Consulate’s night of poetry honors Jose Garcia Villa

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He was called the ‘Pope of Greenwich Village.’ Photo: Colorado State University

And so it was that Consul General Claro Cristobal recited one of the most beautiful lines of poetry by Philippine National Artist for Literature, Jose Garcia Villa, during a night of poetry held on October 24 in celebration of Filipino American History Month.

“And it is thanks to literary geniuses, such as Jose Garcia Villa – who has revolutionized poetry through his ‘comma poems’ and ‘reverse consonance’ rhyme scheme – that we continue to be invigorated in both mind and soul,” stated Cristobal during his welcome remarks.

During the night of poetry, Luis Francia, professor at Hunter College and New York University, who learned poetry in workshops with Villa at Greenwich Village, gave a brief lecture about the “Pope of Greenwich Village.” He narrated how Villa disliked the use of the word “soul” at all costs. Francia also remembers Villa discouraging the reading of fiction, as it confuses the poet, and rather urged his students to be single-minded and faithful to their own views.

Francia further learned from Villa that in poetry, meaning was in a sense an enemy, and that it is not the purpose of poetry, stressing that in poetry, language shapes the meaning. He also stated that lyric poetry was what Villa favored, as his poems were written not with ideas but with words. Another important principle that he mentioned was Villa’s pleasure principle, citing that a good poem entices the reader to be receptive to the inner poem.

From left, Consul General Claro Cristobal, Stefano Ortiz, and Jack Lynch read excerpts from Villa’s poems. Photos by NYPCG

Elda Rotor, vice president and publisher at Penguin Classics introduced Jose Garcia Villa’s book, “Doveglion: Collected Poems,” which was published by Penguin Random House in 2008 for the Centennial of Jose Garcia Villa’s birth. She recalled how a postcard, showing a photograph of a group of literary artists in the 1940s, which included Jose Garcia Villa, has fascinated her entire career.

Rotor shared that until 2017 only 8 percent of the children’s books reviewed were authored by Asian-American authors, and added that the children and young adult books are more progressive than the adult book industry, making it very rare to have Asian American literary authors, much less poets, published. She stressed that it is remarkable that there was a Filipino poet who thrived in various literary circles more than 75 years ago, as represented by Jose Garcia Villa, who was also considered twice for the Pulitzer Prize. She applauded Filipino and Asian American scholars and writers who have worked to keep Jose Garcia Villa’s works relevant. She urged the support of Filipino writers to preserve the rich artistic literary history of the Philippines.

Stefano Ortiz, a new graduate of The New School where Jose Garcia Villa taught from 1964 to 1973, and Jack Lynch, Professor Emeritus of the City University of New York and a student of Jose Garcia Villa, read excerpts from “Doveglion: Collected Poems.”

Lance Villa, son of Jose Garcia Villa, was invited to the event. Instead, he sent his three cousins to represent the family: Mila Villanueva, Mary Villanueva, and Maria Cohen.

The night ended with the audience being serenaded with Kudiman songs by soprano Joy Abalon Tamayo accompanied by guitarist Chaitanya Sangco Tamayo. Both are graduates of the UP College of Music. – Philippine Consulate General