Poems and Prose by Pasckie Pascua
A new book reflects the often ragged but mostly warm wisdom of a journeyman who witnessed and experienced a life that defies his reserved demeanor and soft-spoken tact.
Published by Loved by the Buffalo Publications, Red is the Color of My Night is written in blood and delivered with a language that crosses creed and culture, without hesitation or reserve. Pasckie Pascua traverses the rough terrains of his past with piercing honesty and visionary glare. His work bothers and comforts at the same time; it also provokes while it reassures.
Pascua is a veteran journalist and poet who survived a dictatorial regime in his home-country of the Philippines. He went to the University of the Philippines’ Institute of Mass Communication, and attended undergrad Film programs at Tisch School of Arts, New York University.
He was a journeyman writer even before he reached the age of 30—having worked for print, radio, and TV in various capacities, as well as a community organizer/media specialist in coastal villages and farming barrios in the countrysides since he was 15 years old. He served as a member of the media liaison staff for the late president Corazon Aquino’s “good government” commission in the early 90s, and the consulting team for Philippine presidential candidate (deceased) Senator Raul Roco in the 1990s.
In the US, Pasckie edited the NY-based Headline Philippines from 1998 to 2001; and headed the Southern California/Los Angeles bureau of Philippine News, the oldest nationally-distributed Filipino/Asian-American newspaper in the US and Canada.
In Asheville, Pasckie published (and edited) the community paper, The Indie, from 2001 to 2011. He is also the founding executive director of the Traveling Bonfires, a non-profit “people’s culture” organization that advocates family wisdom and community connectedness. The Traveling Bonfires organizes the summertime downtown music convergence, “Bonfires for Peace at Pritchard Park.”
The Asheville-based poet Pasckie Pascua will read from his new book of poems and prose, Red is the Color of My Night, at The Crow and Quill in downtown Asheville on Sunday, August 9 at 7 p.m. Special guests are poet Caleb Beissert, singer-songwriter Darien Crossley, and jazz singer Katie Kasben.
Poet and musician Caleb Beissert spearheads a number of local Asheville poetry events, including producer of the monthly Altamont Poetry Series at North Carolina Stage Company, and host of the weekly Poetry Open Mic at Noble Kava. He is also the longtime drummer with The Zealots. His first book, a selection of English-language adaptations of the poetry of Pablo Neruda and Federico García Lorca, Beautiful: Translations from the Spanish, was published by New Native Press in 2013.
Katie Kasben has been in numerous community theatre productions and was the director and producer of Hair. She was the VIP coordinator for the HATCH mentoring festival, and helped bring the “48 Hour Film Project” to Asheville. Darien Crossley is a promising young singer-songwriter who’s been building a solid following in Asheville’s cafe and club scene.
Pascua will also be featured in Sylva, NC at City Lights Bookstore’s “Coffee with the Poet” gathering on Thursday, August 20.
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If You Go: Pasckie Pascua, Sunday, August 9, 2015 at 7 p.m. The Crow and Quill, 106 N. Lexington Avenue, downtown Asheville. The event is a free but donations are very much appreciated. Call (828) 505-2866, and visit www.thecrowandquill.com.
Pascua will also talk about his journey August 20, 2015 at 11 a.m. at City Lights Bookstore, 3 East Jackson Street in Sylva, NC. (828) 586-9499, www.citylightsnc.com