Summit Books

by Tweet Sering

Publication Date: April 2004
Price: P150.00
Available at your favorite magazine stands

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AUTHOR INTERVIEW
by Maan Geronimo

Because the best thing about wandering off, I found out, is coming home...

Have you ever been lost literally and figuratively? Tweet Sering takes you to a breathtaking journey about finding the way back home. Let Hilda's colorful story weave its magic and discover how vibrant and beautiful life really is.

Hop on to Wander Girl and it will take you on the ride of your life!

Please give us a background of Wander Girl.

A successful young publisher of guide books looks back on her tumultuous 20s and recalls her arduous - yet colorful--journey from angst-ridden, insecure girl to fulfilled, self-possessed young woman.

Is Hilda based on your own character?

What's autobiographical about the story is the fact that the heroine survives her 20s and comes out of it wiser, as I have. But I wouldn't say Hilda is based on my character. Nor is she based on any one person I know. Rather, she's an amalgam of many different women and (men) that I know. There are some values and quirks of mine that I threw in there as well as some of my sisters', my girlfriends', my brother's, so that she's a separate person - a character who exists on her own, with her own unique complications.

How about Hannah and Helen? Are they based on the characters of your sisters as well?

As with Hilda, Helen and Hannah are scrambled-up versions of my sisters and me. So they're not merely alter egos or differently-named characters of us, but really Helen and Hannah Gallares.

What made you write Wander Girl?

I am thirty years old, and I never thought I'd be thirty years old. It struck me that, although I may not dress or act it (I do feel stuck at 12), I am now the wiser older person; the dark years of not knowing who I was and what I was supposed to do with my life are over. I am onto my next journey. But since I have younger sisters and cousins who are going through what I have gone through, I thought it'd be nice to make the way a little less traumatic for them. Para saan pa ako naging Ate if I can't do that, right? I now have things to say, and I can say them with conviction because I've been there.

Which character in the story do you identify yourself?

I identified with all of them, even the guys. There was a part of me in everyone; these were aspects of myself that I wanted to explore.

What made you think of mangoes as the perfect examples for Pinoy men?

It's just this fruit that we enjoy without thinking because it's so ubiquitous. They're grown here, and we take it for granted that everyone loves mangoes - it's a homegrown taste, we think. But I've always lived in the Philippines, and I'm not a mango person. In the same way that we think that just because we're Filipina, we all have this natural taste for Filipino men.

What would you change about Pinoy men?

I'm more interested in Pinays changing. I wish more of us would try to be wiser, more discriminating with our taste, and not put up with all the shit men give. Fussing over unworthy men really holds us back; there's so much more we can be besides somebody's girlfriend or wife. It's true that it takes two to tango - if you're being treated badly, it's because you allow yourself to be treated badly; if there are bullies, it's only because there are doormats. I understand being wiser and stronger is a difficult process, but I wish more Pinays would try. Not only will we attract men worthy of our fabulousness, but we will be much happier, much more fulfilled individuals.

What do you love most about Pinoy men?

I can only speak about the Pinoy men that I love - and I don't know if the thing that I love about them is a function of their being Pinoy. It could be, I guess. But I see men as individuals, regardless of their race or nationality. The Pinoy men I love value family and value women as sisters, friends, mothers, wives, girlfriends, and as real partners. They are in awe of the strength of a woman, and I just love that about them.

Are the men in Wander Girl based from your past?

Not really. As with the women, the men in the book are all amalgams of men I know--as friends, former boyfriends, colleagues, lovers of friends of mine, boyfriends of my sisters, the men in my own family. The good and bad attributes of these real people are evenly distributed among the made-up ones.

What can we learn from Wander Girl?

A lot of things, I hope. My sisters and brother took different things from it. I hope it is the same way for other readers - they take the lessons that apply to them at this point in their lives.

Is writing a passion for you?

Yes, writing is a passion for me. I mean, ask anyone who has to sit at a desk in front of a computer or typewriter or writing pad for hours and hours without human contact and they'll tell you it can't be anything but a passion. For me, anyone can write, or draw or paint or make music; it's the degree of obsession and love for the craft that differentiates the writers and other artists from everyone else born with the same capacity and promise.

What are you reading now? Who are your literary influences?

Presently, I'm reading books lent by friends--Nothing To Declare: Memoirs of A Woman Travelling Alone by Mary Morris and Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk. As for my literary influences, I love the American fictionists J.D. Salinger, Harper Lee, Anne Tyler, Edith Wharton, Sandra Cisneros. I think they're amazing. Their work is that wonderful mix of being funny (except for Edith Wharton, who is not funny at all), poignant, wise. And Pico Iyer! What I would give to be able to write like him. His prose is just luminous and so wise. Oh, and E.M. Forster! And I love all the travel writers! If one's work is truly the "trail of one's own evolution" then these writers are (were, in the case of Salinger, Lee, Wharton, Forster) highly evolved human beings.

How do you see yourself carving a niche in Philippine Literature?

I don't know about the "carving" part - that sounds rather heavy. Very Nick Joaquin J. I just want to produce the kind of reading material I didn't have while growing up. All I read then were the American teen romances, so I knew more about places like Long Beach and Venice Beach, California and than Boracay or La Union or Daet. The cool kids to me were blonde and cracked very American jokes. They were like none of the people I actually knew. The people I found cool and funny in real life weren't blonde at all and had Bisaya accents. I want our own experiences reflected in our books, our short stories, our theatre. And it doesn't always have to be oh-so serious - I guess that was the turn-off for me before; plus, most Filipino books had such ugly covers, ayaw mo'ng ilagay sa bookshelf.

As a people we're hilarious, we love to laugh. We have this knack for finding the humor in even the darkest situation. Unfortunately, very little of that finds its way into our literature. I want some of that nature reflected in what we read, and not just in what we see on TV (Michael V is doing a great job of that - to me, he's the funniest in local showbiz after Nova Villa). And I just want to put characters out there whose experiences my siblings, cousins and friends can relate to. If the rest of the country finds affinity in those characters, then the better.

What would you advice aspiring writers?

As with any art form, pay close attention to life. Be sensitive. Have something to say. Get out there and have a life - otherwise, what will you write about?

Don't be afraid to have your work critiqued. Have people whose opinion you value take a look at your work. At the same time, be brave and discerning enough to take only what you think you need, and stand by what you think is the truth in your work. Don't allow other people - no matter how great you think they are - to define what you want to say. You have your own story to tell, so tell it the way you would tell it.

No fear!

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