Budding Thomasian writers named fellows in the poetry workshop of Philippines Graphic magazine expressed how the literary event challenged them to push beyond their creative and personal boundaries.
Education senior Sebastian Salvador said they were encouraged to engage with one another as they explored different creative processes.
“The workshop met my expectations by being enjoyable and interactive, but it also challenged me to be more open, expressive, and courageous in my writing,” he said.
Salvador and fellow education senior Charles Cuyana, who also received fellowship, are members of the Thomasian Writers’ Guild.
Fourth-year creative writing student Psalmuel Lasquite said the workshop helped him become more comfortable in sharing ideas with fellow writers through collaborative activities.
“I was never a socializing person and the event challenged me to push my boundaries,” Lasquite told the Varsitarian.
Creative writing junior Jan Amber Reyes said her perception in writing and interacting with others remain both a challenge and satisfaction.
“You’d probably not expect that from a creative writing student but it’s true. It is more often than not that I get lapses in ideas and cease to write at all,” Reyes said.
Other fellows included creative writing undergraduates Francine Lucban, Clarence Miguel Torres, Giannah Ochoa, Nicole Samson and Vianney Clemente.
Communications junior Adam Bolante, also participated in the workshop, alongside fellow junior and Varsitarian literary writer Charlize Lavastida.
“I expected to have my submitted poem be ripped apart by the fellows. Instead, I gained new understandings and friendships, things that are beyond technical skill and critique,” Lavastida said.
Creative writing associate professor Nerissa Guevara, who served as the lecturer for the poetry workshop, employed her teaching technique “The Soul Project.”
“The Soul Project actually begins with talking about different kinds of cognition and different ways the brain processes creative, raw material, which are memories, and possibilities, and sensory explorations,” she told the Varsitarian.
Guevara said catering to the student’s individual strengths and building a sense of community was most pertinent in writing workshops.
Founded in 1927, the Philippines Graphic is the oldest-running literary magazine in the country.
It accepted submissions from undergraduate college students who wish to refine their craft under the tutelage of esteemed writers across various categories.
The poetry workshop was the second installment of a series conceived as part of the magazine’s centennial celebration.
It was held from March 20 to 21 at Luxent Hotel in Quezon City. John Kobe S. Balod
