MY REACTION TO THE POEM LAUGHTER WRITTEN BY MANINGNING MICLAT

I think that the poem is a good one. I think that it is all about how the main character hide her pain or how she keep living, surviving without losing control of herself and her emotions. I think it's how she use laughter or happiness to survive and surpass the pain. I think that she and the other person in the poem have an argument about it. Maybe that person doesn't want her to keep the pain inside her or to keep the pain all by herself. I think the other person is her love one who is just caring so much for her that he does not want to see her in pain. I think that person is the only reason why the girl can still survive the pain and sadness but for me, keeping the pain and sadness within oneself is not being courageous or strong because sometimes sharing it to other people can ease the pain and maybe they can help you with the problem. Keeping the pain inside within oneself is also very dangerous because pain can cause death, maybe emotional, psychological and worse is physical or natural death.

I think the poem is really a very good one especially the title "laughter", when you only read the title you would think of it as a happy poem but not all the title speaks as loud as we feel when we read the whole poem. For me good poems are like great movies. Great movies for me are those with the good title and a great twist of events and actions, great movies that make me very excited and makes me think what will happen next, great movies that shows the unexpected and unbelievable but great things.

For me, the poem LAUGHTER is like a hard puzzle to solve because like I said earlier when you only read the title you would think of it as a happy poem but when you read it as a whole it is very different. For me, good poems are those with great mysteries and untold stories and I think that her poem is a very real and truthful story and she is very transparent to share us her poem.

Reaction to Estrella Alfon's Servant Girl

Rosa in Estrella Alfon's Servant Girl is a typical servant or slave who is maltreated by her mistress. Rosa can be compared to the Overseas Filipino Workers who were also maltreated by their boss. I think that the story happens between the Spanish period. I adore the character of Rosa for having a lot of patient and perseverance despite of her having been maltreated by her mistress and being isolated from other people due to her mistress' orders. I also pity her for not having a good life and a good mistress.

I think that the story is partly about Rosa's love story and her life being a servant girl but as the title says it focuses more on Rosa's life of being a servant. I compare the servant girl to the tale of Cinderella. I compare it to the tale of Cinderella because Rosa and Cinderella were both servant and maltreated by their mistress, step sisters or step mother and they also have similar love stories except that Rosa's love story ended not as she had expected. Still I think that it is a very good story.

ATOM (What is Literature?)

Every atom is composed of protons, electrons, neutrons and a nucleus. While Literature is built through the connection between the author and the reader. The connection between the reader and the writter is very significant in building a good Literature, which is also similar in building an atom.

Why is Literature important?

Literature is important because it has been a part of the development of man's way of thinking and living. It also tells the experiences and learning which can help and influence every people. It tells the history of one's country and the development of it. With out literature, great writers like Jose Rizal and Shake Spear would not be recognized by the people. Literature also used in communication between the writer and the people. Until now it is very significant and has a very great goal in our own individual journey in life.

Epifanio Alfafara (Great Filipino Authors)

Epifanio Alfafara (1882-1933) was an orator, fictionist, and writer of political and philosophical articles. A native of Carcar, he became presidente municipal of that town. He studied at the Colegio de San Carlos where he learned law and Spanish. Alfafara was the translator of the phenomenally popular Ang Dose Pares sa Pransiya (1930). He also published in Bag-ong Kusog.

Liwayway A. Arceo (Great Filipino Authors)

Filipino writers paid tribute to multi-awarded Tagalog fictionist, journalist, radio scriptwriter and editor Liwayway A. Arceo in a necrological service held last Dec. 6, 7:30p.m. at the Loyola Memorial Chapel in Guadalupe, Makati City. Arceo, 75, passed away last Friday, Dec. 3, after a brief confinement due to an illness at the Medical Center Manila. She is survived by her four children - Florante, Celia, Ibarra, and Jayrizal. Her husband, poet Manuel Principe Bautista, died in 1996. Arceo's most recent award was given this year by the National Centennial Commission on Women Sector for her prioneering and exemplary contributions in the field of literature. Other major awards include the Gawad CCP for Literature given by the Cultutal Center of the Philippines in 1993, the Doctorate on Humane Letters, honoris causa, conferred by the University of the Philippines in 1991, the Catholic Publishers in 1990, the Catholic Author Award by the Asian Catholic Publishers in 1990, and the Gawad Balagtas Life Achievement Award for Fiction, by the Unyon ng mga Manunulat sa Pilipinas in 1998. Arceo is the author of highly praised novels such as Canal de la Reina and Titser and collections of short stories such as Ina, Maybahay, Anak at iba pa, Mga Maria, Mga Eva and Ang Mag-anak na Cruz.