Growing Up Filipino II - Readings by Contributors

Here are YouTube video clips of Readings by some contributors to the book, Growing Up Filipino II: More Stories for Young Adults:


YouTube - Veronica Montes Reads from Growing Up Filipino II

YouTube - Rashaan Alexis Meneses Reads from Growing Up Filipino II

YouTube - Amalia Bueno's Story in Growing Up Filipino II (read by Barbara Jane Reyes)

YouTube- Marianne Villanueva Reads from Growing Up Filipino II

YouTube - Tony Robles Reads from Growing Up Filipino II

The book is Available from: www.palhbooks.com, Philippine Expressions, Arkipelago, Amazon.com, The Book House, Follet Library Resources, Midwest Library.

SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL BOOK REVIEW 5/1/2010:
BRAINARD, Cecilia Manguerra, ed. Growing Up Filipino II: More Stories for Young Adults. 254p. PALH. 2010. Tr $29.95. ISBN 978-0-9719458-2-1; pap. $21.95. ISBN 978-0-9719458-3-8. LC 2002104406.

Gr 9 Up—This collection of 27 short stories, the follow-up to the critically acclaimed Growing Up Filipino (PALH, 2003), reflects the impact of post-9/11 wartime sensibilities among Filipino writers living in the Philippines, the United States, and Canada. Although similar topics of family, memoir, and coming-of-age thread through both collections, the pieces are not grouped by theme, but nevertheless weave a constantly shifting tapestry of Filipino identity. The challenges and conflicts of unique ancestry and struggles for identity provide a rich background for modern urban realism. The brittle memoirs reflected in "Here in the States," "Nurse Rita," and "Hammer Lounge"; original legend in "A Season of 10,000 Noses"; and breathtaking tragedy in "How My Mother Flew," among others, are compelling reading. Some selections have terse, spare language; others are almost commonplace in their apparent simplicity; all capture moments and nuances of the modern Filipino experience that will envelop readers. Brainard has again selected powerful, evocative stories of family: of promises and disappointment, failure and resentment, tenacious and all-consuming love, anxiety and transcendent hope. There is plenty here to stimulate discussion and encourage an appreciation of Filipino writing and culture. This anthology is a worthy successor to the first volume and has appeal to an audience beyond high school literature courses.—Roxanne Myers Spencer, Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green

Source: http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6727442.html?industryid=47067

Upcoming Readings from Growing Up Filipino II

Upcoming Readings from Growing Up Filipino II:
CECILIA Brainard will read on Wed, June 9, 7-9-30 at the UCLA Extension Writers' Program along with 17 other writers/instructors, Skirball Cultural Center, 2701 North Sepulveda Blvd, LA, RSVP writers@uclaextension.edu or call 310-794-1846;
AMALIA Bueno, Oscar Penaranda, Rebecca Saxton, Geronimo Tagatac will read at the FAHNs Conference, July 21-13 in Seattle, WA, contact joan.may.cordova@post.harvard.edu

SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL REVIEW GROWING UP FILIPINO II

SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL BOOK REVIEW 5/1/2010 (Grades 5 & Up):

BRAINARD, Cecilia Manguerra, ed. Growing Up Filipino II: More Stories for Young Adults. 254p. PALH. 2010. Tr $29.95. ISBN 978-0-9719458-2-1; pap. $21.95. ISBN 978-0-9719458-3-8. LC 2002104406.

Gr 9 Up—This collection of 27 short stories, the follow-up to the critically acclaimed Growing Up Filipino (PALH, 2003), reflects the impact of post-9/11 wartime sensibilities among Filipino writers living in the Philippines, the United States, and Canada. Although similar topics of family, memoir, and coming-of-age thread through both collections, the pieces are not grouped by theme, but nevertheless weave a constantly shifting tapestry of Filipino identity. The challenges and conflicts of unique ancestry and struggles for identity provide a rich background for modern urban realism. The brittle memoirs reflected in "Here in the States," "Nurse Rita," and "Hammer Lounge"; original legend in "A Season of 10,000 Noses"; and breathtaking tragedy in "How My Mother Flew," among others, are compelling reading. Some selections have terse, spare language; others are almost commonplace in their apparent simplicity; all capture moments and nuances of the modern Filipino experience that will envelop readers. Brainard has again selected powerful, evocative stories of family: of promises and disappointment, failure and resentment, tenacious and all-consuming love, anxiety and transcendent hope. There is plenty here to stimulate discussion and encourage an appreciation of Filipino writing and culture. This anthology is a worthy successor to the first volume and has appeal to an audience beyond high school literature courses.—Roxanne Myers Spencer, Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green

