Update: Shattering the silence: An open letter to the Philippine writing community
Update: Yuson contract not renewed
Spot the similarities: If you haven’t already done so, it would be useful to follow Fire Quinito’s advice and compare Rey Joble’s original draft to the not-at-all-rewritten version published in GMA News Online to the Rogue article credited to Krip Yuson.
A sedate and straightforward apology would’ve been enough. Perhaps not for what Palanca Hall of Famer Krip Yuson himself terms “the usual lynch mob that marauds through social media,” which I suppose refers to such responses as this and this and this, i.e., those who have no kind words for his act of plagiarism (and apparently, as Yuson himself testifies, kind words have gone his way). But it would have quite efficiently catapulted those who bother to be bothered by such things–those who, at the very least, would not see apologizing for a mistake as particularly heroic–from indignation to weariness to amnesia. Granted, the apology rehashed the usual unsatisfying excuses for sloppy writing (lack of time, the pressure of the deadline) and unfairly complicated the said simple instance of sloppy writing by citing part-authorship of the source article, since Yuson edited the piece. Pero sige na, nag-sorry naman siya (somewhat), marami pang masmalaking problema sa mundo so move on na.
Which is why it is befuddling to see Yuson continue to belabor what is proving to be his non-apology in his latest column published by The Philippine Star. “Since then, of course, as I’ve heard from friends, I have been rendered into mincemeat. Thank goodness I have no time or taste for wallowing in mean-spirited bloodlust,” says Yuson of those not delighting in his defense of his plagiarism. “What matters is that Rey Joble has forgiven me. What matters is whether Howie Severino and Mari Ugarte believe my story. What matters is that friends and supporters who know me have pitched in with words of solace and encouragement.”
If being “rendered into mincemeat” means berating critics publishing in their blogs from the comfort of your column published by a major broadsheet, a column whose existence is clearly not under threat despite a mistake/violation that typically demands some kind of consequence (a failing grade when done by a student, resignation from one’s post when done by a public figure), then isn’t this a case of power clearly unthreatened to begin with cavalierly admonishing as “mean-spirited bloodlust” any dissenting–though apparently ultimately inconsequential–views on the matter? What’s a little shame for a mistake/violation when in the long run (minutes, hours, days later), no awards need to be returned, no posts need to be resigned from, and there are even “words of solace and encouragement” for the non-aggrieved party? As Yuson himself points out, he is more than able to reduce his case to a private affair, brushing off the reading public and involving only those he deems to matter–Rey Joble, Howie Severino, Mari Ugarte, friends and supporters. As Yuson himself points out, he continues to enjoy the perks of his job despite the plagiarism: “I wonder if I must also be doing something right since as I write this, I am enjoying something else anew, as part of a media fam-tour group on a Yangzi river cruise to the Three Gorges, and gorging all the way.” Despite strong words from a few dissenters, Yuson is clearly untouchable. Rubbing it in is overkill. So can he please please please please please stop talking?
I have an ongoing interest in plagiarism and appropriation in literature, concepts which I engage with in the poetry and nonfiction courses which I teach. I am also one to bristle at the knee-jerk conflation of plagiarism with crime, since plagiarism also functions as a generative method of composition in literature. I find it useful to turn to essays like Jonathan Lethem’s take on appropriation, published in Harper’s Magazine, and Travis Macdonald’s survey of erasure poetics to introduce such concepts. On the interplay between author and editor in the production of texts, I am reminded of the Raymond Carver-Gordon Lish tandem. Yuson’s piece for Rogue is not self-aware or self-reflexive in its engagement of plagiarism and author-editor relations, and so it really is uncalled for in this case to mask a case of sloppy writing with something more profound. That has to be said, although it is clear that Yuson will have the last laugh on this matter.
The Curious Couch 
I’m glad you mentioned the Carver-Lish tandem. Although, really, that story should not even be necessary in order to delineate who’s editor and who’s author. I myself am tired of going round the circles apparently necessary in discussing plagiarism versus integrity versus friendship in our context. Krip Yuson would’ve done himself and us (and his friends too) a great favor by just disappearing (for a while) in his river cruise without any more comment. Because the more this apology gets re-rendered it seems more a self-forgiving–with two rewards, mind you!–, like a bad play proceeding without the need for audience.
