LYRIC 17: FIRST A POEM SHOULD BE MAGICAL

Jose Garcia Villa

Jose Garcia Villa (August 5, 1908 – February 7, 1997)

 Doveglion (Dove, Eagle, Lion) as pen name – characters he
attributed to himself
 Parents:
o Simeón Villa (a personal physician of Emilio Aguinaldo, the
founding President of the First Philippine Republic)
o Guia Garcia (a wealthy landowner)
 Studies:
o Graduated from the University of the Philippines Integrated School
o University of the Philippines High School in 1925.
o Enrolled on a Pre-Medical course in the University of the
Philippines
o However, he realized that his true passion was in the arts
o Enrolled at the University of New Mexico
 one of the founders of Clay, literary magazine
o Bachelor of Arts degree, and pursued post-graduate work
at Columbia University
 Caught the attention of the country's literary circles, one of the few
Asians to do so at that time.
 Same ones explored by e.e. cummings in the poem he wrote for
Villa
 First poetry collection: Have Come, Am Here in 1942
o New rhyming scheme: "reversed consonance"
 The last principal consonant of a word, are reversed for the
corresponding rhyme. Thus, a rhyme for near would be run; or rain,
green, reign."
 Poetic style he called "comma poems", wherein commas are placed
after every word (1949)
o "The commas are an integral and essential part of the medium:
regulating the poem's verbal density and time movement: enabling
each word to attain a fuller tonal value, and the line movement to
become more measured."

Recognition and Works:

 Director of poetry workshop at City College of New York from 1952
to 1960
 Taught at the New School for Social Research from 1964 to 1973
and conducting poetry workshops in his apartment
 Cultural attaché to the Philippine Mission to the United Nations
from 1952 to 1963, and an adviser on cultural affairs to the President of
the Philippines beginning 1968
 Granted a Guggenheim Fellowship in Creative Writing
 Fellowship from Bollingen Foundation
 Academy Award for Literature from The American Academy of Arts
and Letters in 1943
 First prize in the Poetry Category of UP Golden Jubilee Literary
Contests in 1958
 Pro Patria Award for literature in 1961
 Honorary Doctorate degree for literature by FEU and University of
the Philippines
 First Filipino National Artist for Literature on June 12, 1973
 He is an award-winning poet not just here in Philippines but also in
the United States

PERSONA + DRAMATIC SITUATION

- A writer giving instructions on how a poem must be written

TONE
- Light and instructive
- Very eager to teach the reader

POETIC FORM
- 14 lines – sonnet
- Rhyming scheme – AABBCCDDEEFFGG

First 2 lines
 It should leave the reader in awe, and wondering how the writer
pulled it off
 Because it is a beautiful creation
 The words use in the poem should have musicality
 It not just words read they should have a rhythm and cadence
 Something never heard of before

3rd and 4th

 Brightness is to have optimism in its subject matter
 The poem should be pleasant and captivating to the reader
 They must be drawn to the poem
 Intriguing and illuminating at the same time
 Something must be born out of this work of literature
 At the end, it inspires and gives a new perspective to the reader
 But they have to be able to think of the meaning being shown by
the poem

5th and 6th

 Like how bells look like, poems come in different lenghts
 Fire means passion
 The poem should capture the interest of the reader and in the end
trigger the reader’s passion
 Fire is realeted to the brightness

7th and 8th

 Tradition of bowing
 culture
 Archery
 Skill for survival
 Bow of a ribbon or tie
 Beauty or aesthetics
 Poems may talk and help in enriching the culture, man’s daily life,
and be a piece of art
 Even if it is beautiful it should remain humble

9th and 10th

 Enjambment
o First meaning: it must be sensitive to the reader and must guide
them not just by using images
 Synesthesia
o Other meaning light is heard by the poem
 A poem illuminates the reader gives an understanding of life and
man
 Peace/purity
 Gentleness

11th and 12th

 The meaning of the poem should not be in plain sight
 But at the same time it should not hinder the reader from seeing
the meaning, too
 Just like how a woman stays silent but the truth is she wants
something to happen or to achieve

13th and 14th

 The persona suddenly appears at the end
 The “I” here is compared to God
 The writer is a creator like God
 He has full control of what to do with his/her own poem
 In connection with the first line magical
 Only God can truly create something out of nothing
 A poet can use words and turn them into a poem out of nowhere

 The word must was repeated eight times

 The persona seems to insist that this is how a very good poem is
deemed to be

 The attention shifted from the creation of the poem to the creator
 Emphasizing that no matter the rules in writing, the poet still has
the choice

SIMILIARITIES BETWEEN TWO POEMS

First A Poem Must Be Magical What Poetry
Does Not Say
It must be able to hide For poetry
never says;
What it seeks, like a bride. It unsays. To
say

 The two poets are in unison

 That even if poems are trying to say something to the reader, the
writer can’t simply give everything away.
 There must be an effort in the part of the reader.