Source: http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6727442.html?industryid=47067

Book Launch of Growing Up Filipino II, Jan. 16, 2-5 p.m. San Francisco

Edwin Lozada and Veronica Montes have been working together on the following book launch of Growing Up Filipino II, cosponsored by PAWA (Philippine American Writers and Artists) and Arkipelago Books, on Sat. Jan. 16, 2010, 2-5 p.m. at the Bayanihan Community Center, 1010 Mission St., San Francisco. Contact pawa@pawainc.com for more information.

I am sure there will be a Literary Reading by contributors in the Bay Area. I will update this post as I get more information. (Thanks Edwin and Veronica!)

Growing Up Filipino II, by Rebecca Mabanglo-Mayor

Thoughts on the new book Growing Up Filipino II, by Rebecca Mabanglo-Mayor

I love books. The weight. The smell. The deliberate slowness of reading and turning a page and reading some more.

The screen just isn't the same and that's good and bad. Good for scanning and absorbing information quickly. Bad for reflection and immersion.

I get lost in the process of reading books, lost in new worlds and new people.

Escapism doesn't begin to cover the sensation of unfolding a completely different universe with the flick of the wrist as each page turns.

My author copies of Growing Up Filipino II: More Stories for Young Adults arrived a couple of weeks ago.

In the run-up to Christmas, I had just enough time to show it off to a few friends and family, but very little time to really absorb what I held in my hands.

My first in-book publication.

Don't misunderstand - I'm grateful to the print and online magazines that have published my poetry and reviews. Each byline meant that I became less a could-be writer and more a in-fact writer.

But to hold my story in my hands, all printed and bound up with fabulous work by authors I admire as really-real writers, I stepped into a whole new world I knew existed, but didn't think I had the key to open.

With a flick of my wrist, I was there, in the book, a story peering back at me the reader, a reader peering into a writer's world and that writer was me.

And by 'was' I mean a past me, the one who wrote the snippet of the story over 5 years ago, polished it and submitted it 2 years ago, received an acceptance and proofed my galley last year, and proofed it again this year.

I'd been told that the birthing of a story takes a long time, and I thought that only meant the creation of it. I understand now that there's also the production of it, the long steps from one universe to the next. Who knew that the the distance from the front of the wardrobe to the back was so long, Lucy?

So, there's writing, then there's book-making, and now comes the book promoting.

The hardcover version is now available at Amazon and the soft and hardcopy versions can be ordered from your local brick and mortar store. Just tell them that they can get them from Ingram or Baker & Taylor.

If you know any of the contributors (Dean Francis Alfar, Katrina Ramos Atienza, Maria Victoria Beltran, M.G. Bertulfo, Cecilia Manguerra Brainard, Amalia B. Bueno, Max Gutierrez, Leslieann Hobayan, Jaime An Lim, Paulino Lim Jr., Rebecca Mabanglo-Mayor, Dolores de Manuel, Rashaan Alexis Meneses, Veronica Montes, Charlson Ong, Marily Ysip Orosa, Kannika Claudine D. Peña, Oscar Peñaranda, Edgar Poma, Tony Robles, Brian Ascalon Roley, Jonathan Jimena Siason, Aileen Suzara, Geronimo G. Tagatac, Marianne Villanueva) ask your bookstore owner if they'll set up a reading to promo the book, then let your friends, family, and total strangers you meet at the coffee shop or grocery store know.

Step into the stories imagined in a post-9/11 world, written from the perspective of the young adult but accessible to anyone who has struggled with issues of family, love, sexuality, home, and social change in the current modern age.

