TRAVELS (and more) WITH CECILIA BRAINARD

Monday, August 12, 2019

Bamboo Reed Paintings by Cecilia Brainard

Fuente Osmena Park, Cebu, Philippines (copyright by Cecilia Brainard)

I've been experimenting some more with bamboo reed painting. I also use barbecue stick for finer work. I like the energy, the unruly and wild feeling of reed painting.

Here are two reed paintings based on my memories of my birth city, Cebu, Philippines.

Kiosk of Magellan's Cross, Cebu, Philippines (copyright by Cecilia Brainard)

Tags: art, reed painting, sketching, drawing, bamboo painting, bamboo drawing, cebu, Philippines

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.

Friday, August 9, 2019

Interview of Cecilia Manguerra Brainard by Media and Researchers

Following are some Interviews by the media and by researchers of Cecilia Manguerra Brainard

Rappler Interview of Cecilia Brainard, 2019, l-r: Lilibeth Frondoso, Cecilia Brainard, Miraim Grace Go

Interviews

Interviews on YouTube

Jeepney Books Interviews Cecilia Brainard
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5aVQYEevYxg
Cecilia Brainard Gives Advice to Beginning Writers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zd5UCnlGdjQ
Bobit Avila Interviews Cecilia Brainard, Part 1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLupG5_ZlKU
Bobit Avila Interviews Cecilia Brainard, Part 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCnFdsWObj4
Bobit Avila Interviews Cecilia Brainard, Part 3
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJ_atGRCI7w
“As Cute as a Filipino on a Saturday Night” by G. Tongi for Kababayan Today, 2017
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yu-Cxt8qd34
Interview by Cecilia Brainard by Janelle So for Kababayan Today, 2011
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEc-6dEX3Uw
Interview of Cecilia Brainard by Janelle So for Kababayan Today, 2013
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BV6EiHkT7m0
Interview of Cecilia Brainard by Rappler's Miriam Grace Go, on writing about her two homes, 2019
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzckMGsKKrM

Tags: Tags: Research, studies, media, #CeciliaBrainard

Cecilia Manguerra Brainard

Tuesday, August 6, 2019

Cecilia Brainard at Philippine Expressions, Masskara Festival

Cecilia with Dar Santos Family

Linda Nietes of Philippine Expressions invited me to sign my books at the Masskara Festival on Sunday, August 4, 2019 in Long Beach. I It was great seeing Linda and her husband Robert again. I was also delighted to see Marilu Morris, Cedric, Ernie Delfin, Eric Lachica. I was happy to meet the Dar Santos Family, all members of whom read and bought Filipiniana books. Here are some pictures courtesy of MariLu Morris and Lisa Pimentel Dar Santos.

Tags: book signing, Philippine Expressions, festival

Cecilia Manguerra Brainard

Monday, August 5, 2019

Japan Tour: Koyasan

Koyasan, Japan

The mountaintop place of Koyasan with its ancient cedar groves and Buddhist temples felt other-worldly and mystical. Koyasan, a UNESCO site, preserves Shingon Buddhism, a sect began in 805 by Kobo Daishi. The town only has Buddhist temples for housing, and we stayed at Ekoin Temple, where we slept on tatami mats, ate vegan food prepared by the monks, and witnessed their meditation, chanting, and a morning prayer ritual that involved burning wooden sticks with petitions. We had a wonderful walk through the Okunoin cemetery with graves and mausoleums of shoguns and emperors. This ancient cemetery also had many small stone statues tucked here and there, near imposing grave markers and enormous cedar tree roots. The figures had knitted head coverings and red aprons; these small Buddha figures represented dead babies and indicated that infant mortality was high and that their families grieved for their dead babies.

Cecilia Manguerra Brainard

Japan Tour: Osaka

I'm sharing pictures taken at our recent visit to Japan.
These were taken in Osaka, which was the starting point of our tour.

Osaka

Cecilia Manguerra Brainard

Monday, July 29, 2019

Brainard Novel Launched at Manila's #Solidaridad Bookshop

The photo shows l-r, standing: Tillic Lorayes, Cynthia Posa, Virgilio Reyes Jr., Cecilia Brainard, Paulo Angelo Lopez Apolinar, Charlson Ong ; Seated l-r: Nelson Navarro F. Sionil Jose, Amado Ma. Guerrero.

Last July 6, 2019, the Philippine edition of my novel WHEN THE RAINBOW GODDESS WEPT (UST Publishing House) was launched at Solidardiad Bookshop, 531 Padre Faura, Ermita, Manila, at 5 p.m. The event was cosponsored by PEN International.

The first book I launched at Solidaridad was WOMAN WITH HORNS AND OTHER STORIES around 31 years ago. I launched several other titles of mine there, including the time Mt. Pinatubo erupted -- 1991, I believe.

I have a lot of rich memories of the iconic Solidaridad bookshop, a wonderful home for writers, readers, and intellectuals.

The launch was a special time for me to connect with some of Manlla's wriiters, academica, and intellectuals. Indeed we had a highly stimulating and wonderful time after my presentation. Salamat to Manila PEN, Solidaridad, and to dear Frankie and Tessie Jose who have sheperded both PEN and Solidaridad through the years.

Here are pictures taken at the book launch of Cecilia Brainard's novel at Solidaridad Bookshop, cosponsored by PEN International. Many thanks to Virgilio Labial for many of these photos.