"Meet the International Poet of the Year 2006!" went the e-mail heading from one of the winner’s friends, a certain Aileen, who passed on the following info:
"I wanted to share with you the good news about my friend Bles Carmona. Bles was part of our Intarmed ’94 class at UP Med. As fate would have it, she never finished Med school with our class, despite several attempts to return and do so.
"She has always been a good writer and knew in her heart that she was meant to do something else aside from being a physician…
"I hope news of Bles’ grand-prize victory reaches Philippine soil. Is there a way you can have her story published in a leading newspaper in Manila?"
Aileen also provided Bles Carmona’s own jubilant account of her significant triumph, which she sent on July 23:
"Dear family and friends,
"Twenty thousand dollars and a $10,000-book publishing contract...
"These are the prizes that I won today as first place winner at the International Society of Poets (ISP) Convention and Symposium held at the Riviera Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada (July 20-23)!!!
"Yes, I am the Poet of the Year for 2006 of the ISP, arguably the biggest organization of poets with over 5 million members all over the world.
"Out of the 2,700 poets… who competed in that convention, ISANG PILIPINA PO ANG NANALO NG UNANG GANTIMPALA... at ako po iyon.
"I just want to share my success with all of you. This is my vindication: I, who have never won in any Palanca contest I joined when I was still in the Philippines.
"To all of you, who have been part of my life at its different stages, thank you for your love and support throughout the years!
"I’ll just post my winning poem (it’s a villanelle) in my blog. For directions, it’s http://kismetkaizen.blogspot.com
"Mabuhay tayong mga Pilipino! Kahit saan sa buong mundo, angat talaga tayo! Nagmamahal, Bles."
I must confess that my initial reaction was to feel a bit sorry for the lady. The skepticism is born of past knowledge of ISP’s and similar other organizations’ close-to-a-scam tactics in luring mostly "Sunday poets" to part with their money, in return for some form of acknowledgment, such as inclusion in an anthology they’ll have to pay through the nose for.
I’ve known of a few Filipino poets who have taken the bait and entered poems for a purported competition (often with a hefty entry fee), and been told that their entries had won such-and-so or made it to the semis or finals. And could they now please give up more cash in return for the honor – of receiving a parchment token-ing their efforts, or for being named a Poet Laureate, as well as inclusion in an anthology they’d have to purchase copies of.
In any case, someone else reacted in much the same manner, tersely issuing the rejoinder: "The ISP is a scam!"
In turn did the ever-sober (except when he’s holding a microphone on a musical stage) Pete Lacaba do his thing, researching quickly and posting a long article on how the ISP’s new leadership has been trying to shake off that "scam" image, and yet is still being pilloried, even investigated, for the questionable conduct of its affairs.
Premier poet Stephen Dunn is quoted as saying that it was the most humiliating experience of his life when he agreed to guest at an ISP grand affair, where he read a poem, and no one among the thousand-or-more horde listened.
That seems to be one of the recent ploys of the ISP honchos: to invite distinguished poets to lend an air of credibility to its vanity-press type of promotions, either by serving as a judge in their frequent competitions or as a guest at a convention-type affair.
In any case, wanting to get to the bottom of the matter, I wrote Bles, asking for any further developments, and requesting permission to publish her winning poem.
Here’s her response in part:
"Dear Sir Krip, Mabuhay! You don’t need an introduction, sir, because I am familiar with your byline and literary achievements. It’s an honor to hear from you.
"Re the ISP contest: we had to be physically there in Las Vegas to compete for the Poet of the Year contest. So I was really there. We were asked to read our poem in front of a judge in one of the many reading rooms. There were about 2,700 poets from all over the world who joined… and they were physically there, too.
"From the contest reading rooms or first screening, where about 50 poets are grouped per room, the judges select semi-finalists which undergo a second round of judging. We just had to read our poems once, in that reading room, and then a copy of our poem is then submitted to the final judging panel.
"Finally, on July 23 (Sunday), during the closing ceremonies, 10 of us, the so-called semi-finalists, were called to the stage to read our poems to the entire convention audience (around 3,000 people, counting the relatives and friends of the poets who also ‘paid’ to be in that convention; more on this "money-making’ side later).
"Before reading my poem, I introduced myself this way: ‘Good morning, my name is Bles Carmona. I’m from Hayward, California, but I’m proud to say that I originally came from the Philippines. I would also like to acknowledge the presence of my father who has supported me all the way here.’ (My father was in the audience. He was there to drive me home and was just wearing a simple polo and shorts.)
