Why I Started This Blog: The Danger of A Single Story

Shweta Ganesh Kumar shared with me this TED Talk from novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie about how "a single story" about another person or country can cause critical misunderstanding, and I felt that the talk really reflected why I started this blog. Please watch it below, if you haven't already:



I sometimes teach creative writing to children and teens and have been very shocked to see that the first impulse of my students - all Filipinos or Chinese Filipinos ages 11-15 - is to write stories featuring characters with blond hair and blue eyes. It seems that, like the seven-year-old Adichie, my students have "a single story" about what literature is and do not think that people like them can exist in literature. (Needless to say, I am now trying to expose my students to more Filipino literature and literature from other Asian countries.)

I blog because our students, nieces and nephews, children, grandchildren, and godchildren NEED AND DESERVE more than "a single story" about Asia and more than "a single story" about each Asian country. And I am really grateful that you are here reading this blog, because that means you reject "the single story" about Asia and "the single story" about each Asian country.

The first Filipino ReaderCon was a success!

THANK YOU to all the sponsors of the first Filipino Reader Conference:


Vibal Publishing House, Inc.


Primetrade Asia, Inc.


Flipside Digital Content Company, Inc.


Scholastic Philippines


OMF Literature


Hachette Philippines


Tie Me Up, Buttercup


National Book Development Board

The ReaderCon included a keynote speech on "prosumers" (producers who are also consumers/consumers who are also producers), panels on book clubs and book blogging, and book raffles. It felt like a party with fun people eating yummy food, sharing their love and passion for books and social media, and celebrating and promoting the reading COMMUNITY. I'd like to thank the sponsors again, and I'd most especially like to thank the head organizer and my good friend Honey de Peralta. ~^o^~

I look forward to next year's ReaderCon. Par-tay, par-tay!