SO WHAT'S WRONG WITH BEING A NATIONALIST ARTIST?

[Ripped from the Philippine Star. Please don't sue me.]

LETTER TO THE EDITOR:

The Editor
Philippine Star

Dear Editor:


SO WHAT'S WRONG WITH BEING A NATIONALIST ARTIST?


Like all texts, there are many ways to read Alfred Yuson's column
Kripotkin published in the Philippine Star on 20 March 2006. Among
them are:

1. He was merely sour-graping. He wanted Cirilo Bautista to get the
National Artist award and Bautista got eliminated in the second round.
I agree with Yuson. Bautista does deserve the award (I even think
Gemino Abad deserves it as well!). However, to attack Lumbera because
his candidate didn't win is to be pikon. As we say, pikon talo! Yuson
did Bautista a disservice.


2. Mr. Yuson fears that after Almario and Lumbera, "a trend has been
established... that may keep our creative writers in English at bay
where the National Artist for Literature is concerned." I would like
to remind Mr. Yuson that of the ten National Artists in Literature,
only two (Amado V. Hernandez and Virgilio Almario) are writers in
Filipino and only one is bilingual (Rolando Tinio). If anyone should
be afraid of being marginalized, it should be the writers who write in
the regional languages, not the writers in English.

3. Mr. Yuson is horrified that the National Artist Award could possibly
go to a nationalist. I regret that at his age, Yuson still does not
understand the meaning of the word "nationalism" nor the great
tradition of nationalist writing espoused by both National Hero Jose
Rizal and National Artist Amado V. Hernandez. One could even argue
that the writings of Gonzalez, Joaquin, Tinio, and Almario are
nationalist writings, because yes, even writers in English – surprise!
surprise! – can be nationalists. If I were a mind-reader like Mr.
Yuson, I could perhaps say that the writers he mentioned -- Edith
Tiempo, Franz Arcellana, Gonzalez, and Joaquin -- are turning in their
graves not because they are "saddened by the turn of events" but
because they will be the first to deny that their patriotism can be
doubted. After all, they did spend their lives " "promoting national
cultural identity and the dignity of the Filipino people through the
content and form of their works" -- one of the criteria for being
named a national artist.

4. Mr. Yuson's column should be read in the context of the political
repression in the country. Five Representatives of Congress (Satur
Ocampo, Liza Masa, Joel Virador, Teddy Casino and Paeng Mariano) are
holed up at the Batasang Pambansa because they have arrest warrants;
Representative Crispin Beltran, 73 years old, is in prison. Randy
David, Risa Hontiveros, and Dinky Soliman have all been arrested for
supposedly leading rallies. This past year, more than a hundred people
have been summarily executed. Indeed, to be perceived to be "leftist,"
is dangerous in the Philippines.

Mr. Yuson has irresponsibly called Dr. Lumbera a "communist," making
him an open target for the likes of Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan, who was
decorated yesterday for his "anti-left executions." I am therefore
holding Mr. Yuson responsible for whatever may happen to Dr. Lumbera.


In one of the other dailies, the headlines read: "Attacks on leftists
mount." Perhaps the column was not really about Bautista. Perhaps it
was not really about the "marginalized" writers in English. Perhaps
Mr. Yuson was simply revealing who his patrons are.



Sincerely yours,


Joi Barrios, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
University of the Philippiens