2008 Woodie Awards
De la Paz emerges on poetry scene
Poetry seen as easily accessible to novice readers
Caley Ochoa, Staff Writer
Issue date: 2/20/07
Last Updated: 8/9/07
"He is a frequent eclipse … a shadow on fire." Oliver de la Paz opens his poem "When Fidelito Is the New Boy at School" with this description of his main character. His latest book of prose poems "Names Above Houses" depicts the story of Fidelito and his family. The young boy yearns to fly and, in the end, learns to hope and to believe.
Born in Manila, Philippines, Oliver de la Paz brings the magic and myth of the tropics to his writing. De la Paz was raised in Ontario, Ore., and now teaches at Western Washington University. "Names Above Houses" is his first book and was a winner of the Crab Orchard Award Series.
One poem from this work, "The Way the Blessed Mourn" serves as an example of many themes in this book. Fidelito struggles to adjust to a new culture while retaining his former sense of identity and significance.
While his view of reality is somewhat fantastical, such as his belief in his ability to fly, it is wonderful in the way it presents the hope and power of his generation.
"The poems are about yearning and loss, a certain geography that is a homeland; the political necessity which results in exile," associate professor of English and resident poet Laurie Lamon said.
"He dons the dress shirt of his father like a vestment and watches a clock tick down the hours," stated one of the poem's lines.
De la Paz's attention to diction makes this line from the above-mentioned poem more than pure prose. Words like 'vestment' draw the readers attention to the spiritual quality of the poems and especially of Fidelito's character and the act of watching indicate the boy's sense of exile, of being an outsider, that one finds throughout the book.
"It's a beautiful collection of diverse prose poems that bring in a lot of things about Filipino-Americans and immigration in the U.S.," professor of English Doug Sugano said.
Lamon also pointed out that the issues that the poems present are elements of real concern to Whitworth students who are both politically aware and conscious of social justice.
Born in Manila, Philippines, Oliver de la Paz brings the magic and myth of the tropics to his writing. De la Paz was raised in Ontario, Ore., and now teaches at Western Washington University. "Names Above Houses" is his first book and was a winner of the Crab Orchard Award Series.
One poem from this work, "The Way the Blessed Mourn" serves as an example of many themes in this book. Fidelito struggles to adjust to a new culture while retaining his former sense of identity and significance.
While his view of reality is somewhat fantastical, such as his belief in his ability to fly, it is wonderful in the way it presents the hope and power of his generation.
"The poems are about yearning and loss, a certain geography that is a homeland; the political necessity which results in exile," associate professor of English and resident poet Laurie Lamon said.
"He dons the dress shirt of his father like a vestment and watches a clock tick down the hours," stated one of the poem's lines.
De la Paz's attention to diction makes this line from the above-mentioned poem more than pure prose. Words like 'vestment' draw the readers attention to the spiritual quality of the poems and especially of Fidelito's character and the act of watching indicate the boy's sense of exile, of being an outsider, that one finds throughout the book.
"It's a beautiful collection of diverse prose poems that bring in a lot of things about Filipino-Americans and immigration in the U.S.," professor of English Doug Sugano said.
Lamon also pointed out that the issues that the poems present are elements of real concern to Whitworth students who are both politically aware and conscious of social justice.
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