“HeArtfully Speaking” By Frank A Hilario
Jerry’s book contains 12 essays with 12 art pieces as
inspirers of the writer. The titles of the 12 heartpieces are:
“Atop A Carabao” (p4)
“Elbi Is Home” (p10)
“Curve-Spin” (p16)
“Almost There” (p22)
“A Dog’s World” (p28)
“In Loving Memory” (p36)
“A Summa Story Retold” (p42)
“The Pilot, The Prince, And The Fox” (p48)
“Artfully Speaking” (p54)
“Show Openings” (p60)
“Vertical Living” (p66)
“A Commuter’s Tale” (p72).
In
the Preface, Jerry says:
Writing is my creative space
and the essay the most congenial genre in my attempt to make sense of life’s
defining moments. Such moments looped together propel our lives in a certain
direction.
I know the feeling.
I have been writing thousands of (digital) essays myself since 2000, with a few
extra long ones of 8,000 words or so each. In the last few years, I have
trimmed down to exactly 517 words each essay (Frank A Hilario). Each of Jerry’s essays is long, at least 1,300
words – fitting the purpose of the writing.
Here are selections from the book:
Elbi Is Home
Home is where the greenery abounds. Green is the prime color of the university
town, and it is that from which the enchantment arises.
Maria(ng) Makiling,
the mountain goddess, continues to animate stories not only among the
townsfolk, but also among occasional guests and adventurous hikers who have
trudged the forest mountain’s challenging trails…
Jerry is fond of dogs. Here is from
A Dog’s World
Maximus, Cicero and Jubaira have been true to their calling as retrievers.
Misplaced small garden tools are found. Itinerant farm snakes and house rats are
brought to the garage. Misplaced smart phones are shoved to our faces.
Ha, ha!
Here is from
The Pilot, The Prince, And The Fox
The pilot becomes conscious of the little prince in him again. The laughter of
the little prince evokes joy in the pilot, prompting him to recover his sense
of discovery and wonderment…. The pilot and the little prince have come
together. And the fox has paved the way for their being one.
And from
A Commuter’s Tale
Considering traffic as a problem is fraught with possible solutions to address
it. But let that be within the purview of national government to address… A
paradigm shift may change the way we look at the traffic problem.
Overall,
as a reader I must say I like all of the essays. The concept of the whole book
is imaginative and lovable.
I have one caveat; the book needs a little editing – this is
an editor speaking. Like “Elbi” – for those non-UPLB target readers – should
have been explained as coming from the acronym “UPLB” and the town Los Baños, just
like “Diliman” refers to “UP Diliman” and the Quezon City village.
So?
It’s not a perfect tale – but it’s a perfect try!@517
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