But of course, there is always the need for the audience, and perhaps why the lifestyle section (Ay, excuse me, Arts and Culture ba?) of newspapers are littered with paid-for writing (and ghost-writing) which contribute nothing to the majority of the Filipino lifestyle, much less arts and culture.
Beyond everything else Yuson did wrong and again, he showed us how a “good” writing can be like magic. This time, a diversion, a misdirection. He should’ve just poofed himself outta here with the least fanfare.
He didn’t have what it took to write about the PBA and that’s why he plagiarized. It wasn’t sloppy writing, Miss. He wasn’t tasked to write a personal essay or his thoughts about the morning sun after a shave and just forgot to attribute a passage to Charles Bukowski (do you think this would be more humiliating for him if it happened?). He needed information, detail, quotes and he needed to have a feel for the history that Joble had, which he didn’t. Being on Rogue, The New Yorker of Philippine lad mags :), must’ve been too tempting for him. Aba, si Joble pa na total unknown ang mabibigyan nang byline. Di na! I’ll just bully the guy and use his work, edit ko lang nang konti para magiging mas elegante ang dating.
Tingin ko naman eh kasama sa sloppy writing ang kakulangan sa authority sa subject matter (at most) or research (at the very least). 🙂
Apropos of nothing, I think me interesting – or if not “interesting” e di “worth thinking about at least for ten minutes” – point si Ina in her FB post asking na kung PR writing lang ba siya, dapat ba itapat pa rin sa level ng journalism yung ginawa ni Yuson.
Kasi nga, even the most cursory of the cursoriest glances ever will show that what Yuson is doing is PR writing, only coasting on whatever cultural capital he still has left from when he was actually still someone worth listening to maybe twenty or so years ago, ie, it is NOT journalism in the strictest ideal sense of the word, ie, Maurice Arcache of Philippine Lit (or as my own joke goes, “Krip Yuson of Philippine Lit”).
“But of course, there is always the need for the audience, and perhaps why the lifestyle section (Ay, excuse me, Arts and Culture ba?) of newspapers are littered with paid-for writing (and ghost-writing) which contribute nothing to the majority of the Filipino lifestyle, much less arts and culture.”
Ganda, Drey. Maganda nga rin pag-isipan sa mas malawak na paraan ang konteksto nga ng kultura na pinopromote sa diyaryo (I bet my slippery when puwet na it doesn’t have anything to do with gorging while cruising across gorges), pero ibang usapan na yun, haha.
I am a young Filipino writer wanting to contribute to Philippine literature. I just want to say that I owe my disillusionment to the expiration of Yuson’s moral authority and the complicity of his peers (established fictionists and poets, critics, the so-called Tiempo kids, etc. etc.). What is to be done about this? What is our hope? I am seriously disillusioned that the people I looked up to have nothing substantial to say about the matter. I want to know their stand. It doesn’t matter what their stand is. I just need to know that they have a stand. It is important for a young writer to know that they treat this as important, at the very least.
Tangential: Naalala ko dati nung nangungumpisal pa ako – nasabi ko dun sa pari na kaya ayoko mag-identify as Catholic kasi maraming Katoliko ay either makasalanan din dahil sa sobrang self-righteous nila, or ayaw i-condone yung ibang masamang nagawa ng friends/relatives/society.
Ang sagot sakin ng pari: So what if they’re not acting in the right way? Does it mean na dapat mali na rin ang gawin mo/di ka na rin mag-aattempt gumawa ng tama dahil disillusioned ka na?
I guess the same thing applies here. May mga nag-call out naman ng mali (including this post!), which means all is not lost. Or siguro (at least para sakin and a few other people) eh hindi na rin kasi ganun ka-importante na maghanap ng ganung klaseng validation. Epekto din siguro ng pagkakaroon ng co-workers na not exactly lit people – in the end, sino ba sa madla ang nagbabasa sa kanila (whether it’s about a good work or bad work)? As someone who likes reading and writing, and also want to contribute somehow to lit, that keeps me grounded; that should remind everyone that while awards can be nice, they’re not that important in the greater scheme of things.