Tuloy! Come share our world.
Rebecca Mabanglo-Mayor's blog is http://wordbinder.blogspot.com/

Update ~ GROWING UP FILIPINO II: MORE STORIES FOR YOUNG ADULTS

I started the book project, Growing Up Filipino II: More Stories for Young Adults in 2007. It took about a year to collect the stories, after which I submitted the manuscript to my Philippine publisher. I thought the publisher and I had an oral agreement that I would retain US publishing rights. Since Growing Up Filipino I was published by PALH in the US, I wanted this sequel to be published in the US as well. After hanging on to the manuscript for 9 months, the Philippine publisher said they wanted all publishing rights after all, not just Philippine rights. I withdrew my work and decided PALH would go ahead and do the US publication. It was now late 2008.

A friend offered to design the cover and book (for a fee), but unfortunately her husband passed away in early 2009. Understandably, the book project was hung up for months. It wasn't until August before attention was given Growing Up Filipino II. The inside pages and cover were completed this October. I had to continuously proof the work because mistakes were constantly being picked up - lines disappeared in the cover for instance. A contributor's name was misspelled on the cover, and in the last minute I had to resend cover files to the printer, and when you make corrections late in the game, you pay to have those mistakes corrected. The delay also means the book misses out on mainstream reviews because you have to send galleys 3-4 months before the book is released. The scheduling for Growing Up Filipino II has been so messed up, I'll be relieved if the book comes out at all, much less dream of mainstream reviews for the book (as GUFI received).

It's been truly a long haul, but the files are with a US printer and I am hoping the book will be out by mid-December. Wow - three years! It's taken three years to complete this book.

This experience prompted me to take an InDesign class so I can handle some production work myself, if I ever take on another book project. It's difficult to be dependent on other people. Even though you pay them, their priorities may not be your priorities.

Getting past all of that and looking forward, here's information about this wonderful collection. The cover is beautiful; the contributors great. The short stories are really quite good and I hope the book will be as successful as Growing Up Filipino I.

BOOK DESCRIPTION:

Growing Up Filipino II: More Stories for Young Adults is the second volume of the Growing Up Filipino series by PALH. In this collection of 27 short stories, Filipino and Filipino American writers explore the universal challenges and experiences of Filipino teens after the historic events of 9/11. The modern demands do not hinder Filipino youth from dealing with the universal concerns of growing up: family, friends, love, home, budding sexuality, leaving home. The delightful stories are written by well known as well as emerging writers. While the target audience of this fine anthology is young adults, the stories can be enjoyed by adult readers as well. There is a scarcity of Filipino American literature and this book is a welcome addition.

CONTRIBUTORS:

Dean Francis Alfar, Katrina Ramos Atienza, Maria Victoria Beltran, M.G. Bertulfo, Cecilia Manguerra Brainard, Amalia B. Bueno, Max Gutierrez, Leslieann Hobayan, Jaime An Lim, Paulino Lim Jr., Rebecca Mabanglo-Mayor, Dolores de Manuel, Rashaan Alexis Meneses, Veronica Montes, Charlson Ong, Marily Ysip Orosa, Kannika Claudine D. Peña, Oscar Peñaranda, Edgar Poma, Tony Robles, Brian Ascalon Roley, Jonathan Jimena Siason, Aileen Suzara, Geronimo G. Tagatac, Marianne Villanueva

Blurbs:
This collection of twenty-eight stories--of growing up Filipino in the Philippines, in the United States, in Canada--presents adolescents grappling, with some confusion and anxiety, about their place as affected by social and cultural mobility that separate and also enclose them. These are stories of discoveries about the young self at the brink of adulthood; of longing for a once-comfortable past, of fears arising from present economic hardships which threaten the future; of loneliness in family gatherings and in school, of racism, single parenthood…These are impeccable stories in range of subject matter and modes of narration: part of the story of the Philippines and wherever Filipinos live; part of the world's story.
Linda Ty-Casper, Novelist

Every story in this collection authentically captures the interdependence of society-at-large and some individual's growth, within extended families, both natural and ritual.
Leonard Casper
Professor Emeritus, American Studies
Boston College.


When read collectively, these stories become an embodiment of the Philippine mosaic, to highlight the fluidity of Filipino/American identity.
Rocio G. Davis
Associate Professor of American Literatures
University of Navarre