I am continuing the Q and A that the international press has been asking me about my novel, Riverrun, which will be published by Penguin Books South East Asia this month. Q: The novel covers the 60s to the 80s. How much of the Philippine LGBTQ [lesbian, gay, queer, bisexual, transgender and queer] experience has […]
My novel, ‘Riverrun,’ is now being printed by Penguin South East Asia. Printed copies will be sold in Asia while e-copies will be sold in the rest of the world. I have been fielding questions from the international press about the book. Here are the answers to the flurry of queries, telescoped as an FAQ […]
Being a foreign student in the United Kingdom meant living on the proverbial shoestring. Along with the Malaysian and Singaporean students in Muirhead Hall at the University of Stirling, I went to the supermarket on our first day. I invited them to come along with me so we could make our most important acquisition—our rice […]
The Philippines is still the third-largest English-speaking country in the world. But more and more, we have to qualify this statement. Does it mean a deep knowledge of English, or functional English just enough to get by? And what does this statement mean – that there is only one kind of English in the world? […]
My little room in Kajang, Malaysia, was filled recently by a deluge of emails from people asking me how could they get published. I asked where, in the Philippines or overseas? Nowadays, you could easily publish yourself online, or publish your book by print-on-demand. All you need is a finished manuscript, a platform, and your […]
In 1977, my mentor, the poet and National Artist for Literature and Theater Rolando S. Tinio, said: “It is too simple-minded to suppose that enthusiasm for Filipino as lingua franca and national language of the country involves the elimination of English usage or training for it in schools. Proficiency in English provides us with all […]
One of my biggest surprises recently was an email from Penguin Random House South East Asia. They were asking my permission to publish my book, Riverrun: A Novel. I thought it was a hoax, a joke, or a mis-sent email, But I checked the name of the Executive Editor (correct), her email address (correct). An […]
Whether the learning is face-to-face, blended, or online, the basic principles of learning English remain. You have to be engaged with the text (printed, visual, aural) and with the teacher (real or virtual). How to learn English well, in the Age of COVID 19? Listen to the teacher. When the teacher repeats a point two […]
This essay is for my mother, who taught Music in many classrooms for more than 40 years I’ve been teaching for 33 years – the longest job I’ve had. But because I stayed here longest, that means I love this job. I admire those who’ve spent 40 years teaching without repeating themselves. They’ve taught for […]
How to survive life in Law School, which someone has compared to entering Dante’s ‘Inferno.’
