Name: Mario Eric Gamalinda
Age: 54
Birthday: Oct. 14, 1956
Birthplace: Manila
School: UST and UP
Occupation: Poet, fictionist, essayist
Currently lives in: New York City, USA
Currently works at: Center for Investigative Journalism
Eric Gamalinda is a local fellow for poetry of the UP ICW in 1983. He went to Great Britain to represent the Philippines in the Cambridge International Writers’ Conference in 1990. In 1991, he attended the Hawthornden International Writers’ Retreat in Scotland. Gamalinda got a Rockefeller Foundation residency in Bellagio, Italy. He also participated in the Japan International Cooperation Agency’s Programme for the 21st century.
Other Works & Achievements
• Fire Poem/Rain Poem (1976)
• Lyrics From A Dead Language (1991)
• Zero Gravity (1999) –Asian American Literary Award
• Peripheral Vision (1992)
• Planet Waves (1989) –National Book Award
• Confessions of a Volcano (1990)
• The Empire of Memory (1992)
• My Sad Republic (1998) –Centennial Literary Prize
• Anatomy of a Passionate Derangement (One-act play, 1980) -1st prize, Gawad Palanca Award
• Ara Vos Prec (1985) –Gawad Palanca Award
• Patria Y Muerte (1988) –Gawad Palanca Award
• Mourning and Weeping in this Valley of Tears (1988) –Gawad Palanca Award
• The Unbreakable Lightness of EDSA (1990) –Gawad Palanca Award
• Muerte del Anghel (1992) –Free Press Literary Awards
Selection
"You Can Choose Your Afterlife," is found in Gamalinda’s book, Zero Gravity. The poem is based on the beliefs of the T’boli, an old indigenous people living in South Cotabato in Southern Mindanao.
The T’boli afterlife has several destinations. The souls of murder victims and warriors slain in battle will be celebrated in a bloodthirsty kingdom. To die by the sword entails the people you left behind to mourn for your tragic death. According to the T’boli beliefs, victims of drowning become citizens of the sea. They will be under the rule of Fon Muhin, a god they believe in. If you die due to sickness, you will get what you wish for, which is to be free from pain, however, they will sorely miss the people they have left behind. For people who commit suicide, their souls will never truly leave earth because they still have unresolved problems. They will always wonder what the people they left behind think of them for committing suicide.
At the end of the poem, the speaker addresses a friend, real or created, who decided to take his own life. He doesn't know why Arne took his own life, but he's not going to spend the rest of his life trying to figure it out. These people will always wonder what the people they left behind think of them for committing suicide.
Figures of Speech
• Onomatopoeia
They welcome you there with the tintinnabulation of copper bells
• Apostrophe
Arne, You didn’t tell us why you wanted to go
• Personification and the lamentation of bamboo violins and all night long a wounded sun hovers over your place of business
You May Also Find These Documents Helpful
-
Most of the American history serves a great deal of pride, acknowledgement, and importance to its culture. Spreading democracy and liberty all over the world yet forgetting some part of the history full of abusement, racisms, and evil. The novel, Between The World And Me, written by Ta-Nehisi Coates, who is know for expressing black culture by writing novels, talks about some of this history. In his novel, he confesses all the fears filled in black Americans’ body in a letter that he writes to his fifteen year old son. When I first learned about the history of African Americans, I was shocked and I wanted to know even more about their culture and their backgrounds since, my culture is different from theirs. I was also disguised because American history was so cruel. One of the reasons that I took this class was also to learn more about African American culture. Ta-Nehisi Coates is also African American which helps the novel show his personal feelings and opinions…
- 837 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
“Living in Two Worlds” by Marcus Mabry is a short story in which he writes about the discomfort he experiences traveling between the two worlds of poverty at home and richness at Stanford. Mabry goes to school with a full scholarship and lives a pretty decent life while his family live in poverty in New Jersey. Some of the things that the author compares are geographical differences between the two world, social differences, and his guilt feeling toward his family. The author writes about geographical differences between New Jersey and Stanford.…
- 434 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
The novel “The Afterlife” by:Gary Soto was about a teenager who did not live it up in his life, but he lived life in the afterlife. It all started when Jesus or how his loved ones call him “Chuy” did not have the most perfect life. He did not have a bad life but he did struggle. One night Chuy was supposed to meet his friend Rachel at nightclub “Las Estrellas” and Chuy decided to go to the bathroom. When he was washing his face and hands he noticed some shoes that he liked and he told the guy in the yellow shoes that he liked his shoes and he got stabbed.…
- 614 Words
- 3 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
The novel, Enrique’s Journey, by Sonia Nazario is about a 15-year-old Honduran boy named Enrique, that traveled 1704 miles to reunite with his mother again, but with the journey, he would have to leave his girlfriend and family and risk his life to reconnect with the only person that understands him the most.The author of the novel, Sonia Nazario, was encouraged to write the novel, “Enrique’s Journey” to demonstrate to people that the journeys we take, will be worth it in the end. Throughout the whole novel, Enrique's journey will be worth it because, even though he risking his life to go from one place to another, he knows that being a family again is the best thing he can ever have.…
- 253 Words
- 2 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
