Mila D. Aguilar is a poet, essayist, teacher, video documentarist and webweaver.
As a poet, she has written almost 240 poems in English, Pilipino and Ilonggo. About 125 of these are in her collection of poems, Journey: An Autobiography in Verse (1964-1995), published by the University of the Philippines Press in 1996. This collection, almost out of print, contains poems from six books printed in Manila, San Francisco and New York between the years 1974 and 1987, as well as poems written in the next years up to 1995. Her new collection of poems, entitled Chronicle of a Life Foretold: 110 Poems (1996-2004), is still looking for a publisher.
Aguilar has written more than a hundred essays, a handful of which were done underground – first as an ordinary member, later as the head of the Regional United Front Commission of Mindanao, and last as head of the National United Front Commission of the Communist Party of the Philippines, from which she resigned in 1984. She has produced, written, and directed almost 50 videos on subjects ranging from community organizations to regional cultures and good manners for government employees. As a webweaver, a term she invented, she has designed her own web pages as well as the website of a non-governmental organization. At present she is teaching at the Department of English and Comparative Literature of the University of the Philippines.
Author, six books of poetry:
· Dare to Struggle, Dare to Win! (Manila 1974) using nom de guerre Clarita Roja
· The Mass Line (A Second Remoulding) (Manila 1977) using nom de guerre Clarita Roja
· Why Cage Pigeons? (Manila 1984)
· Pall Hanging over Manila (San Francisco 1984)
· A Comrade is as Precious as a Rice Seedling (New York 1984, 1985 and 1987)
· Journey: An Autobiography in Verse (1964-1995) (U of the Philippines Press 1996)
Unpublished work:
Chronicle of a Life Foretold: 110 Poems (1995-2004)
Poems published in, among others:
Kamao: Panitikan ng Protesta, 1970-1986. Reuel Aguila, et al, eds. Manila: Cultural Center of the Philippines, 1987. (“Kuyakoy,” “Pigeons for my Son”)
The Guerrilla is Like a Poet: An Anthology of Filipino Poetry. Robert Majzels, ed. Ontario, Canada: Cormorant Books, 1988. (Under nom de guerre Clarita Roja: “Little Comrade Asks,” “Faith”; under real name: “As the Dust,” Reply to a Short Note of Apparent Concern,” “Pigeons for my Son,” “Lights,” “Aridity,” “Serve the People,” “Strings Snap.” 23 other poets included.)
Moorings: Readings for Communication I. Ma. Lilia Realubit, et al, eds. Quezon City: U of the Philippines Dept of English and Comparative Literature, 1993. (“Pigeons for my Son”)
Returning a Borrowed Tongue: An Anthology of Filipino and Filipino American Poetry. Nick Carbo, ed. Minneapolis: Coffee House Press, 1995. (“Pall Hanging Over Manila,” “Poem from Sierra Madre”)
Voices of Conscience: Poetry from Oppression. Hume Cronyn, Richard McKane and Stephen Watts, eds. Northumberland, England: Iron Press, 1995. (“To a Foreigner,” “Pigeons for my Son”)
A Habit of Shores: Filipino Poetry and Verse from English, 60’s to the 90’s. Gemino H. Abad, ed. Quezon City: U of the Philippines Press, 1999 (“Song of the Revolution”)
Babaylan: An Anthology of Filipina and Filipina American Writers. Nick Carbo and Eileen Tabios, eds. San Francisco: Aunt Lute Books, 2000. (“Millennium Bug,” “Do You Not See the Devil”)
In the Name of the Mother. Lilia Quindoza-Santiago. Quezon City: U of the Philippines Press, 2002. (“Kuyakoy,” “A Triangle of Heads,” “Pigeons for my Son,” “A Comrade is as Precious as a Rice Seedling”)
Turning Rage into Courage: Mindanao Under Martial Law. Davao City: Mindanews Publication, 2002. (“The Movement is Everywhere,” “Mula sa isang Inang Hindi Makauwi,” “A Comrade is as Precious as a Rice Seedling”)
Wall Tappings: An International Anthology of Women’s Prison Writings, 200 to the Present. 2nd ed. Judith A. Scheffler, ed. New York: The Feminist Press at the City University of New York, 2002. (“Haikus in Solitary Confinement,” “Prison,” “As the Dust,” “Lizard in Bicutan,” “Pigeons for my Son,” “Freed Pigeon I Shall Be,” pp 22-27, with introduction to the poet.)
