An Argument as Hot as Summer Solstice

Any intelligent reader who has encountered Nick Joaquin's short story, Summer Solstice, would agree that this work of fiction does not belong to the period when it was written. It scandalized the conservative Filipino readers of the early 20th century, the way Thomas Hardy's Tess of D'Urberville and Jude the Obscure rocked Queen Victoria's boat. But, look, Summer Solstice is, to this day, part of almost all basic texts in Philippine Literature used in the secondary and tertiary levels.

Why should poems about women, sexuality, and gender discrimination be any different from Joaquin's Summer Solstice? When will our society, particularly educational institutions that claim to be Christians, be mature enough for works of literature that advocate gender equality and educate the readers on female sexuality with the use of vivid, provocative diction?

My esteemed colleagues are asking: "Do you think the school community is ready for this kind of poetry?"

My answer: "Are you mature enough to deal with 'this kind of poetry'?"

My dears, this is not a question of whether we are ready or not to accept what you call "erotic" poetry, because whether you people are ready or not, contemporary writers who dare to exploit the power the language will continue to write feminist and even sexually-oriented poetry! This is a question, then, of whether we have matured as readers or if we are still categorized as infantile readers not equipped with higher-order thinking skills.

A critical reader would know after "really" reading a poem if it makes a serious commentary or if it's plainly "erotic," meaning written for pure self-expression. Problem is, not all readers are "actually" reading. More often than not, some of us read on the surface and stop at the word level. It's about time we learn how to really read, un-learn those biases against the author, and re-learn how to read critically. Read E.E. Cummings' "she being brand" and William Shakespeare's "Winter" and "Spring" and see for yourself how two different poets dare to play with words in an erotic poetry and not "scandalize" an illiterate reader. I believe you are literate, otherwise, you wouldn't go on reading this blog entry.

Alvin Toffler, author of Future Shock, aptly brands these people as illiterates of the 21st century. Toffler claims that the illiterates of the 21st century are not those who couldn't read and write, but those who "can't learn, un-learn, and re-learn."

There. No wonder, we have illiterates with Ph.D., M.A., etc.