I say that I am proud to be Butch's friend and was so even before he became quite as well-known. 

Just a final note, Butch is also a distinguished journalist (not mentioned below), and such journalists in the Philippines are highly prized, at the present time not least of all.

Until later . . .

New One UP-Dalisay Professorial Chair at the DECL

A new professorial chair has been established at the Department of English and Comparative Literature at the University of the Philippines-Diliman in honor of one of the University’s and country’s most accomplished writers.
At its 1323rd meeting last December 16, the UP Board of Regents approved the creation of the One UP-Jose Yap Dalisay Jr. Professorial Chair in Creative Writing, to be awarded once every three years to a deserving professor (an assistant professor at the minimum) who has distinguished himself or herself in creative writing and its teaching.
The awardee will receive a grant of PHP 120,000 per year for a three-year period, and will be selected based on criteria set for One UP professorial chairs and by a committee of the DECL.
The chair will be funded by a donation of PHP 4.15 million contributed by a donor based in the United States, who wishes to remain anonymous and to be identified only as “a longtime friend of the Philippines.” The donation was coursed through the Friends of the UP Foundation in America (FUPFA), with the assistance of the Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs and the UP Foundation.
Dr. Dalisay is a Professor 12 at the DECL and the Director of the UP Institute of Creative Writing (UPICW). He is an Artist III under the UP Arts Productivity System, twice a Gawad Chanselor Natatanging Guro awardee, and a Concepcion Dadufalza awardee. The author of over 30 books of fiction and nonfiction, he has been a Fulbright, Hawthornden, British Council, Rockefeller, David TK Wong, Civitella Ranieri, and UCSD Pacific Leadership Fellow. He won a TOYM Award for creative writing in 1993, and was named to the CCP Centennial Honors List in 1998 and the Carlos Palanca Hall of Fame in 2000. He has served as chair of the DECL and Vice President for Public Affairs of the UP System.

Posted: January 23, 2017 14:08

Monday, January 23, 2017

New (2017) Resolution

     I will attempt to make more frequent entries, perhaps just a line or two, but more frequently.  Lots has happened since last time (April) I wrote here.  Canvassing for the recent state and national elections for several months was a big commitment.  I confess that the results left me in a state of shock and grieving.  Like many people I am wrestling with pride in 45 consecutive peaceful presidential transitions and yet with the dilemma of what to do now.  In the past I would quote Walter Lippmann of journalism's Hall of Fame and enlist in his "loyal opposition" to Mr. Trump.  I'm working on it.  The tidal wave of peaceful protesters in Washington, D.C., which included friends, children, and grandchildren, has helped greatly.

     Another task I did finish is the (for now) final draft of my on-and-off novel of a few decades.  Now looking for an agent and open to all suggestions. 

     In a different vein, I received my Irish citizenship through my mother.  Her father was an Irish immigrant, her mother a Scottish immigrant of Irish descent.  It arrived, after the application papers reached the top of an Irish clerk's "in" file, where it had been for 18 months making its way up through a huge pile of similar requests.  My being in the Registry of Foreign Birth of Ireland has brought me a lovely bit of consolation, coming not long after Nov. 8, as it did.  A nice cup of Irish Tea. Indeed!

     My apologies to my Filipino friends for my whining about the new political situation here.  I have heard genuine lamentations from several of you and have shared some of your stories.  I will be putting excerpts from my VIA Times monthly articles here soon.  In the meantime you can click on the VIA Times link on this site.  My December column was not I'm afraid very cheerful.  It recounted the numbing effects of the vigilante or "extra-judicial" killings that number in the thousands as reported by a close journalist friend in Manila.

     I'm sure I will be returning from time to time to Mr. Dutuerte's War in the coming months.  One issue I will likely keep track of is the role the Catholic Church plays, especially Cardinal Tagle.  And I'll keep an eye on the opposition in the government toward Dutuerte's methods, including the "loyal opposition" of VP Robredo.

     In closing, I checked my settings for this blog and I'm looking to see and share your comments here. 

     A belated but sincere wish for a Happy and Hopeful 2017.

     rhb