Our Own Voice: Filipinos in the Diaspora Literary/Arts Journal. Virginia, USA and Manila, Philippines: First Fruits, Philippine Women’s Univ Center for Arts, Culture and Music, & HZB Development Center, 2003. (“Dungan is Soul”)
Pakikiramay: Alay ng Mga Makata sa Mga Mangingisda ng Hacienda Luisita. Ed. by Joi Barrios. Quezon City: Publikasyon Iglap Series, 2004. (“Celebrasyon ng Masaker sa Hacienda Luisita,” “Para Kay Cory, Tanda ng Masaker sa Hacienda Luisita”)
Affirming the Filipino: An Anthology of Philippine Literature. Ed. by Ma. Teresa Martinez-Sicat and Naida U. Rivera. Quezon City: Department of English and Comparative Literature, 2004. (“The Jigsaw Puzzle”)
Poems published in the following periodicals, among others:
Feminist Studies. “Literature in English by Filipino Women” by Edna Zapanta Manlapaz. Volume 26, No. 1, Spring 2000. (“Pigeons for my Son”)
Philippine Humanities Review. Vol 5 2001. (“Lamig ng Enero 2001, “Not Yet,” “Dungan is Soul”)
Philippine Free Press. December 8, 2001 . (“Night Discourse”)
Liwayway. Marso 11, 2002. (Bilang Makata ng Linggo: “Babaylan, Tumanda Ka Na,” “Kumunoy,” “Ang Paggawa ng Tula ”)
Philippine Free Press. July 27, 2002 . (“Nothing Beautiful Here”)
SunStar Weekend. Vol. 13 No. 412, 12 January 2003. (“The Lord is Moving”)
Patmos. Vol 17 No 2, March 2003. (“Another Milliliter of Dung,” “The Beast,” “To Know Us”)
Philippine Humanities Review. Vol 6 2003. (“My People,” “To Know Us,” “No Sequoias Here”)
SunStar Weekend. Vol. 13 No. 438, 13 July 2003. (“Brown”)
Essays published in, among others:
Graphic Magazine, 1969-71
Manila Standard, 1995-98
Chimera, Vol 1, No 2, 1996. (“The Passion and Penitence of a Woman Unchained”)
Who’s Afraid of Ching Dadufalza? Gemino Abad, ed. Philippines: Easyprint House, Inc., 2002. (“Miss Dadufalza is to Blame (for my Marxism and Christianity)”)
The Journal of History, Volume XLVII, Nos. 1 & 2, January-December 2002. (“The Community School and Its Relevance to the Present Times”)
PinoyPoetics: A Collection of Autobiographical and Critical Essays on Filipino and Filipino American Poetics. Nick Carbo, ed. St. Helena and San Francisco: Meritage Press, 2004. (“The Poetics of Clarita Roja”)
BusinessDay Magazine, 9 Aug 2004. (“A Child’s Noah”)
BusinessDay Magazine, 16 Aug 2004. (“Mother Instinct: How Tatarin Can Change the Way You Look at Filipinas”)
BusinessDay Magazine, 6 Sept 2004. (“House on a Mountain: Foundations Built on Peers”)
Studied as author in, among others:
Feminist Studies, “Literature in English by Filipino Women” by Edna Zapanta Manlapaz. Volume 26, No. 1, Spring 2000, pp. 187-229.
Emergent Literature: Essays on Philippine Writing, chapters entitled “On Prison Literature” (sole author studied) and “Writing Behind Bars” (listed). Elmer A. Ordonez. Quezon City: U of the Philippines Press, 2001.
In the Name of the Mother. Lilia Quindoza-Santiago. Quezon City: U of the Philippines Press, 2002.
Wall Tappings: An International Anthology of Women’s Prison Writings, 200 to the Present. 2nd ed. Judith A. Scheffler, ed. New York: The Feminist Press at the City University of New York, 2002.
Author, essays entitled:
· “Strengthen the Party Committee System”, 1975
· “Building the Regional United Front Commission”, 1978
· “Grasp the Principle of Revolutionary Mass Movements”, 1978
· “The Ideology of Plunder and Our Tasks,” 2000
· “How to Fight Erap’s Crass Warfare,” 2000
Author, short stories entitled:
· “Trouble in Utopia,” published in Philippine Collegian Literary Folio, 1968
· “Social Worker in Cotabato” written under the nom de guerre Maya Dante Amihan, published in Who, circa 1980
· “A Tale of Two Witches” (1985), published in Sarilaya: Women in Arts and Media, Manila: Institute of Women’s Studies, St. Scholastica’s College, 1989
· “Mothers and Sons” (2005)
Head translator, English to Pilipino:
· Bertolt Brecht’s “Man with Bags” (“Taong May Bagahe”), 1988, performed by St. Joseph’s College Repertory Company on the same year
Director, writer, editor and/or producer:
· 48 video documentaries under the aegis of the INSTITUTE FOR FILIPINO CINEMA,1989-1995
Writer and artist:
· TOWARDS A FRAMEWORK FOR THE LAGUNA DE BAY MASTER PLAN, commissioned by the quasi-governmental Laguna Lake Development Authority, 1994
Artist:
· folder/brochure of Gaia South, Inc., Environmental Consultants, 1995
· layout and cover design, A Legacy of Light: 90 Years of Imelda Katigbak Dayrit, 2000
Copy Writer:
· annual reports of JAKA Corporation, Public Estates Authority, Union Bank (2 consecutive years – 1996 &1997) etc., 1995-97
· brochures of such companies as Petron, Global3, PSBank, Philamlife, etc.
Co-Writer:
· Philippines 2000: A Vision for the Nation, 1995 & 1996
· A Legacy of Light: 90 Years of Imelda Katigbak Dayrit, with Carmen Dayrit Padilla, 2000
Webmaster:
· Pinoy Tok on the Web, 1996-
· The CAPWIP Web, 1997-99
Introduction to My Heart and My Soul by Cora Oracion-Castro, 1999
Editor:
The Millennium President by Adrian E. Cristobal, Makati: Studio 5 Publishing, 1999
Contributor:
Paragons: 23 CEOs on Corporate Ethics by Alfred A. Yuson, Makati: Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines, 2001
The St. Luke’s Medical Center Legacy: 100 Years of Quality Patient Care, 2003
Websites: (language of website—English): http://www.pinoytok.net, http://www.geocities.com/miladaguilar, http://studentsofenglish.blogspot.com
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Country: Philippines