FILIPINO writers gathered for the 54th national congress of the the Philippine Center of International PEN (Poets and Playwrights, Essayists and Novelists) at the Cultural Center of the Philippines onDecember 1 and 2 vowed to work for a “literature of survival” to combat climate change and environmental destruction.
With the theme “Archipelagic Feasts, Tropical Disasters: The Literature of Survival,” the PEN led by National Artists F. Sionil Jose (PEN founder) and Bienvenido Lumbera (PEN chairman), who are both Thomasians, discussed issues revolving around natural calamities, environmental degradation, and social, economic, political, and cultural disasters that plague the nation,.
In his keynote address, fictionist Rony V. Doaz, president of the Manila Times School of Journalism, warned of the consequences of climate change.
“Our government, preoccupied with other issues of lesser importance, has not given climate change the full attention that it deserves,” he said. “What we do not know yet are the intertwined numbers that in terms of surface temperatures and concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere indicate the danger point.”
Diaz urged the PEN to support the worldwide call for measures to bring down greenhouse gas emissions in order to stem climate change and its disastrous effects on the biosphere.
At the closing of the congress, PEN national secretary Lito B. Zulueta, also the Varsitarian’s adviser, drafted and read the resolution in which PEN members vow to work to save the environment.
Since the issues revolving around the issue are technical and geopolitical, beyond the immediate comprehension of laymen and non-politicians, we, as writers and artists,
have the artistry and the obligation to make them immediate and compelling,” the resolution said.: Therefore, we vow to use the powers of the pen and the energy of the imagination to exalt nature and humanity, painting their interconnectedness and evoking their mutual integrity . .
“Through our discursive and creative writings, we will invoke the need for the restoration of the proper equation that should obtain between man and nature and of the need for them to complement one another. In this case, we will not only produce a literature of survival, which is the theme of our 2011 Congress, but also a literature of communion.”
Solidarity Dinner, new novel
The Varsiarian hosted the traditional PEN Solidarity Dinner at Dencio’s in Harbor View, CCP Complex.
During the event, Mindanao-based fictionist Antonio Enriquez launched his new novel, The Survivors, published by the UST Publishing House. The book is about the Second World War in Mindanao.
Enriquez said he got the inspiration for the novel when he read Solomon Pimentel’s memoirs about the Japanese invasion.
“It’s not just about writing creatively, I try to make my stories as entertaining and as readable as possible, because great literature is like that. If people cannot read it, then what’s the point of writing?” Enriquez said.
At the end of the congress, the PEN elected a new board of directors. Elected were Herminio Beltran, Jr., Karina Bolasco, Jose Wendell Capili, Kristian Cordero, Amadis Maria Guerrero, Malou Jacob, Bienvenido Lumbera, Edgardo Maranan, Glenn Mas, Charlson Ong, Victor Peñaranda, Nicolas Pichay, Jun Cruz Reyes and Santiago Villafania.
