Spoken word artist Alfonso Manalastas on passion, setbacks: ‘You have to choose to love what you do’

Spoken word poetry, an art form where poems are intended for oral performance, has found its way into the mainstream in recent years.

For writer and poet Alfonso Manalastas, poetry is a vehicle for him “to exhaust my feelings about the world, whether it’s grievances over current events or grief over personal heartache, and everything in between,” he told GMA News Online on Thursday.

Alfonso, who began his spoken word journey in Manila in 2015, said he found inspiration from all forms of art—be it films, exhibits, essays, or other poems.

READ: Filipino spoken word artists who made us appreciate how beautiful poetry is

The spoken word artist, who is part of PLDT’s “Choose to Love” Valentine’s Day campaign, revealed that what he perceived as failures in his craft had also become his biggest motivations.

“I suppose this is why I consider it a heartache: even when it comes to passion, you have to constantly choose to love what you do in order to sustain whatever sense of humanity you have personally derived from it,” said Alfonso.

“Passion itself does not exist in a vacuum. You have to nurture it by consuming other people’s work and rendering work of your own. This is why when I say, ‘I love poetry,’ what I really mean to say is that I choose to love poetry. This pushes me to work my darnedest to deserve whatever beauty and catharsis it has to offer,” he added.

As the pandemic continues, Alfonso shared that he also dealt with his own version of “artistic paralysis.”

“I’ve been working on a manuscript for over two years now and ever since the pandemic, I haven’t really done anything to refine it. It’s pretty much just collecting dust somewhere in the digital hallways of my laptop,” he said.

“I suppose, with all that is going on, it is hard to create what I’d like to call ‘silly little poems’ as a response to the material urgencies that are so palpable around us. So many people are struggling and there is nothing that my poetry can do, no matter how beautifully they are written, that can affect their material survival.”

Despite the circumstances, Alfonso said artists should continue to read books, watch movies, listen to music, and just keep on consuming art.

“Whatever time you spend consuming art is in itself a form of work. For as long as it helps nurture your own craft, sharpen your artistic sensibilities, and provide you different lenses with which to see the world, then you’re doing okay,” he said.

“You don’t have to be churning out new work left and right to know that you are indeed putting in the hours. Sometimes, you only need to process and ruminate on the beauty and horror of all the art there is for you to enjoy.”

For those who wish to be part of the spoken word scene, Alfonso said it’s best to ask themselves first why they’re interested in the first place.

“If after asking yourself these questions, you still feel a roaring urgency to pursue it, a kind of unique hunger that can only be satiated by a genuine love for the craft, then go ahead and pursue it,” he said.

“Only then can you embark with certainty on a path not only of honing the craft, but also of constantly choosing to love it.” – RC/LA, GMA News