On 'Kawil' and Why I Shouldn't be Called a Malate Writer

Everyone knows how thrilled I am to have my short story "Kawil" turned into a play and staged in DLSU. You may click this for pictures and other mindless discussions on it. I'm hoping for reviews though. Basically because I like reading about anything that has myself in it. Yes, I'm vain that way. I'm sure you've already figured that out.

Many people thought that because I'm a writer and I'm from La Salle, I must have been a part of Malate at some point in my college life at least. Let me now try to give you a brief history of my college writing life and how nothing can be farther from the truth.

I wrote "Kawil" in 1998. I was 18, a college freshman. It remains to be my only short story in Filipino. In fact, I would not have written it if not for a midterm requirement for FILITWO (Filipino 2) in which I got a 4.0, thank you very much. I later on submitted it to the 14th DLSU Literary Awards and it would tie for second place with Johannes Chua's short story. There was no first place winner. I was by then a sophomore.

That was how it made it to the Malate Literary Folio. Because of the Litawards, I mean. I was never a writer for Malate. I tried out for the magazine in my freshman year but did not make the cut. I was depressed for a few weeks then joined the Writers Guild. Perhaps the Malate rejection played a significant part in my young writer's life because this was the time when I threw myself full force on anything that would improve my writing. The same year as the Malate rejection, both my essays won in the annual litawards, first place and honorable mention.

If I have to mention names, I should mention Rommel Fuentebella, WG's president when I was a freshman. It might have been because he was friends with Nuna or it might have been because he saw the raw potential in me, but it was him who took me under his wing and painstakingly read and critiqued my works when I didn't even think my works were worth anyone's time to read. In my junior year, I would be WG's president and hopefully had helped other young writers find their way somehow.

Thus, the only articles I had that were published in Malate were in the Litawards issues. This actually proved fatal during my junior year when I was nominated in the Student Awards as The Best Creative Writer. One of the judges pointed out that I had too few publications in Malate, it being the university's official literary magazine and all. This was already after the awards night so I wasn't able to defend myself anymore. Nobody won, by the way. I then wondered briefly if they even noticed that I had national publications. Those, apparently, were not enough. I had to have published more in Malate.

So there. Please don't say that I was a writer of Malate because I never was. It might have caused me certain things (awards, for instance, and I looooove awards. I'm needy that way.) but if there's any organization that should take credit or criticism for the writer that I've become, it's the Writers Guild and not Malate.

This might seem like a bitter entry to some but let me assure you that it's not. I just thought I would finally clear things up to everyone who has assumed and/or wondered about me and Malate.