Alam ko hindi ‘to ang exact na solusyon/sagot na hinahanap mo, pero what the heck. (At oo, humo-Holy Week lang naman ang sagot ko kahit di na ako nagsisimba/nangungumpisal, ehehehe.) xD
About silence being complicity, it can’t be helped to be seen that way talaga, ano? I mean, isipin mo: by that yardstick, oks na ang plagiarism sa Dumaguete workshop (when you think about it, preluded by a Langston Hughes plagiarism issue rin by one of the fellows dun a workshop or so ago), oks ang plagiarism for Howie Severino, oks ang plagiarism for Rogue Magazine, oks ang plagiarism for the Philippine Star. I wonder kung o-oks ang Ateneo sa plagiarism come the coming school year? At any rate, I suppose there IS some silver lining under this particular cloud.
Are we just going to have him have the last laugh? That’s not merely a despairing rhetorical question, though the despair is real enough. Can nothing else be done?
“Tingin ko naman eh kasama sa sloppy writing ang kakulangan sa authority sa subject matter (at most) or research (at the very least).”
Yuck. Pa-blase ba ito? You’re just trying to hide the fact that you lack depth to fully appreciate the dire state of Philippine letters. Di na nga tayo kilala sa ibang bansa puro pa pusakal ang literati natin.
In the piece in question it’s the research and opinion that mattered most not the act of writing itself.
Well, let’s just agree to disagree – mukhang magkaiba kasi tayo ng stance on writing. Sakin kasi hindi nahihiwalay ang content sa form and vice-versa (and I guess that’s also why it was called sloppy writing in the first place).
Tbh, ang una kong reaction nung lumabas yung isyu eh “What, nagsulat si Krip Yuson tungkol sa basketball?”
At oo, baka nga hindi lang talaga ka-deep yung comment na yun (heck, I just turned 20 a few months ago, what do I know apart from a book is already a bestseller here if it sells 1000 copies?). Though personally mas nakakaiyak para sakin na hindi sikat ang Pinoy writers/works sa local market than the lack of international fame (which is a very complicated problem involving the literati, the marketing itself of the product, and more).
That’s the effect of corruption. Imagine if all the beauty queens were daughters of friends of friends of the organizers. That’s what’s happening with Phil Lit.
It’s not an abstract judgement with Yuson. It’s more of a technical one. He simply copied the other’s work, polished it a little and published it under his name. The scenario he put forward na nalimutan lang daw i-attribute is an impossible scenario since he revised the passages nga eh, so how can he quote it. Hindi naman siguro paraphrase lang yung nangyari.
I’m not just angry for literary reasons but for ethical reasons. The Ateneo faculty signed on MVP’s forced resignation but MVP didn’t even write the speech and had no way of knowing it was plagiarized. Still wrong but in comparison to Yuson was forgivable. Yuson isn’t.
This is plain cowardice and hypocrisy for Ateneo faculty. Go to Joemark’s blog or read the three versions (the draft, the GMA News and the sections published on Rogue). It’s inescapable.
I’ve noticed that Krip was more apologetic in his first apology at Fire Quinito, a mere 4 hours after the incident of plagiarism was noted, than in this piece for his column. This bravado must be stemming from his having cemented the support of such power brokers as Howie Severino and Mari Ugarte. If Rey Joble has indeed forgiven him, then it can be interpreted that Joble ceded his right to charge Krip for his misconduct.
The only way justice can be served is to transform the values of the industry he is working in, pure and simple. I think the idea of seeing him answer for his transgressions is moot unless the game itself is changed.
@Disillusioned Writer, you sound really young. And I find that a good thing. There are a lot of people frustrated at the system, not just you. If you want to contribute to 1.) Write better than them 2.) Never play their games.
@Ken – To address your point, and Gelo’s sa discussion namin, I think what we’re all aiming for is less Yuson’s head on a pike and more enlightened discussion that will actually go somewhere, discussion that is not merely for its own sake, the goal being just exactly what you said, to transform the values of the industry.
I first learned of this because of a tweet from my boss at CMFR back when I was an intern there. We have a “cheers and jeers” thing in the PJR Reports, kind of like a good news-bad news report on media practices. Krip scored a jeer from my boss (http://bit.ly/gYRsLW).
