The king is dead
Robby Tantingco, SunStar
There are poets who make a living out of writing and performing poetry, which is not so bad. There are poets who make people appreciate the art and craft of poetry, which is noble.
And then there is Vedasto Ocampo, who made it his life's mission to teach people how to write poems. To me, that's beyond noble.
It's hard enough to teach people to write prose, but poetry? It's either they are poets or they're not. Poets are born, not made.
Well, Vedasto Ocampo didn't think so. He didn't think he was wasting his time when he spent hours, days, weeks, months, years, turning ordinary folks into writers and writers into poets, because, he said, "Buri ku ing abalu yu king ing Dios man poeta ya!" (I want you to know that even God is a poet!). Which means, if God is a poet and we are His children who want to imitate Him, then we must all be poets, too. » continue ...
There are poets who make a living out of writing and performing poetry, which is not so bad. There are poets who make people appreciate the art and craft of poetry, which is noble.
And then there is Vedasto Ocampo, who made it his life's mission to teach people how to write poems. To me, that's beyond noble.
It's hard enough to teach people to write prose, but poetry? It's either they are poets or they're not. Poets are born, not made.
Well, Vedasto Ocampo didn't think so. He didn't think he was wasting his time when he spent hours, days, weeks, months, years, turning ordinary folks into writers and writers into poets, because, he said, "Buri ku ing abalu yu king ing Dios man poeta ya!" (I want you to know that even God is a poet!). Which means, if God is a poet and we are His children who want to imitate Him, then we must all be poets, too. » continue ...
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