Reflections in light and shadow

Contained in this 220-page book Reflections in Light and Shadow: An Anthology of Short Memoirs are 57 essays and 14 poems penned by 18 participants of Memoir Writing Class, Batch 1 & 2 conducted through Zoom for about 6 months under Professor Oscar Penaranda, a US-based writer & lecturer.

Penaranda obtained his Bachelor of Arts in Literature & Masters in Creative Writing from the San Francisco State University.  From Harvard to Stanford, he lectured across the USA on literature, writing, history & culture. In the Philippines,  he is a visiting lecturer of the Siliman University and in programs of the National Commission for Culture & the Arts.  

When he came to Manila to receive an award Gawad Pambansang Alagad ni Balagtas given by the Unyon ng mga Manunulat sa Pilipinas (UMPIL), he was invited to conduct classes in Memoir Writing by Sunshine Place.  His classes have always been popular, attended by seniors & non-seniors. During the pandemic, he was invited to teach Memoir Writing via Zoom. Surprisingly, enrollees were not only from Manila but from the provinces (Iloilo, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna and Baguio). The group was split into two as Penaranda only wanted 10 per class as 2-3 hours were allotted for lectures, recitation & group discussion.

Proof of the success of the class is their published works categorized into: 1. Dream with your Heart (pieces of their childhood) 2. Full of Life (pieces of their Youth) 3. Light through the Darkness 9 (pieces of how they coped with life difficulties) and 4. The Other Side of the Mirror (with the story teller as the alter ego, a creative non-fiction with telling a story beyond the facts.

Most of the authors are neophyte writers and in their retirement age. They have discovered that they can develop new skills with retirement as the best time to pursue these interests. “A memoir is a window to the writer’s world. The aim of the memoir writing workshop is to hone the skills of the students so that they will be confident enough in the greatest story ever told, their story,” said Peñaranda.

Sadly. however, before the book went into print, two of their class members, Winnie Samson and Suzie Benitez passed on to eternal life. Worth mentioning is that Benitez’ piece Giving back before the Final Curtain was written when she was confined in the hospital, perhaps with a foreboding that she would depart from this life.  

Sunshine Place President Lizanne Uychaco delivered the keynote message at the launch held in Sunshine Place Roofdeck and led the book unveiling, after which a video message from Professor Peñaranda who is in San Francisco, California was presented.  

Included in the program was the reading of excerpts from their essays. Among those who shared excerpts were J’net Zulueta, What’s in My Name; Flora Timoteo Sebastian, My Childhood Place; Linda Atayde, Fifteen & Unafraid;  God Lives in Africa by Ma Susanna Yap; Mario Torrento, Jr. , Someday I Will come to love  My Nam;,  all from Dream with your Heart.

For Full of Life: Dada Trillo , A Woman of Substance; Catherine Mijares Chua, What I Know to be True; Dolores Matias, Balangiga.

For Light Through the Darkness:  Mariquit Reventar  from My Home Quarantine,  a poem My Tears still Flow by Winnie Samson which was read by her grandaughter.

For the Other Side of the Mirror, Neny Regino summarized and read some excerpts from her romantic essay: Friendship from the Heart.

Felice Prudente Sta. Maria in her epilogue writes …”the authors show that memoir writing is both recreation and worthwhile revelation. Their stories trigger a reader’s own cause to smile and even wipe away a tear……