adlad 2 is the sequel of the seminal anthology of Philippine gay writing entitled Ladlad (Out) which
came out in 1994. Ladlad was the first book that gathered various voices of the
gay experience in the Philippines. It contained poems, essays, plays and stories in English and
Filipino, some by the best contemporary young writers of the country.
Ladlad 2 continues on that tradition of putting forward the best, the worst, the
divine, the sublime, the funny and the lyrical, gay writing in this part of the world.
According to the book, "what Ladlad seeks to offer is not an escape from homosexualization,
but an alternative version of it ... this book wishes to halt the progress of homophobia
by demonstrating, through the power of words and the imagination, the creative and
wonderful ways in which homosexuality can be lived and enjoyed. Pleasure is what Ladlad,
in the end, is all about."
In a way, it succeeds.
Like the first time around, the book is edited by J. Neil Garcia and Danton
Remoto.
Garcia teaches at the University of the Philippines, Diliman and writes
a column for Gayzette, a weekly section in The Evening Paper devoted to the
discussion of homosexual issues. He has written two books of poems called Closet Quivers
and Our Lady of the Carnival. His research on Filipino gay culture was published
by the University of the Philippines Press.
Remoto is an assistant professor at the Ateneo de Manila Univeisty and has published
textbooks and other forms of creative writing in the Philippines and abroad. He also
writes a column for The Manila Times and reviews the arts for The Sunday
Time Magazine. His column can be seen at The Manila
Times Online.
Ladlad and Ladlad 2 are available at Ad-Infinitum in Chicago.
Seduction and Solitude by Danton Remoto. 1995. Pasig:
Anvil. Not all essays are gay but Danton writes as a gay man.
Sharp, incisive style. Actually a collection of stuff that
appeared as newspaper articles, ranging from memories
of childhood to gay community activities.
Closet Quivers - Poems by J. Neil C.
Garcia, Kalikasan Press, 1992. Two printings in 1992!
Margarita Go Singco-Holmes A Different
Love - Being Gay in the Philippines. Anvil Publishing
Inc., 1993.
Dr. Holmes has a PhD in clinical psychology from Ateneo de Manila
University and an M.P.H. from the University of Hawaii. She used
to be a columnist (BODYMIND) for
The Manila Times. She also had a TV show called No
Nonsense! with Dr. Holmes which ran for six seasons - the first
TV show in the Philippines that dealt with psychological issues -
in one show, for the first time - four Filipino gay professionals
- a physician, an economist, a businessman and a bank official -
appeared ... but in the shadows. A Different Love is a
collection of letters from readers of her Manila Times
column (and her responses) that deals with homosexuality. She is
presently living in North Carolina and writes a column
(Crossroads) for various magazines and has
a website.
A Filipino translation has just been launched of Different
Love: Nag-iibang Pag-ibig: Ang Maging Bakla sa
Pilipinas also from Anvil Publishing, 1994. Tagalog
translation by Gilbert Francia.
Both books can be ordered through Ad-infinitum.
Tony Perez's Cubao 1980
at Iba Pang Mga Katha Unang Sigaw ng Gay Liberation
Movement sa Pilipinas. Cacho Publishing House 1992. This
novel (in Tagalog) was a finalist in the Don Carlos Palanca
Memorial Competition for Literature in 1980.
Aida Santos and Giney Villar's Woman to
Woman - Poetry, Essays and Fiction.
Elsewhere
Rolling the R's by
R. Zamora Linmark. From Jessica Hagedorn: " ... Rolling the R's is a downright
funky, hothouse treat ... With an ear for the poetry and music of pidgin language,
Linmark's poignant stories explore taboo sexuality and ethnic identity with refreshing
candor and a sly wit ..." From Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick: "... A daring and delicate
novel ... created out of the necessities of queer self-formation in an atmosphere of
violence and dispossession...". Kaya Productions, publishers, 1995. R. Zamora
Linmark lives in Honolulu.
Order this book
through Amazon.com Books now!
Throw it to the River by
Nice Rodriguez - a review
Asian American Sexualities edited
by Russel Leong.
From the book:
"This collection trully fills a void ... it interrogates the complex ways in
which race and sexuality intersect and shape each other in the lives of gay, lesbian,
and bisexual Asian Americans. These compelling examinations of identity,
representation, and collective action highlight experiences which have been rendered
invisible and excluded from both gay and lesbian studies and Asian American studies."
- Michael Omi, University of California,
Berkeley, and coauthor of Racial Formation in the United States
Among the Filipino contributors are: R. Zamora Linmark, Martin F. Manalansan IV,
Gil Mangaoang, Trinity Ordona, Eric Estuar Reyes, Joel B. Tan
and Robert Vazquez Pacheco (judging from their names).
