The assistant director of UST Center for Creative Writing and Literary Studies (CCWLS) told fellow creative writing and literary heads from various schools in Manila to keep their passion for writing alive through reading.
Cultural and literary critic Assoc. Prof. Ralph Semino Galan underscored that writers must immerse in literary works.
“What we need more are not creative writers, but creative readers. No one can become a good writer when you do not read,” he said in a conference titled The Literary Muse in Manila.
Galan also said the readership arouses creativity among writers. “We should also be creative readers so that we appreciate more creative texts, and for you to achieve that, you need to read, and the writing comes next.
He added that poetry looks flat when read, but it is brought to life once orally performed, noting that educators must be “performative.”
“Poetry is one of the most difficult genres because of its oblique nature. You must inhabit the space of the poem to be able to understand it… Kapag binibigkas, mas na-a-apreciate,” Galan said.
The CCWLS, in cooperation with the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, spearheaded the forum, aiming to stimulate a strong literary culture in the country by pooling creative writing centers to share their projects, programs, and activities in creative writing. F KRYSTAL GAYLE R. DIGAY
