On the page, whether writing a poem or letter or lesson plan, I believe that words, no matter how profound or mundane, should exhibit a kind of musicality. Creativity plainly runs in my family, but I believe poetry (cribbing Jose Garcia Villa) is the art of daily living. A number of my other cousins are journalists and fictionists. My grandmother Julita Gamalinda and my cousin Eric Gamalinda were poets and my first true literary inspirations. How much has poetry been a part of your life? In summary, I often quote journalist Marc Bernardin: “Cultural specificity breeds universality”. I am, above all, sensitive about issues of representation in popular media. Dawn Mabalon, my personal saints, in a manner of speaking, include Batman (patron of orphans and the guilt-burdened), Jessica Jones (patron of addicts and trauma survivors), and Luke Skywalker (patron of idealists). Though I have true-life heroes like Larry Itliong and Prof. I am quite a pop culture geek - a film, fantasy, and music aficionado for as long as I can remember. Villa, Neruda, Rilke, as well as living poets like Traci Kato-Kiriyama, Mike Sonksen, Karineh Mahdessian, Jeffery Martin, Luivette Resto, and Jenuine Poetess. I am, to be sure, and old-school “for the page” poet though I lecture for a living, I have no credentials in traditional English Lit, and I have little proficiency in the more popular spoken word styles (which I greatly admire). I naturally have a commensurate passion for Filipino American history and culture. My sense of poetics was the foundation of my graduate work at UCLA, and my own writing is inspired by lyricism in Philippine English, which I believe is a sentient and beautiful dialect. I began writing poems prolifically since 1992, long before I’d considered becoming an educator. What are some of your areas of interest (in research, studies, life, hobbies)? Heroes beget heroes, scholars beget scholars, and so on. My aspiration is to be that very kind of mentor for future generations. I am blessed to have had the greatest teachers, mentors, and colleagues one could ever hope for. The AAS community at-large has always been driven by the virtues of knowledge, social justice, and mentorship. It was a defining experience that taught me an important lesson: people like me matter people like me built and defined civilization people like me, therefore, deserve respect and honor as much as everyone else.Įthnic Studies, in its purest and broadest sense, is inclusive and ecumenical, inspiring one’s sense of place and purpose in the world. Though I was a less than average student in high school, my passion for higher education was sparked when I took my first Asian American Studies (AAS) class in the Fall of 1993 with Dr. How did you create your career path? Did a career in higher education always interest you? My other home, as it were, is California State University, Northridge (CSUN) where I work. I moved back to Panorama City, my boyhood town, two years ago. I was born in Chicago but raised in the San Fernando Valley (Los Angeles, CA). He is an earnest poet (poetry being a life long passion), is working on a poetry chapbook and performs in art spaces around LA. Inspired by them, and surely an influence among them, Allan values witnessing students grow in their knowledge and confidence though their studies. He has taught Asian American Studies classes in Media, Fiction, Contemporary Issues, Immigration, and the Filipino American Experience, and is a purveyor of knowledge to generations of college students. Professor and Poet Allan Aquino is an educator at California State University, Northridge.
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