Memory and Freedom, a new book
I wrote my first book into my mid-30s, a cookbook, and my first novel a few years after that. I am very happy to annonce that I have marked another first: I am the editor of this little anthology of prose vignettes, poetry, and flash fiction titled “Memory and Freedom.” It is part of the San Anselmo Press Pamphlet Series, as Volume 1.
This is the first anthology I’ve ever edited and curated. This is a milestone that, while small in the face of global happenstances, is important to me as a person, an indicator of my growth as a writer and as an editor. This slim book — with its cover art by celebrated artist Celeste Lecaroz, and the trust put in me by San Anslemo Publishing Inc. executive publisher Marvin Aceron — marks a milestone that was not on my personal map of goals, but is a goal I am so happy to attain, this joy encompassing a most surprising depth and breadth I never thought I would feel.
Heartfelt editor thanks go out to Merlie Alunan, Giovanni A. Nilles, Gretchen Filart, Dong A. Delos Reyes, Sarge Lacuesta, Carla Mortel Baricaua, Tag Cavello, Josephine Rustomji, Juaniyo Arcellana and Annabelle Tan-Amor. Their work, which I proudly carry in this little book, is both powerful and beautiful. Our writers rock.
The trust these authors put in my hands along with their work is an honor I value greatly, and always will. This Volume 1 of the San Anselmo Pamphlet Series I and two other editors, Dulce Sanchez and Mike Doria, are incubating will be expanded with Volumes 2 and 3 edited by Dulce and Mike, respectively, in the coming weeks. Mag-aambag po kami sa ating yaman na panitikan.
Our little editorial team that can is all about opening opportunities for Filipino writers, be they revered veterans in the literary field or new voices. We will take this new platform and run with it. I am so excited to see where this road takes us.
My work across almost three decades has been anthologized. You’ll find my poetry and fiction scattered across several titles, here and overseas (oh, and online), and in a few broadsheets and magazines, too. I have published a cookbook, an erotic urban fantasy novel, and a collection of supernatural short stories that draw heavily on Filipino lore and mythology. I have the sequel to my novel ready to publish next year.
This lovely little tome, however, holds a special place in my heart. I am so in love with it, with its cover and its content. The layout had me rhapsoziding in the writing cave, serenading my cats, who all left the room, fortwith, chased off by my weaponized vocals.
So, to share my joy over this, I’ll spare you my singing. Let me share the introduction I’d written for “Memory and Freedom” here instead:
The bridges of memory and freedom, an introduction
For humans, memory and freedom are among the most precious of intangible things. In life, and in death, these two things hold the ultimate sway. This is the reason why we honor our beloved dead, why history (personal or global) matters to us, why Jose Rizal so sagely wrote that s/he who does not look back at the past will not reach their destination.
It is in our nature as humans to hold beloved stories, poems, prayers, songs, and tales of personal history. We are inspired by these writings and hand-me-down tales, and we all have our favorites that we carry with us and share. We are awed by the figures of myth and lore, and by our shared history as a people and as citizens of the world. These things are part of our DNA as homo sapiens sapiens. It is from memory that we derive our freedoms, define them, defend them, enjoy them, evolve with them.
The cache of freedom and memory is a treasure trove we hope to increase with the works we carry in this chapbook, hence its title. The lessons of the past must be learned so we can progress to our future in a timeline that goes back to the dawn of time and stretches before us to infinity. Thus does memory show us the paths to freedom, on every level from the personal to the global. These two abstract concepts, when given form (in this case, writing), are the keys to all our tomorrows.
Contrary to what people tend to believe, however, neither memory nor freedom are huge, abstract intangibles that are beyond human comprehension. These things are not larger than our hearts that constantly seek to uphold both on more minute, personal levels.
Contained in this chapbook are short but powerful reads: fiction, poetry, prose vignettes taken from life itself, as viewed through the lenses of the individuals who penned them. If we reach into our own milieu, we, too have our own caches of little stories, small poems, and beloved memories that form our lifelines and our pieces of evidence attesting to our existence, and our struggles. These amorphous things, which are no less important for their ethereal nature, are what give us identity, purpose, drive, and the strength to face each day we draw breath.
Memory and freedom give us the raw materials that we form in concrete ways every day, and it is the profound honor of our little editorial team that can to bring these small, but powerful, texts from our contributors’ pens to our readers in the hopes of providing means by which to connect people using words.
When someone reads work that resonates with them, the connection is made, and by virtue of these pieces of literature, the reader finds a connection that will never be broken. It is in the spirit of “hindi ka nag-iisa (you are not alone)” that we share Memory and Freedom with all of you.
May you find your safe space, a fresh set of delights, and meaningful pieces to relish at leisure in these pages. Mabuhay po ang mga manunulat na Pilipino. Mabuhay po ang bumabasa ng panitikan na sulat ng sariling atin.
Alma Anonas-Carpio
Editor