This chapter which introduced me to Lia’s family was interesting. I was shocked to read that in her mother’s country of Laos, Lia would have been born by her mother squatting on the floor! They also used special created remedies to solve health issues without relying on hospitals or clinics. It was also interesting to read how important the Hmong people believed in sprits and how their life decisions where decided around the sprit actions. For example, they believed that male sprit’s held up their house roof, if the male’s placenta was buried near the central pillar of the house. Lia was even blessed by the elders because her parents believed that it was a way of protecting her from ever getting sick. If anything, reading this chapter quickly gave me a quick preview of the clash that Lia’s cultural beliefs will have with the American doctors when she gets sick in the future chapters. However, I’m hoping that this book will pick up a little faster and have less history moving forward (being honest lol)…
- 2519 Words
- 11 Pages
Powerful Essays -
Picture being displaced in a country you know little about except for the fact that it’s safer than yours. You and your three children have successfully escaped persecution and are subsisting off of government aid. However, you don’t understand the Native language and you differ tremendously when it comes to cultural beliefs. You do know that when anyone is ill, it is because their soul is out of balance with their body, but the Natives in this country constantly resort to temples for intimate examinations that you consider taboo. When the Natives do receive medicine though, they typically get worse, but the doctor just prescribes more medicine. Then one day, one of your beloved children attends a mandatory examination and is diagnosed with cancer.…
- 1080 Words
- 5 Pages
Good Essays -
There are several know definitions of a mother. She is who gives birth to you, who carries you inside of her for nine months and gives you a share of her DNA. This is the typical characterization of a mother however it’s not the only form of a mother. Though a mother also raises you and gives you unconditional love, with or without a genetic relation. These mothers could have adopted their children or have used an egg donor.…
- 485 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
In todays world we have a surplus of trees, fresh water, and air, atleast for the most part. Although, this might not be guaranteed at all for the future generations to come, if we do not take our home into consideration. Earth, is a beautiful home formed into existence for us to realm, grow amd prosper. Now could it possibly be that man has truly forsaken this vast prosperous land and overturned it for the use of his own benefits?…
- 1097 Words
- 5 Pages
Good Essays -
In his novel, Eaters of the Dead, author Michael Crichton shows how the Volga Northmen were able to defeat their foes, the wendol, by using their intellect instead of their weapons. This is seen in four aspects. The theme of the novel is that physical courage is not enough to preserve your culture and lifestyle: intelligence and superior knowledge are absolutely essential. Conflict between the wendol and the Northmen shows which group has the intelligence to eliminate the other. Symbolism of wisdom, knowledge, and the lack of such things are used by Crichton to illustrate this moral. The juxtaposition of characters emphasizes the cleverness of the Volga Northmen compared to the Venden Northmen.…
- 1841 Words
- 8 Pages
Good Essays -
When Johnny was six, he stated that God was "what's good in me," and his drive to do good stays with him through his short life. What makes this inherent goodness more exceptional is his abundance of other supreme qualities. He is exceptionally intelligent, devoting himself to the sciences with both his mind and heart; his wit is pointed yet gentle; and he is mature beyond his years. He combines the best of childhood and adulthood—a child's endless curiosity about the world and an adult's maturity in understanding what to do with that curiosity. But two other qualities shine through in Johnny, and they often connect: his selflessness and his courage.…
- 414 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
Susan Pfeffer’s story “Ashes” teaches a lesson about how trust is decided on past, not relationships. Ashleigh, “Ashes”, with divorced parents, talks about how when she is with her dad, the sun shines just a little bit brighter, but according to her mother, he is just an “irresponsible bum”. Ashes was a nickname her father gave her, which her mother hates. Ashes, says that her father hardly ever keeps a promise, such as when she was a kid, he told her that the stars were her necklace. One lesson the story suggests is that parent-child relationships can quickly change, depending on the choices they make.…
- 765 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
This semester, I learned abundance amount of information that I did not know before and I took each and every new knowledge into heart. I learn about parallelism, misplaced modifier, PIE, commas, i.e./e.g., entry points/ strategies, active vs. passive verbs, and not using ‘you’ in academic writing and more but what stood out to me the most was PIE. Every topic I learned in this class will be in use toward my major but mostly in future papers. This semester, I learned point illustration explanation (PIE) in my writing skills which will be valuable in my future college papers.…
- 1236 Words
- 5 Pages
Good Essays -
The final paper must demonstrate a firm understanding of key beliefs about existential issues and the afterlife for the religions you select. Papers will be graded based on your understanding of the key beliefs for the religions you choose, the thoroughness of your comparative analysis, originality, use of relevant research, critical analysis, clarity, and organization.…
- 1311 Words
- 6 Pages
Good Essays -
Since the dawn of history, people have pondered the idea of what happens after death. The questions and beliefs surrounding ‘after death’ have profound implications for the values, faith and behaviour of most people.…
- 2663 Words
- 11 Pages
Powerful Essays -
The afterlife, or life after death, was a rather common belief among people living in ancient civilizations. In areas such as Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Israel, people had differing perceptions of the afterlife; although, they shared much more similarities. While some civilizations generally held an optimistic view of the afterlife, others held a more dark and gloomy view of it. But from the mummification process down to the netherworlds, there is no doubt that the beliefs of these three ancient civilizations did in fact have huge influences on one another.…
- 1696 Words
- 7 Pages
Good Essays