Wole Adedoyin interviews Alyza Taguilaso: Writing is a Process that Changes the Self and can Potentially Change One’s Commitment to Human Rights
WA: IS/ARE THERE ANY CIRCUMSTANCE(S) THAT LED YOU TO WRITE POETRY?
ALYZA: In 2008, my grandmother Pearla lost her battle with skin cancer. We were very close. I started writing to process my sadness from this event. The writing led to more reading and thereafter more writing. Since I was a Biology major in college, I took a poetry class under Lawrence Ypil and that pretty much set my foundations on writing. I was also fortunate enough to qualify as a fellow for poetry in various National Writing Workshops in the Philippines (IYAS, Ateneo National Writers Workshop, and the Silliman University National Writing Workshop) and these have helped me hone my writing and meet others who would help and influence my writing in the years to come.
WA: DOES WRITING COME EASILY FOR YOU?
ALYZA: It depends. There are some days when a line arrives while I’m at work or while I’m stuck in traffic. I list that line down on my phone and see if it spreads its wings once I sit down to write at home, or if it’ll take its time to bloom at another time. There was a time my writing flourished from sitting down with a group of friends who also write. This was most active during the pandemic but we still do it today. We would meet up via Zoom once a week and someone would present a prompt and people would let their words spring from there. A lot of my recent works I owe to this community of poets and their prompts (Hello, WIFI friends!). I also find my main push to write by reading other people’s works. Some days when my hospital work is hectic, or I spend a prolonged amount of time in the operating room, I’m just too tired to write so those days I leave for rest. I also have an odd requirement – I only get to finish writing and revising poems when I’m using my laptop since my handwriting is sometimes illegible.
WA: AS A POET, WHAT DO YOU THINK THE FUTURE HOLDS FOR PHILIPPINE POETRY?
ALYZA: I think the future is exciting for Philippine poetry in that there are so many voices now and people are more welcoming to younger poets. I do believe however that the government should give more funding for the literary arts. We lack literary festivals compared to other countries.
WA: WHAT IS YOUR IMPRESSION OF POETRY OUTSIDE PHILIPPINES?
ALYZA: I believe that outside the Philippines, poetry as an art form and even as a career path is better funded and has a wider readership. Writers have more room to read, experiment, and bloom. In my country, the literacy rate is very low and there is a spread of misinformation mostly from social media apps like TikTok. At best, spoken word poetry is what I think can combat this rampant disinformation.
WA: IF YOU WERE TO MENTOR A YOUNG POET, WHAT WILL YOU TEACH HIM/HER?
ALYZA: I would teach younger poets to read as much as they can every day. Even thirty minutes daily will do. I would give them a list of things to read first to help them find clarity in their own voice. Then with regard to writing, I would push them to get the words out on the paper or screen. It doesn’t matter if it looks “bad” or “simple” at first, I believe what’s important is to get the words out so you have something physical and tangible to wrestle with.
WA: WHAT INFLUENCE DID YOUR PARENTS HAVE ON YOUR WRITING?
ALYZA: My parents annulled when I was barely a teen. The years that preceded that were filled with daily arguments and things I believe were not conducive for children growing up. At best, their rocky relationship made its way into my poetry as material. My mother, who raised me and my two other sisters, was very supportive of my writing. She would buy me poetry books and allow me to attend national writing workshops when I qualified for them, despite my being a science major.
WA: WOULD YOU LIKE TO GIVE UP PRACTICING MEDICINE IN ORDER TO WRITE FULL TIME?
ALYZA: Perhaps? In an ideal world where money is no problem, I definitely would like more time for writing. Medicine – specifically surgery – really interests me albeit the culture and working conditions in The Philippines are really toxic and exhausting compared to our European counterparts. Pay is also really low considering the workload.
WA: ARE YOU WILLING TO SPEAK TO BOOK CLUBS AND READING GROUPS?
ALYZA: Yes. My consultants are very supportive of my poetry, so they give me time to file leaves from training for these kinds of things if need be.
