Eileen & Friends Read Books

 Reading by Eileen Tabios El Dia Mas Delicioso De Mi Vida  by Emeterio "El Chango" Landeros as told to Arturo Mantecon  (Prickly Pear Publishing, 2022). Poetry. In its introductory remarks, much is made about how  EL DIA MAS DELICIOSA DE MI VIDA  by Arturo Mantecon is an exercise in “code switching” (where text switches back and forth between languages). This made me double-check the book’s publication year and I was disappointed to see 2022 because by then code switching isn’t so new (Pinoy poets have been doing it a while) and I thought the book would provide an early example. Nonetheless, in my reading experience (which is limited on this issue), this book has a more equitable distribution of the involved languages (English and Spanish) unlike other poems I’ve seen where it’s still mostly English so that the non-English word can be construed based in context.    Since I’m not fluent in Spanish, how does one experience this project then? At first, I thought my lack of profi

Reading by Rev. Dr. T.C. Marshall   Benjamin, Walter.  Reflections . Ed. Peter Demetz. Trans. Edmund Jephcott (NY: Shocken, 1978)   Brecht, Bertolt.  Bertolt Brecht’s Refugee Conversations / Flüchtlingsgespräche . Ed. Tom Kuhn. Trans. Romy Furslund ( London: Methuen, 2020)   Brecht on Theatre . Ed. & Trans. John Willett (NY: Hill & Wang, 1964)   The Good Woman of Setzuan  in  Two Plays by Bertolt Brecht . Trans. Eric Bentley (NY: Meridian Classic, 1983)   “By the Way”: The Practical Application of Benjamin’s Remark re: Laughter             Many writers have taken notice of a small “by the way” comment that Walter Benjamin made in his essay-talk “The Author as Producer.” This essay, a talk apparently never delivered, works with a variety of ideas to approach what an author can produce and how it gets produced. Benjamin’s “by the way” seems to pop up among those thoughts and then get left behind. That may make it seem to be of no great importance, but its assertion is related to

  Reading by   Aloysiusi Polintan Strands of Eternity by Vasant Lad (Ayurvedic Press, 2004) Flash Book Review No. 240: "Just as there is a space between the clouds in the sky, there is a space between your thoughts. This space is the doorway to the divine." I admit that when I started to get hooked on reading "serious" canonical works, I also developed an aversion to self-help books. There were occasions when I thought self-help books were just a waste of money and time, or when I pushed myself to think that imposed words of wisdom only exacerbated one's perception of his own daily misery. But this time, I made an exception. I bought and read a copy of  Strands of Eternity  (Ayurvedic Press, 2004), which compiled the mystical poetry and discourses of the well-known Ayurvedic physician Dr. Vasant Lad. I'm actually getting interested in whatever Oriental philosophy calls for: contemplation, flow, and harmony with the natural world (or I may have lacked access

  Reading by   Aloysiusi Polintan     The Meaning of Mariah Carey (with Michaela Angela Davis) (St. Martin’s Griffin, 2021) Flash Book Review No. 238: One may regard  The Meaning of Mariah Carey  as a documentation of a diva's unfolding. He may consider it a Bildungsroman for the subject to stay relevant. He may look at it as a plea for additional fandom. But, for me, every chapter and every story succeed in debunking the myths surrounding Mariah. The pains she had experienced since she was very young had fueled the spark of her desire to be the best of what she could be. In the beginning chapter, she talked about Mariah in retrospect: "She's been scared and alone for so long, and yet through all the darkness, she's never lost her light." Starting from the confusion and alienation she was made to feel in dominantly white neighborhoods (brought by her interracial origin), continuing with her marriage to Tommy Motola that had shackled her mobility, her individualit