"We were called to the stage, we read our poems, and then Dr. Len Roberts announced the winners starting from the runners-up. It was American Idol Ruben Studdard who handed us our checks. So yes, sir, I was given my cheque right then and there, for $20,000. Last Monday, I deposited it in my account with no problem at all.
"As for the book publishing contract, I have yet to hear from them about this. But let me assure you that the check is real and the money is real.
"Sir, I am well aware that ISP/ILP/Poetry.com is a vanity press. As mentioned in the article you attached, sangkatutak po ang ventures nila na pagkaka-kuwartahan. Mugs with your poem, frames, greeting cards, decals, pins, plaques, etc. – all for a certain fee. You are ‘under no obligation,’ of course! Ganyan naman ang tienes-tienes nila eh... kunwari hindi ka oobligahin. At kung may pera ka nga naman, eh di bibili ka nga ng libro o kung anupaman sa kagustuhan mong makita ang obra mo in published form. Kung sadyang wala ka namang pambili, at least naka-post sa Internet site nila ang tula mo. ISP/ILP is mondo-cashing it in based on a perceived need: human nature’s desire for being immortalized on a page through their precious byline. Let’s face it: Ego-schmego equals big bucks, at least in the ‘poetry for all people’ market."
Bles added that she’d been sending her poems to ISP since 1995 when she was still back here. She migrated as a greencard holder in December 2004. In 1995 she placed second and won $50 in one of the open contests, then third with a bronze medallion in 2001, in the Elite Poetry Contest.
"Modest gains but it’s all right. Anything for the sake of my poetry, ika nga. Some of my poems have been included in their anthologies throughout the years... Sometimes I bought a copy of the anthology where my poem appears, and sometimes not, depending on my finances.
"Anyway, sir, that, in brief, is my side of the story… Thank you for your interest in my work! Sincerely, Bles Carmona."
By the by, the 2006 judges were Pulitzer Prize winner W.D. Snodgrass, ISP president Dr. Len Roberts, Dr. Herbert Woodward Martin, Prof. Grace Cavalieri, and Poet Laureate of Delaware, Dr. Fleda Brown.
Bles also provided a brief CV: Graduated from Manila Science High School (Batch 1987); accepted in the Intarmed program of the UP College of Medicine; reached 4th year proper or clinical clerkship in PGH… In August 2000, established the Biopsychosocial Support & Interaction Group, Inc. (BISIG, Inc.), "a support group for mentally ill outpatients, the first group of its kind in the Philippines."
Well, she does sound credible, and so does her account of receiving the ISP prize. 20K in dollars! Why, that makes her a peso millionaire! And it should entitle her to a call from the Palace, our Palace, for a home visit and appropriate parangal as yet another Pinoy champion and world-beater!
I’m not exactly holding my breath in expectation of a downturn that might yet be added to this narrative. For now, we should be happy for Bles Carmona. Here’s sharing her winning poem (see boxed poem, to show it in appropriate verse form).
It’s quite good, I must say, except for a surfeit of abstract lines. I always insist on graphic imagery from my students, saying that it’s what makes the difference between what National Artist for Literature Edith L. Tiempo, "Mom" to us all, calls "a fat and flabby line" as against a lean and mean one.
What I tell my de-mentees is that they should almost always provide something to be imagined concretely in the reader’s mental screen, which is why fat, abstract words like "liberty, independence, freedom, emotion, ennui, angst…" or their ilk shouldn’t be used in poetry. You want to use those, write an essay. But for poetry, prime is the graphic image serving as metaphor for those ideational concepts and emotional states.
Well, thankfully, Bles utilizes a set of images ("ship of my heart, rice fields, scythes, land, husks, sky, sea, wind, bamboos, waves"). But they’re not enough, to my mind, apart from being ever so archetypal/universal. Then again, it’s a villanelle, so a lyric line can be composed of concept words as long as they serve a rhythmic refrain. BTW, that should be "makes" after "wind among the bamboos…" And I’d rather not have anyone use "colleagues" in a poem, unless it’s for irony, satire, or har-de-har-har à la Ogden Nash.
On the whole, I’d grade it an 80 to 85, or a "B." Who’s to say if the other poems entered by 2,700 would-be poets in that Vegas hoedown were only B-minus meritorious? So, still and all, we must congratulate Bles, and hope that the check she received doesn’t ever bounce. And for now I’ll hold the "Caveat emptor!" in check, which I had thought of issuing to other aspiring poets tempted to join such US-based commercial poetry orgs. Maybe they’re evolving after all.
What we can positively glean from this development is that legions of human beings are not only interested in poetry, but actually try their hand at it. Why, Orpheus bless us all!