E. Ordoñez, an Oxford don and George Yang scholars

The following comes from the Philippine PEN Balita:

Retired academic and a leading literary critic Elmer Alindogan Ordoñez is this year’s Philippine recipient of the 2008 S.E.A. Write Award which was conferred on him by a member of the Thai Royal Family at The Oriental Hotel, Bangkok, yesterday.

The name of the award stands for Southeast Asian Writers Awards designed to honor leading writers in the ASEAN region starting in 1979. The awards since then have been given at The Oriental Hotel, Bangkok, where Polish-born British novelist Joseph Conrad once stayed as a merchant ship captain in late 19th century.

Ordoñez himself is known internationally as a Joseph Conrad scholar with his book The Early Joseph Conrad and articles on the novelist in scholarly journals including Notes and Queries in Oxford. He has A.B. and M.A. English degrees from the University of the Philippines and a Ph.D. English from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He later took post-doctoral studies in Oxford University. He was professor of English UP Diliman, associate for literary criticism at the UP Creative Writing Center, and first chair of the literary arts committee of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts. He is now National Secretary of the Philippine PEN.

From English studies he turned to Philippine literature where his principal contribution is his critical work on national/nationalist literature and emergent literature. He has contributed significantly to changing the concept of the literary canon by including literature from the margins in the academic curriculum. His books Emergent Literature and Nationalist Literature are now standard texts or reference books in literature courses. He has edited numerous publications, conducted four UP writers workshops, and held seminars and conferences on Philippine literature.

Usually known as an essayist, Ordoñez has also written short stories which will be published in book form next year. He is now a columnist (“The Other View”) for the Manila Times and literary editor for the Sunday Times Magazine. National Artist for Literature Bienvenido Lumbera considers Ordoñez’s columns as “superior samples opinion journalism.”

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During intermission at a CCP concert, I asked Elmer how it was studying at Oxford University. One of my eternal regrets was not having availed myself of an opportunity to study at St. Hilda’s College, Oxford, after having been admitted to that institution through the recommendation of my Harvard professor in a Milton course.

It would have been a unique educational experience, Elmer said. Each graduate student has an Oxford don (professor) all to himself. He and the don meet once a week and the latter gives him tons of literary reading assignments which he would have to account for at the next meeting.

In any case, I had always nurtured the impression that Oxford dons are “stuffed shirts” with scarcely any humor. The latest Radcliffe Quarterly I received gives me an entirely new and refreshing view of an Oxford don.

Here are excerpts from an interview of Tim Rod, a lecturer in classics at the University of Oxford and currently completing a book in Radcliffe as a fellow.

Q: What is the most challenging aspect of being a Radcliffe fellow? A: Yoga. Q: Which aspect of your work do you enjoy most? A: Writing — on the rare occasions it goes well. Q: What is your most treasured possession? A: My glasses. Q: Which trait do you admire most in yourself? A: Being laid-back.

Q: What do you consider your greatest success? A: Getting my son to laugh at my jokes. Q: Describe yourself in six words or fewer. A: I may be some time. Q: What would your colleagues be surprised about you? A: A colleague once accused me of stealing her handbag. Q: Name a pet peeve. A: Noise. Q: If your life became a motion picture, who should you portray? A: Cate Blanchett.

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Having discovered his vocal talent rather late, tenor George Yang is now urging young singers to fulfill their potential through the Klassikal Music Foundation which he chairs.

After auditions, recipients of Yang’s scholarship grants for 2008-2009 are Joy Ana Cacayan, Fiona Eleni Gallano, Carl Trazo, Elaine Vibal, Cipriano de Guzman and Joseph Carrillo.