Published by Routledge, NY and London, 1996.
Order your copy through Amazon Books now!
On a Bed of Rice: An Asian American Erotic Feast - edited
by Geraldine Kudaka with a foreword by Russell Leong. Anchor Books Double Day, New
York, 1995. This is the first book to display the richness of erotic literature by
Americans of Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Thai, East Indian,
Pakistani, and Amerasian descent. With stories, poems, and photographs, editor
Geraldine Kudaka features a kaleidoscope of erotic viewpoints on such themes as
sexual awakening, identity and exploration, marital betrayal, and interracial love.
Written in styles ranging from the lyrical to the lascivious. On a Bed of Rice
is a feast for all lovers of fine literature - and the erotic. (From the blurb on the
book cover.) Although the stories contained in this book are predominantly
heterosexual, there are a few gay-themed and gay-Filipino themed, one of which is
a story by FQD's resident story teller, Eulalio Ibarra.
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through Amazon.com Books now!
Jessica Hagedorn's Dogeaters(National
Book Award finalist [US] in 1990) has a gay subplot. In this novel, you can check out
the nightclubs where "shower dancers" lather up to James Brown's Sex Machine. Robert
Stone says "(It) is a fine acheiement on a very serious scale. It succeeds in rendering
the portrait of a nation in troubled times through vivid, memorable characters and
with irrefutable wit and passion. This is the definitive novel of the encouter between
the Philippines and America and their history of mutual illusion, antagonism, and
ambiguous affection. it is a rich and satisfying work and certainly among the best
novels I've read this year ..." From Pantheon Books, 1990
Order this book through
Amazon.com Books now!
Throw It To the River by Toronto-based
Pinay lesbian Nice Rodriguez. Published in 1993 by the
Women's Press in Toronto. It is a book of short stories about
growing up dyke in the Philippines and living as a Pinay lesbian in
Toronto. Contributed by Kilawin.
Order this book
through Amazon.com Books now!
Witness Aloud - Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual
Asian/Pacific American Writings - The APA Journal Spring/Summer
1993. Edited by Chi Tsang(guest edited by Curtis Chin, Gayatri
Gopinath, Joo-Hyun Kang, and Alvin Realuyo) and published by the
Asian American Writers' Workshop, 1993. The Asian/Pacific
American Journal is the quarterly publication of the Asian American
Writers' Workshop. Based in New York City, the APA Journal
publishes new and emerging Asian/Pacific American writers from
around the world. Witness Aloud highlights more than thirty
lesbian, gay and bisexual APA writers, many of whom are Filipinos
or Filipino-descended.
Ohio State
University Library Listings
Non-fiction collection from the Asian Queer
Directory
Circuits of Desire - Haver, William et
al., Duke University Press, Durham, NC, 1994. Anthology of Asian
homosexuality, including Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, Thai.
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Male Prostitution: Two monographs
Observations of male prostitution in Manila. by Paul W. Mathews.
Australia Book Company, 1987.
Oceanic Homosexualities by Stephen O.
Murray. Garland Publishing, 1992. Includes studies ranging from
Madagascar to Australasia: Filipino callboys, Siberian shamans,
ancient samurais and contemporary lesbians of Japan, also
aristocratic traditions of Hawaii.
Amerasia Journal: Dimensions of Desire
- from UCLA Asian American Studies Center. Special issue of
Amerasia Journal. Includes autobiographical accounts and critical
essays about gay and lesbian Asian/Pacific Americans.
Male Homosexuality in Four Societies:
Brazil, Guatemala, the Philippines, and the United States by
Frederick Whitam and Robin Mathy. New York, Praeger Publishers,
1986.
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Guidebooks
Philippine Diary, A Gay Guide to the
Philippines by Joseph Itiel. Published by International Wavelengths,
1989. An honest "guide," somewhat outdated, to the Philippine
"gay" scene. I put "gay" in quotations because much of the
Philippine "gay" scene detailed here is actually the
afam hustling scene (hustling scene for white foreigners)
which is interpreted in the book to be the gay scene in the
Philippines. Although there are some insights into the culture
(mostly what-the-author-wanted-to-see-so-his-escorts-showed-him-kind-of-
thing-even-if-it-is-not-so), the real Filipino gay scene is glossed
over. It is still compelling reading though for its thoroughness
and I hate to say it, for its naivete.
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through Amazon.com books now!
L
adlad 2 is the sequel of the seminal anthology of Philippine gay writing entitled Ladlad (Out) which
came out in 1994. Ladlad was the first book that gathered various voices of the
gay experience in the Philippines. It contained poems, essays, plays and stories in English and
Filipino, some by the best contemporary young writers of the country.
