MABUHAY! WELCOME TO BACKSPACE!

I write for the same reason I breathe - because if I didn't, I would die. (Isaac Asimov)

Manila Bay landing
Baywalk, Manila
Photo by Dylan Yap Gozum


Our assumption into office in SPi's Writers Guild was close to being a Napoleon-esque affair, to say the least. With only 7 people in attendance in what was supposed to be a General Assembly meeting, it was foisted upon us that an election had to be made right there and then to take over the duties of outgoing officers, who all were mired in work elsewhere. So, like what Napoleon Bonaparte did on his coronation day, we picked up the crowns placed before us and placed them on our own heads.

As we are not given to pomp and circumstance, we hit the ground running within 5 minutes of our "election". Already, we have calendared our activities for 2006 (please visit ABOUT US). It looks like a pregnant year, indeed, with several new and exciting stuffs coming up. Also, to address the twin issues of savings (read: cost cutting) and reaching a wider audience, we have agreed to make use of today's most exciting means of communication - the web log.

This literary blog, named BACKSPACE to denote a work in progress, will feature several writers' works every month. Yes, we will be featuring YOU here! Your work will go online for the world to read! Also, we will be rocking your world come June - the SPi Inter-Playoffs - as we all play the WORD FACTORY, and in July during the Festival of Clubs for something really fun- the much-missed FUN DEBATE (Fiesta Edition). We are doing this with the Toasmasters Club this year.

Also, I am happy to work with a lean but mean team, starting with our VP Pia - ever so articulate and proper and... just perfect for the job!, and JP and Alex (erstwhile Secretary and PRO, respectively), who form the Communications Group. A huge THANK YOU goes to Dhang and Ivy for helping us calendar our events for 2006 properly. With the advent of this blog, we look forward to reaching a wider audience.

We know it is unusual practice but we would like to declare 2006 as the Year of Writers in SPi. We may sound like we intend to outshine the other clubs (we really do), but we just want to drum up interest in you, our writers. We want you to know that you all have a home here. Please take advantage of this rare opportunity to join our new and exciting activities.

To our co-SPi colleagues who are called to this noble endeavor of being a writer, all of us who dabble in poetry, feature, essays, scripts, etc., please know that our time to shine has come.

Welcome and Mabuhay!



Dylan Yap Gozum
President, Writers Guild

Editorial Director, BACKSPACE

Writers Guild
SPi Headquarters

Parañaque City, Metro Manila
The Philippines

May 16, 2006