GEORGE BRADFORD PATTERSON II

borgeslover@hotmail.com

 

 

Spanish

http://www.iflacenarg.bravehost.com/patterson.html

 

He was born in Filadelfia, Pennsylvania, USA

He lives in Filippines

Metro Manila , Philippines. 

 

BIOGRAPHY:

I was born in philadelphia, pernnsylvania, USA.
I live in the Philippines on University of the Philippines Diliman Campus in Quezon City,
Metro Manila .  But I taught English in Mexico, Peru, Honduras, , Colombia, Korea, and China.
My two books in Spanish:

ODE TO ISLA NEGRA

PURPLE MELODIES: ODES AND SONGS

I have published a book of selected poems in English and Spanish called BLOSSOM OF EDSA 2, published by MEGABOOKS COMPANY

I have also published ten short stories and essays in English, including additional poems in English.


  I am a Noth American of philadelphia, pennsylvania who lives in the Philippines on Aglipay Street, Area 1, P-21, UP campus, Diliman, Quezon Citry 1101.  I have traveled, lived, and taught English in Mexico, Guatemala , Honduras, the Dominican Republic, Colombia, Peru, Chile, the borders of Argentina and El Salvador, Brazil, Thailand, India, Bangladesh, Korea, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan , Singapore, and the Philippines.   Also, I taught ESL  Composition and reading skills  in the Writing Program at Temple University, philadelphia, Pennsylvania.   I also taught English and Spanish as a bilingual substitute teacher in a bilingual public school, including teaching ESL and Spanish as a substitute teacher in the Philadelphia public School system I have a Masters Degree in Teaching ESL from Rutgers University - the state University of New Jersey which I obtained in May, 1982 in New Brunswick New Jersey.  I obtained my BA in Religion in january, 1974. I also did another major in Spanish at Temple University, including an immersion program in Latin American Spanish and culture during ther spring semester at Temple Universitry. concentrating on Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Colombia, Argentina, and Chile, including a study trip to the Dominican Republic . I would like to know Buenos Aires, Argentina.   English is my native tongue, and I am fluent in Latin American Spanish. I can also speak , read, and write Chavacano, a Spanish-based creole language in Zamboanga, Mindanao, Philippines; and i am semi-lingual in Brazilian portuguese, being able to speak and read it fairly well.  I n Addition, I know some Filipino and Korean. 




 

 

Two books in Spanish

 

 poemarios

 "ODA A ISLA NEGRA"   

  “MELODIAS MORADAS”:  ODAS Y CANCIONES.

 

Bilingual Books

 

He publicado un poemario en inglés y español que se llama –

 "BLOSSOMS OF EDSA 2"  publicado por MEGABOOKS COMPANY EN FILIPPINES. 

 

 . 

 

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Short stories by this author:

Vision at Viña del Mar

 

Encounter with a Kindred Spirit

 

Journey to the Corners of the World

 

Poems

            "ENCYCLOPEDIA OF QUESTIONS"
               By George Bradford Patterson II

 Why do the bougainvilleas weep waterfalls
 at Hacienda Luisita in purple twilight -

 and how long will they cry in the sugar cane fields
 dripping with blood?

 Why do the sampaguitas sigh
 for the widows at Hacienda Luisita?

 Who are the calachuchis swaying for
 at Hacienda Lusita among little blue candlelights?

 Why does the old mango tree wail
 for justice at Hacienda Luisita -

 and who does he do it for?

 When will the ilang ilang trees of Hacienda Luisita
 stop murmuring in orange moonlight?

 Why does the dark green grass of Hacienda Luisita droop
 and why do they glimmer  between love and darkness?

 

_______________

In Exaltation of Visions
[After Wislawa Syzmborska]
(to Isabel Allende, Ron and Arbutis Sider and
Dr. Bibhuti Singh Yadav , Suzanne Kalbach, Ajit, and
Van and Dina Kalbach, RIcard and Phyllis Taylor,
Janet Wilson, and Alison Struselis, Tran Van dinh
and Mrs. Tran Nuong)


In my visions,
I paint like Nicholas Roerich.

I sing like King Solomon
and not only with the living.

I play a harp like King David
and not just in the past.

My genius as a harmonica player
would dazzle you.

I pray like Moses
and not just on Mount Sinai.

I play a guitar like Victor Jara
with the melodies of the winds of liberty.

I am talented and write monumental odes
like Pablo Neruda.

I am imbued with a golden light
and write magical haikus.

I am mesmerized and write lyrical sijos
like Prince Wolham.

I am filled with the light
of the angel of love,

and write novels
like Isabel Allende.

I am infused with the light
of the angel of music,

and write short stories
like Jorge Luis Borges.

I am impregnated
with the muse of painting,

and write travelogues
lke V S Naipaul.

I am illuminated
and write mystical sonnets like Shakespear.

I am sentimental
and write elegies like Walt Whitman.

I speak fluent Spanish
with the charisma of Salvador Allende.

I speak articulate English
with the eloquence of Abraham Lincoln.

I see visions
as clearly as any prophet.

I write essays like Henry David Thoreau
with the subtlety of emerald light.

I ride a bicycle the way I ought to
and with total freedom.

Slipping from ice-skating,
I sink into my visions

Losing control of the toboggan,
we roll softly down the hill.

I have no fear
sky-diving over Death Valley.

I have no anxiety
deep sea-diving in the Sulu Sea.

I have no qualms
snorkeling amid the coral reefs of Borocay.

I can't despair:
I have reached the Promise Land.

I am fulfilled:
I have seen the Mississippi River.

It is gratifying
that each day I wake up,
it is a gift from God.

Whenever war breaks out,
I see the Four Horseman,
but Our Lady appears.

I have been to the mountain top:
I have seen the Andes.

I am a child of the second and third milleniums,
and I am challenged by it.

More than a quarter of a century ago,
I saw the horrors of Mylai, Chile, Biafra, and Bangladesh,

and a few years ago, the splendor of Edsa 2, and
the flowering of democracy in Korea and Chile.

I wanted to make love in a heavenly way:
I did it in Isla Negra.

Almost fourteen years ago,
I saw soaring Chilean eagles in Khelwei Reduccion,

and the day before last, a condor in Seoul Zoo
between love and darkness.

I am blessed:
I have gazed at the Chilean Cordillera.

I have found supreme love:
I have seen the Taj Mahal.

I have encountered beauty:
I have viewed the green carpets of the Brazilian Amazon.

I am at peace at last:
I have reached Copan.