Teaching young writers about Rizal
What a treat it was for 18 young writers ages 8-18 to spend an afternoon with popular public historian and author Ambeth Ocampo. This is a standard feature of Writefest, an annual six-session summer workshop of Where the Write Things Are, where the students are exposed to and encouraged to experiment with a variety of genres and, more importantly, get to know Filipino authors. The students usually come well read, but are more familiar with Western authors.
The classes are handled by Write Things alumni, writers Mica Magsanoc and Sofi Imperial. Writefest is now on its 11th year.
Relentless curiosity
Ocampo is a university professor and a wonderful raconteur, so it was painless for him to engage his young audience and imbue them with his passion for history, writing, reading — and relentless curiosity.
He was open about his poor academic record as a student, saved by teachers who saw in him such potential despite his aversion to and ignorance of grammar, enhanced by his early family travels, much reading, and the curiosity to discover.
He never had grades to be proud of, but he proudly says today that he has at least 35 books to his name. Can his bemedaled classmates make a similar claim?
He meant to allow his students to know Jose Rizal sans his overcoat and as a person beyond all those statues and monuments. For far too long we have only viewed him as a national hero. And how well that discovery of Rizal, stripped of the usual trappings, was made.
Rich details
There was the reminder that the novels “Noli” and “Fili” are to be read as literature, not as the torturous required reading in classrooms that frequently happens. There is much to appreciate in its rich details and in the humorous and satirical portrayals of character.
It was Ocampo’s sense of adventure and curiosity that brought him up close to Rizal, high up the Rizal Monument in Luneta. He lamented that Rizal was facing the sunset on Manila Bay, rather than the sunrise, not an ideal position. He also pointed out to everyone’s amusement that everything Rizal instructed regarding his final resting place was ignored—that he be buried in the ground; that he be given a tombstone and a cross; that the inscription on his grave be only his dates of birth and death; that a fence be around his grave. That last item is the only one that has been followed.
It is also Rizal’s tragedy that for all the volumes of writing he has left behind, he is not read in his own country. Ocampo talked about two unfinished novels of Rizal’s, one of them reminiscent of George Orwell’s “Animal Farm,” long before that novel was written.
Letters of Rizal
The letters of Rizal to his mother talked about his not taking a bath for months because it cost money and he was dreaming of home and swimming in the river without having to pay anything at all.
Rizal may also be considered the father of Philippine komiks, as preserved and framed at the Gallery of the National Library is Rizal’s comic strip of a farting man. Does having created art like that make him less heroic?
Another challenging climb Ocampo made was to the Monumento sculpture of National Artist Guillermo Tolentino, something none of us are able to view because it is in a congested area north of Manila where pedestrian traffic may be dangerous. His curiosity brought him up there—despite his fear of heights—where he discovered, on the side, a sculpture of a grieving woman with one tear falling from one eye. It was a masterful detail of the sculpture that is not easy to forget.
There is always something new to discover about Rizal—that is why Ocampo’s lifetime work does not end. That is why he continues to ask questions.
And because history is remembering and history begins with such memories, he encouraged the class to write short starter pieces on one or all of the following topics:
When I was a child, my favorite food was…
When I was a child, my most hated food was…
When I was a child, my lola told me…
In the limited time given, the young writers came up with nostalgic, touching pieces. The prompts brought back the past so vividly. Their shared pieces led Ocampo to tell them about how a madeleine led to Marcel Proust’s seven volume “Remembrance of Things Past” or “In Search of Lost Time.”
And how the questions came, till the class was over. Who is your favorite character in the “Noli”? Is it true Rizal had many girlfriends? How come he never married?
And the question that Ocampo said he could use as a final exam question: If Rizal were alive today, would he have been happy hailed as a national hero?
The most touching note for Ocampo, the quintessential teacher, was a student’s message: “In the future, I’d like to be your student! I love writing and history, too.”
Nothing to match such a psychic reward for a teacher.
Writefest has a second run on June 23, 25, 27, 30, July 2, 4 at Fully Booked, BGC. Visit bit.ly/summerwritefest2025.