Krip scores a blog entry (http://bit.ly/gqYZn7) from me. Heh. Suffice it to say that I am disappointed that this had to happen within the bounds of journalism, with not even a whimper from GMANews and The Philippine Star.
Disillusioned Writer and J.O.M. Salazar: It’s easy to get disillusioned in this tiny literary world where people are fiercely protective of already unshakable institutions and all-too-eager to shred to pieces and/or shut down (and of course, if they are particularly powerful, simply dismiss) those who don’t worship in their shrines. Skepticism, when applied to these institutions, is often received as offensive. Meanwhile, when a monument like Yuson plagiarizes in a trite and un-self-reflexive way, he gets consoled, encouraged, and goes on a cruise. And oh, he’ll tell you all about it in his Philippine Star column. Not quite an inspiring sight for those who–despite doing the legwork and hammering out their own articles–get zero support and get paid peanuts.
Inspiration is elsewhere, then, I think. The many warts of the literary community don’t cancel out the satisfaction of reading a thought-provoking poem or discovering new things in the process of writing a story. Writers are a gossipy bunch, but some actually bother to step out of all that to think and make their thoughts public, i.e., write, and write well, and write at the risk of being criticized or bashed (and I use “risk” here lightly, because given how tiny the literary world is in the scheme of things, it is hardly heroic to speak your mind). As already mentioned somewhere in this thread, literary awards aren’t bullet-proof measures of literary excellence, and that’s okay. It challenges us to read attentively and widely, to explore not only works decorated with medals but also those that are simply out there, published in national magazines or campus journals, published by mainstream presses or independent efforts. It’s pretty exciting to do that, to go in search of multiple works that speak to you and offer you different ways of thinking and writing. And then there’s the mind-opening act of writing, which always yields when one invests time and thought and study in it. Literature isn’t all about the literati, and there’s so much work to be done in reading and writing and publishing–work that is exhilarating and fulfilling enough, I think, to see us through these bouts of disillusionment.
You are right, of course, when you say, “Literature isn’t all about the literari”, and your other points are well-taken.
Perhaps this is simply an impulse caused by advancing age, imminent deadlines, and general exhaustion, but I can only be deeply troubled by the prospect of Yuson getting away with this. I’m not particularly interested in seeing his head on a pike, and yet I do not wish this issue to simply die without some form of restitution taking place. If Yuson walks away unscathed, I shudder to think of the practical consequences in, for instance, classrooms or newsrooms.
Ang hindi ko pa rin ma-gets sa usapin na ito ay pano naging co-author ang isang editor, enough to make an editor think that what he re-wrote is something he can use without the “clunky” quotation marks. Having had my share of fluff writing, I understand that information can be rephrased or reworded to include in your piece, but most of these are for SEO and PR articles (meaning, no byline and facts lang ang nirerework). Pero kung feature article yun na may interviews and research na ibang tao ang gumawa, kailangan may credit dun sa nag-legwork. Eh ang nangyari, ang defense ay dahil ako rin ang nagpaganda, ako na rin ang nagsulat. I shudder at the thought of submitting an article to GMA News Online, only to have an editor rework it to make it print worthy, and then have him share my byline in the process. Ang tanong ko: usual practice ba ito — “And the practice we had online was to credit both the writer of the draft submission and the editor.”
Isa pa, dahil ba hindi supposedly “literary” ang isang basketball article sa magazine, ibig sabihin na nito, hindi plagiarism yun kundi lazy writing lang? Bakit biglang nagkaroon ng qualifiers? Natawa talaga ako dun sa kaibigan ni Mr. Yuson na nagsabi ng “Real writers know it was anything but plagiarism.” Kung yan ang paniniwala ng “real” writers, hindi na lang ako magsusulat.
Quite a few of poems are really good. I don’t know why he even bothers with shit like PBA history. Parang tanga. May konting abilidad sa isang form, ibubuhos ang effort sa genre na hindi sya magaling.
This poem – http://www.oovrag.com/poems/poems2002c-1.shtml – is like a snow globe of Filipino identity. Grabe diba? Pero saan ang moralidad nya ngayon? Perhaps iniwan nalang nya kaluluwa nya sa mga poems na ganito.
