SESSION 3: The Square Root of Struggle and other Examinations
Fellow:  Joseph Eli Occeño (Poetry, English)
Moderator:  Luchie Maranan

In tracing Occeño’s creative process for The Square Root of Struggle and other Examinations, Luchie Maranan cited two complex aspects of the writer’s background: 1) his having been born a part of the landowning, feudal class and eventual political awakening, and 2) his parents’ being educators. She pointed out how the collection appropriates standardized academic testing as poetic form (such as the multiple choice format, textual analysis, and open-ended essay questions) in an attempt to reconcile his class origins and other internal contradictions. Apart from displaying remarkable self-awareness and introspection, such a poetic structure also invites the reader to examine and perhaps also challenge their own political consciousness.

While the collection was lauded for its self-reflexive form of experimentation and clear political message, one of the main concerns raised was its inaccesibility; as education (and, by extension, understanding of these academic assessment tools) is made available only to certain privileged classes, the collection might suffer a potentially limited readership— “Do we allow ourselves to not be understood for the sake of defamiliarization?” Other questions raised regarding the collection’s experimental form include: is there a single corresponding answer or solution? Do we expect from readers the right answer or the critical one? Some also felt that the collection’s critique of the neoliberal academe can be further deepened, with suggestions varying from more sophisticated deviations in form and playfulness in language to perhaps leaning into parody and sarcasm.

To end the session, Occeño remarked that, much like our broken education system, his collection must be dismantled, overhauled, and made anew.