Formations

by Carissa Pobre

Formations by Carissa Pobre is a book of 30 journaling prompts and essays that rekindle agency and artmaking during crisis, prompted by the author’s acceptance into an MFA program during the time of the Covid-19 pandemic.

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A friend was in need of writing prompts. So the author crafted thirty and the several fragments that make up this, a manuscript – written during quarantine and on the heels of acceptance into an MFA program, at one point the dream of a ‘wandering back’ to writing, one ultimately passed on. For there must be something more than the ‘luxury of grad studies.’ Because there are more urgent matters worth thriving for amid the several we cannot ‘opt out’ of. Because we’re in Year 5 of this shit show – and Year 2 of the pandemic. And ‘maintenance is hard work’ but just may be – when not given up on – our only reminder of ‘the baseline of where [our hearts are] supposed to be.’ For what’s at stake is what can come still through ‘dispatches of interiority’: ‘kinder and more relational forms of community practice’ – just in their efforting. Dear reader. Thus, this. Let’s locate ourselves beginning here. (words by Martin Villanueva, author of A Pig was Once Killed in Our Garage)

Genres: Nonfiction

124 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2021

Reviews

[Chelsea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading this in our post-quarantine/lockdown world is surreal as I feel like this takes me back to the year 2020 (which isn't that long ago).

I personally like the 30 prompts and I would have loved to have read this book during the height of the lockdown (even though the author did start writing during the lockdown itself).

This was an easy, light-ish read (given the context of the writing). Would definitely recommend!

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5

This is a nonfiction book composed of essays and writing prompts that revolve around the quarantine and lockdowns in the Philippines, written with a personal take. It is stirred by the author's acceptance into grad school in the US, which is problematized following current events. The book progresses with musings and assertions on being intimate with oneself, relationships with other people, and mental health--things that contribute to our quality of life and our humanity.

The book has several beautifully written lines that perfectly articulate the anxiety, pain, and loss the quarantine has led me to feel. And it questions the current situation with nuance and grace, which I don't see anywhere else. It's also pandemic piece that offers a way of coping: writing. The writing prompts are there to help readers sort out and express their thoughts and feelings.

Why only 3.5? I feel like the book could be more cohesive. The part about rejecting grad school (the start of the book) didn't quite connect with the commentary on the lockdowns; it felt more like an entry point to begin writing the book, but after that, I'm not quite sure how necessary it is anymore. I feel like the work doesn't gain anything from its fairly lengthy preoccupation with grad school. (I know it makes sense to the author, but the latter parts of the book were so strong on their own, that I didn't need pages and pages of the grad school bits.)

Overall, it's a good read to those who are looking for ways to process the pandemic, how governments are responding to it, and having your life plan put on hold.

[A · Rating 3 out of 5]

I hope this was published earlier during a lockdown.

Skipped some unrelatable parts.

Written with so much passion.

Love the arts in betweens.