The What
Pamalandungon. Which is to say, ponder. And in the past two years, I’ve more than pondered.
This newsletter meant to begin in 2020, but I read somewhere that Substack financially supports (supported?) the occupying state of Israel. As someone who backs the existence and liberation of Palestine, I couldn’t in good conscience continue using Substack.
I can no longer find the article with the details of how Substack’s support, but after discovering this, I sought alternatives. I pored over the options offered by Google, Patreon, Medium, Upscribe, Mailchimp, etc., but they were either too dissimilar or had a monthly or yearly cost. Unfortunately, I’m not in a place where I can afford to pay for a newsletter subscription. While I intend to migrate away from this platform once I have more of a financial foundation, I intend to use Substack, wary and informed, in the same way I use Amazon (only when I have to and definitely not to purchase books.)
The Why
Pamalandungon is a Bisayan word; Bisaya being one of the 170+ languages of the Southeast Asian archipelago country of the Philippines. This language is my paternal birthright, wherein my Lola hails from Ilihan and Mandaue and my late Lolo from San Fernando. We are proudly Cebuano!
Pictured are the Masucol Labras. At the top from left to right is: my dad, my auntie, and my uncle. Below from left to right is my Lola Josie and Lolo Meong.
Pamalandungon is one of the words I came across in my learning (which is ongoing), and I knew instantly that it would be the name of this newsletter.
Again, pamalandungon is to ponder. And there is so much to ponder! One of the beauties of a newsletter is a glimpse into the writer’s mind. It’s as though we are across each other at a table in a café having a pleasant conversation. It’s this energy that I love in a newsletter.
Because of the freedom newsletters provide with its casual language (especially outside the rules and style guides often found in freelance and article writing), I find this the perfect place to ponder:
personhood and poetry
being an eldest daughter
being brown/Southeast Asian and queer
exploring what it means to be a demiromantic bisexual
being a non-binary fem person
activism and intergenerational trauma
the Filipinx/a/o community and Diaspora
musings on roots, home, and place
family histories and community interconnectedness
reviews too emotional for Medium
previously published articles from defunct magazines and journals,
and more.
As much as I want this to be a safe place for you, this is a safe space for me.
The Who
To close us out, I want to share who I am.
First of all, I am a:
Cebuana Tagalog Filipinx living in San José, California
review, freelance, (and now) newsletter writer
published poet with four collections: Natalie, No Saints, Mohilak, and Kanunay
My intersecting identities are:
queer/demiromantic bisexual
genderflux/pangender/genderfluid/genderfae non-binary fem person
fluctuating woman, hence genderflux/genderfluid
My official positions are:
Co-Founder of BIPOC/LGBTQIA+ focused publishing press, Sampaguita Press
Founder and Co-Editor-in-Chief of literary magazine, MarÃas at Sampaguitas
Assistant Director of the Santa Clara County Youth Poet Laureate Program
Barangay Tanod Intern with the Bayanihan Center in San Francisco
Review Writer with City Book Review
My experience has left me to be a:
Summer 2021 Fellow of the Kearny Street Interdisciplinary Writer’s Lab
Honorary Santa Clara County Poet Laureate for the month of Oct. ‘21
Eighth grade me in a Lakers jersey posing in my Milpitas house.
I wear many hats! And the truth is, we all do. We’re a beautiful myriad of complex feelings and experiences. We are not our jobs or are responsibilities! While I do have my work and professional experience listed here, I hope this glimpse helps give shape to my interests and thought processes.
In all earnestness, I appreciate you being here. I’m grateful you care to take the time to read this newsletter. Most importantly, I hope you stay in conversation with me.
Salamat ug amping kanunay,
Keana
Thank you for reading Contemplations with Keana! Contemplations is a newsletter including my reflections on personhood and poetry, activism and intergenerational trauma, the Filipinx/a/o community, reviews too emotional for Medium, and more. Subscribe for free to receive new posts once a month and to support my work year-round. For more of my work, please visit my website. To contact me for other queries, I can be reached at KeanaAguilaLabra@Gmail.Com. Thank you again!