TRAVELS (and more) WITH CECILIA BRAINARD: Pictures, Creative Writing Workshop at Bago City College, Negros, Philippines

Thursday, October 17, 2013

Pictures, Creative Writing Workshop at Bago City College, Negros, Philippines

I received these pictures taken at the Creative Writing Workshop in Bago City College, Negros, Philippines. Elaine Sweet, a US Peace Corps Volunteer, organized the workshop. She had asked me to give a talk via Skype.

The other members of the panel were: Nadine Sarreal, Attorney Pandan, Nancy Huls, Jennifer Ly, Mam, and Gina.

It was a three-day workshop, Oct. 7, 8, 9, 2013, which included a tour of Bago City, my Skype session, writing exercises, with critiquing by peers, then by a panel. The students had the opportunity to carry their work through several drafts, and the final draft has been bound into a book, The Output. I can't wait to get my copy.

Elaine with the students

Doctor George Parroco

Nadine Sarreal

Cecilia Manguerra Brainard

Cecilia Manguerra Brainard's official website is ceciliabrainarddotcom. She is the award-winning author and editor of 22 books, including When the Rainbow Goddess Wept, The Newspaper Widow, Magdalena, Selected Stories, Vigan and Other Stories, and more. She edited Growing Up Filipino 1, 2, & 3, Fiction by Filipinos in America, Contemporary Fiction by Filipinos in America, and other books.. Her work has been translated into Finnish and Turkish; and many of her stories and articles have been widely anthologized. Cecilia has received many awards, including a California Arts Council Fellowship in Fiction, a Brody Arts Fund Award, a Special Recognition Award for her work dealing with Asian American youths, as well as a Certificate of Recognition from the California State Senate, 21st District, and the Outstanding Individual Award from her birth city, Cebu, Philippines. She has lectured and performed at UCLA, USC, University of Connecticut, University of the Philippines, PEN, Shakespeare & Company in Paris, and many others. She has served in the Board of literary arts groups such as PEN, PAWWA (Pacific Asian American Writers West), among others.