Poems from two cities

There’s an ongoing cultural exchange between the Philippines and Singapore that seeks not only to strengthen ties but also to enhance each country’s art and –in the case of Love Gathers All (Anvil and Ethos Books) –poetry.

Gathering more or less the best homegrown poets as well as those from the city-state, Love Gathers All shows just how a multicultural orientation can benefit writers of either side.

The book itself was quietly launched some months ago in the Sanctum pub in Intramuros, and where we mistook publisher Winnie Wong of Singapore’s Ethos Books as a contributor to the anthology.

The jazz band Majam was playing that night, a playlist of standards with a distinctive Pinoy improvisational touch.

Winnie herself said she was not a "po-yet," while we plainly said that we had some artist friends who drew some illustrations for the book. By candlelight or whatever blurred lighting there was at Sanctum, she patiently leafed through the pages that had illustrations by Ludwig Ilio, now with the Singapore Straits Times. Another local artist who did drawings for Love Gathers All was Dengcoy Miel, also Singapore-based.

The reading was scheduled in between sets of Majam, whose leader Joey Valenciano was keeping solid time behind his drum kit. Joey’s mother Sonia was a speech teacher at UP Diliman, who in the middle of her class warded off members of a rival fraternity from beating up her student, Gabby Paz.

Rayvi Sunico, one of the book’s editors, at first was getting impatient with Majam and was beginning to take on the aspect of a fratman, wondering what time exactly would the reading start. It took a while before Rayvi was also swept into the tide of things, hollering for more from Joey and his band before the reading.

Aside from Winnie Wong, whose name inspires onomatopoetic flirtations, also present from the city-state were Sunico’s co-editors Alvin Pang and Aaron Lee. Columnist Krip Yuson made up the fourth editorial corner of the project, sipping his single malt whiskey discreetly.

Missing that night was Pinay poet Fran Ng, whose poem "The Kiss" is one of three kisses in Love Gathers All. There are also three other Ngs in the book, all from Singapore.

Among the readers were Pang and Lee, the Katzenjammer kids of the Singapore literary scene. Yuson also read a poem by Singaporean Kirpal (Krip’s pal) Singh who was with the delegation earlier but had to head back to the city-state for some prior commitments. The poem began, "we fucked and fucked until we could fuck no more."

Sunico, of Cacho Publishing, further confounded the lean audience with his staccato-like recitation of what later turned out to be a random sampling of the index of first lines, a postmodern rendition that would have done Majam proud.

Today’s Ramil Digal Gulle read a Tagalog poem dedicated to the late artist Maningning Miclat, which wasn’t his poem in the book. Gemino Abad was there too, as well as another suki, Marne Kilates, both represented in Love Gathers All. Marne read "A Cloud Named Looking-for-You." Too bad National Book Award winner Erlinda Panlilio left before someone could cajole her into reading her poem on the D.I. (dance instructor).

There was one other reader who did an impromptu number, rap style, hinting at why he has been reaping the open mic poetry contests at Sanctum, if in fact the place is still open.

Love Gathers All is indeed quite a collection, something which cries out for a sequel or at least continued artistic and cultural cooperation between the two states, rather cities.

We’d like for example to hear more on the same vein from Cesar Ruiz Aquino, Ricardo de Ungria, Luisa Igloria, Eileen Tabios and Fran Ng, not to mention Lani Montreal, Eric Gamalinda and the two Cabalquintos, Luis and Sofiya.

And the Singapoets are sure to improve like their basketball team by leaps and bounds, perchance to skywalk and dream the impossible out-of-bounds dream.

As a nightcap who should come on but guerrilla chanteuse Googoo de Jesus, who obliged the audience with a couple of numbers backed up by Majam. She came across like Billie Holiday, or is it Diana Krall, Joey behind her keeping bebop time with one raised eyebrow.

The typeface used in Love Gathers All, however, was a trifle small, leading the more short-sighted among us to squint through the verses. Just as we squinted outside where as the "po-yets" took leave it was almost morning, although in Sanctum Majam was still flailing away like the usual jazz desperadoes.