 Reading by Eileen Tabios THE LAST THING: NEW & SELECTED POEMS by Patrick Rosal (Persea Books, 2021) I'd read all of Patrick Rosal's prior poetry books so I can't fathom why I didn't get to his SELECTED POEMS until two years after its release. But I did and I'm glad I made it. Patrick's SELECTED pulls of what a Selected Poems project should achieve: indicate why earlier writings were necessary but prove why a Selected is warranted. In this case, his SELECTED shows the greatness of Patrick's poetic prowess -- the sum, here, is much greater than merely a combination of its parts. What some call the "arc" here is a powerful, moving mix of loss and desire. The "New Poems" section also indicate a sophisticated politicizing that should exist, and gives a glimpse into the humanity that created a great writer (the Preface also reveals him to be a wonderful essayist). Many of the poems are (deservedly) long-ish so the two poems whose image

Reading by Eileen Tabios The Collector by Daniel Silva (HarperCollins, 2023) Daniel Silva is my go-to author of spy thrillers. He doesn't disappoint with his latest novel,  The Collector , from his deservedly-acclaimed series involving spy and art restorer Gabriel Allon. This is his first novel to reflect Russia's invasion of Ukraine and he integrates it well with timely warnings as regards geopolitics and dictators. I'll always read anything he writes involving Gabriel Allon. Recommended of course!

  Reading by Eileen Tabios CLOSER TO LIBERATION: Pin[a/x/]y Activism in Theory and Practice . Editors Amanda Solomon Amorao, DJ Kuttin Kandi, and Jen Soriano (Cognella, 2023)  I am conflicted over the term “cultural production” but a book like  CLOSER TO LIBERATION  reminds me of its need. In an ideal world, the tenets of peminism and activism would not need to be gathered for study because they already would be lived naturally. But because the world is less than ideal, its moments must also be theorized to be solidified into fierce but lovingly provided lessons. This book, this result, was/is needed. And it is also huge in scope—as huge as the world and the peminized, activist heart.    It’s impossible to capture this book (even the Table of Contents is magnificent), this moment that also is expansive. I just want to express my gratitude that parts of my poetry were deemed to be relevant in its exploration and suggestions for “liberation.” To its editors and participants, I see your w

Reading by Eileen Tabios  Letters in Language by  Harold Legaspi (Flying Island Books, 2021) Some writings give the gift of making a reader concurrently appreciate the blessing that writing, thus reading, can be. Harold Legaspi’s  Letters in Language  is such a book for making the reader pause frequently over the joining of sentences, the turns of phrases, to marvel at the words that unexpectedly combined to create such pleasure. For instance, look at the book’s beginning below—isn’t it marvelous?! Harold’s approach also gives a materiality to words that supplement their references and, thus, enlarge their meanings. For example, see the image below (under “29”) that situate “Invisible Cities” within the text. The two words can fit their placement without knowledge of Italo Calvino’s novel of the same title (though the novel itself relates); I speculate that it’s specifically referencing “invisible cities” (without the titular caps) that make possible the introduction of spring’s cherr

Reading by  Rev. Dr. T. C Marshall   The low-coup poems in these publications: Funk Lore  by Amiri Baraka, Ed. Paul Vangelisti (Littoral, LA, 1996)   Un Poco Low Coup  by Amiri Baraka ( Ishmael Reed Pub., Berkeley, 2004, reproduced online at Terebess Asia Online )   The LeRoi Jones / Amiri Baraka Reader , Ed.  William J. Harris (Thunder’s Mouth Press, NY, 1991. 2nd Printing 1995)   Selected Poetry of Amiri Baraka / LeRoi Jones (William Morrow, NY, 1979) SOS: Poems 1961-2013,  Selected by Paul Vangelisti (Grove,, New York, 2014).   Laughs Last: Bakhtin and Baraka’s “low-coup” Poems   In a big backyard in Oakland one Sunday, a healthy crowd gathered to support local arts. One non-local there was visiting from Newark, and he was part of the draw. Amiri Baraka, the teacher and poet and righteous rouser, was chatting with Oakland residents about their work in the arts as we listened to and watched locals present their efforts. Encouragement was the word of the day, and to have some from one