Quezon City, 28 November 2011. For working journalists and writers who would like to take a step back from their jobs and indulge in writing for writing’s sake, ACFJ offers a nine-week creative writing online course.
Ramon C. Sunico, course lecturer, says “ the course can be viewed as a refresher or as an extended exercise in literary writing as extended play or, if one wishes, playful tinkering.” Its objective is to provide new and refreshed perspectives by re-directing the appreciation among journalists for the act of writing as an exercise in creative invention.
Students will be exposed to the creative process in creative/literary writing in order to hone their the creative writing skills. The course will also spur critical reflection among journalists about the way they write through group criticism and comparisons with the way other writers/students write.
The course is one of the electives being offered under the Master of Arts in Journalism program for school year 2011-2012 administered by ACFJ under Ateneo’s Department of Communication. It begins on 23 January 2012 and ends on 24 March 2012.
Sunico says the “ course goes beyond the academic pre-occupations of similar courses for undergrads.” It will tap the Internet and allow students to share and discuss their works in poetry, short fiction (including the short-short story).
Sunico manages Cacho Publishing House. A poet and a bilingual writer, he has two MAs, one in History of ideas from the University of Sussex (British Council grant) and another in Philosophy from the Ateneo de Manila. His book of poetry, A 2-Tongue Job was published in the 90s, winning a national book award. He has written three books for children. His first book for children Two Friends, One World was the first winner of the Palanca Awards’ Stories for Children category (also placing in the Filipino division). It has been published in Dutch and is also now being used by schools in the USA.
