I, Tarie Sabido, do solemnly swear to serve the Philippine Board on Books for Young People by upholding its constitution and by-laws; by fulfilling my role as Chair; and, by dedicating my time and talent to help fulfill the PBBY's vision to make every child a reader, every reader a lover of books. So help me God.
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 ...
Congratulations, Tarie! Wow, you're the new PBBY chair! Cheers and here's wishing you success in your endeavors!
ReplyDelete//Nancy
Thank you, Nancy! See you on Saturday! :o)
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