This one, too – http://www.oovrag.com/poems/poems2002c-10.shtml. Thoguh the last two sentences could’ve been in separate stanzas. Or delete nalang diba?
Are you all writers here? Don’t you understand the poison this guy chose to swallow for the sake of strengthening his social standing?
Vyxz: Ang alam kong practice kapag ni-rewrite ng editor ang piece ay nilalagyan na lang ng “With reports from [insert name of reporter here]” sa dulo ng article. And to begin with, yung sinasabi ni Yuson na he had rewritten/reworked Rey Joble’s draft ay hindi naman totoo. Kapag tinignan mo yung original at revised draft, ang ginawa lang naman ng editor ay inayos yung grammar–may prepositions na pinalitan, tenses na inayos, may dinagdag na paisa-isang salita, may inayos na punctuation marks. Masyado namang minamaliit ang trabaho ni Joble (na siyang gumawa ng legwork at sumulat ng article) o minamalaki ang trabaho ng editor (na tagalinis lang naman ng language in very minor ways sa kasong ito) para sabihing may rewriting na naganap. Kaya to claim co-authorship is to underscore a bloated sense of entitlement on Yuson’s part with regards to the piece. Apparently, di sapat na may credit at compensation siya as an editor of GMA News Online, dapat pala tawagin rin siyang co-author dahil yung salitang “on” pinalitan niya ng “of” at yung “straight forward” ginawa niyang “straightforward” at nag-contribute siya ng salitang “Indeed” toward the end of the piece. Hindi naman talaga convincing ang argument at klaro namang palusot lang siya. At klaro namang kaya tinanggal ni Yuson ang “clunky” quotation marks ay kasi makikita lang lalo dun na practically si Rey Joble ang sumulat ng article niya. Kasi nga, e di isang “chunk” nga naman ang lalabas na naka-quotation marks (see scanned page of the Rogue article na ni-link ni Fire Quinito).
J.O.M. Salazar: Frustrating nga naman na Yuson gets to walk away unscathed in this situation, pero mukhang ganun na nga. Sanay na rin naman tayo sa bansang ito na people in high places can get away with murder and gloat pa. Hindi ko na rin talaga alam ano bang gagawin, pero tingin ko kahit na may mga mag-walk away from this thinking na oks lang ang plagiarism, may palusot naman at pwede pang ipagyabang, meron rin namang mga tao who think otherwise, who won’t approve and will say so and will teach so and will do so. Hanggang dun pa lang ang pag-iisip ko about it at this point.
baka lang may makuha kang consolation sa balitang ito, Ms. Cruz:
http://www.gmanews.tv/story/218427//yuson-contract-not-renewed
Chingbee, Bing alerted me to your take on this issue.
I remember in our batch at the CWC workshop, one of our batchmates was expelled and sent home when the panel found evidence of a similar work written by someone else. This was done without a lot of due process.
I’m sharing this because Krip was part of the panelists in the CWC workshops. He should apply the same rigour to his work.
Having said that, technology is the x-factor in plagiarism. Going digital makes it easier to commit acts of plagiarism, even if you don’t intend to do it. I’m not trying to defend Krip.
Perhaps the lesson here is that in the digital age, it is much easier to commit this mistake. But because of this, then writers and editors should all the more be careful, in all the steps of the production process, to avoid the pitfalls of digital content creation.
Hello BenC, Yup, it’s certainly easier to mindlessly cut and paste with technology. I regularly see this in student papers, when students are too lazy and/or overwhelmed to think for themselves. They end up letting their sources do all the work for them (thus the heavy quoting, at times sans the ‘clunky’ quotation marks), and/or they can’t quite locate a space to think amid all the information they have. Of course it is an understatement to say that Yuson–who, aside from working as an editor and writer, also teaches Ateneo undergrads and serves on the panel of the Silliman National Writers Workshop–should know better.
Check this out: http://www.interlineal.net/2011/04/29/shattering-the-silence-an-open-letter-to-the-philippine-writing-community/. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to confirm my signature for this (the result of a few days in a far-flung area with no internet) so I’m just spreading the word.