WA: WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO SAY TO YOUR READERS?
ALYZA: Thank you for taking the time to read my poems. I hope they managed to stir something in you.
WA: WHICH WRITERS WORKING TODAY ARE YOU MOST EXCITED BY?
ALYZA: I love reading works by Natalie Diaz, Jericho Brown, Cameron Awkward-Rich, Ilya Kaminsky, Chen Chen, Robert Hass, Richard Siken, Noor Hindi, Solmaz Sharif, Ocean Vuong, and Victoria Chang. The late Dean Young was a favorite as well.
With writers from the Philippines, I am excited by works from Ralph Fonte, Vince Agcaoili, Ryan Ram Malli, Carlos Afable, Mark Dimaisip, Alfonso Manalastas, RR Cagalingan, King Llanza, Leandro Reyes, Mai Cantillano, Simone Sales, F. Jordan Carnice, Christine Lao, Paolo Tiausas, Carissa Pobre, Danabelle Gutierrez, Trish Shishikura, Enrique Villasis, Mikael Co, Juan Ekis, Dennis Destajo, Andy Lopez, Vida Cruz-Borja, Mark Cayanan, Vincenz Serrano, Floraime Pantaleta, Tilde Acuna, and Eliza Victoria, to name a few.
WA: HOW CAN WRITERS AFFECT HUMAN RIGHTS MOVEMENTS?
ALYZA: Writing poems and publishing them can contribute to making people aware of human rights issues and possibly moving them emotionally so that they would do something. To borrow from a conversation with my good friend CV Lao, writing is a process that changes the self and can potentially change one’s commitment to human rights.
WA: WHAT DO YOU CONSIDER TO BE THE BIGGEST THREAT TO FREE EXPRESSION TODAY? HAVE THERE BEEN TIMES WHEN YOUR RIGHT TO FREE EXPRESSION HAS BEEN CHALLENGED?
ALYZA: Living in a country reeling from the consequences of Duterte’s War on Drugs and now again under the leadership of a dictator’s son, I believe the biggest threat to self-expression is still the state. In the Philippines, the state has weaponized social media to purvey fake news.
WA: HOW DOES YOUR IDENTITY SHAPE YOUR WRITING? IS THERE SUCH A THING AS “THE WRITER’S IDENTITY”?
ALYZA: I believe everything a writer experiences will somehow shape their writing, knowingly or not. I’m not so certain to assert the idea of a “writer’s identity”. I see people for what they are: People – complex and with multitudes of desires, conflicts, goals, and interests. As much as possible, I avoid considering my works as “poems” when I’m drafting them. I look at them as texts, so I have something more tangible to wrestle with after. Likewise, I prefer to consider myself as someone who just likes writing. I don’t want to curate my personality around that since I am also a doctor and an artist, among other things.
WA: HOW ARE WRITERS USING THEIR CRAFTS TO ADVANCE THE COURSE OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN YOUR COUNTRY?
ALYZA: In the Philippines, recently the publication Santelmo had an issue with the theme of Justice, focusing more on the illegal detention of Senator Leila De Lima. Katitikan: Literary Journal of the Philippine South will also release an issue with works under the theme of Writes and Rights, aiming to explore the intersections of writing and social justice in the Philippines. Also to note is Gantala Press, a small feminist press that publishes work from women of marginalized sectors.
WA: HOW WILL YOU RATE THE PERFORMANCE OF IHRAF OVER THE YEARS?
ALYZA: I have only recently known about IHRAF but I think it’s doing a good job upholding its goals. I do wish there would be more visibility and impact in Southeast Asia.
Alyza Taguilaso is a resident doctor training in General Surgery from the Philippines. Her poems have been shortlisted for contests like the Manchester Poetry Prize and Bridport Poetry Prize, and have been published in several publications, including The Deadlands, Canthius, Fantasy Magazine, Strange Horizons, Orbis Journal, ANMLY, and Luna Journal PH, among others. In this interview with Wole Adedoyin, she talks about her passion for writing.
