All migrant peoples are haunted by the life they left behind and by the prospects of a future that is uncertain. This is the ambiance that surrounds their lives. It is not surprising therefore how the poignant language and searing imagery of Edessa Ramos’ stories and poems touch their hearts. And this is not only true for migrants, not only true for women in foreign shores, but also for anyone who has ever traveled, no matter how briefly, who has ever been lost, no matter if temporarily. The longing for the familiar versus the hunger for discovery and adventure, accompanied by the search for a better more meaningful life – these are the conflicts that rage within each of us. These are conflicts characteristic of the Filipino soul.

These conflicts are portrayed in Edessa’s first book, Alone on the Road at Night, a collection of short stories and poems. Her characters have been described as intriguing, with a sense of mystery, and yet very real and down-to-earth. She is drawn to women and whatever links them to each other – their loves and dreams, their visions of dying and living. Her style is characterized by “a feeling of sadness”, as one reader in Chicago puts it. Her readers can somehow sense that she has lived her life in many different shores. Her poems possess that “sense of erotic which can only come from deep within all of us”, according to a reader from Manila. “She writes with such sensitiveness”, remarked an American publisher in Switzerland. “These stories are exactly what speaks to us immigrants and travelers”.

In October of this year, Edessa came out with a book of poems entitled In A Quiet Place, which she co-published with BRIDGES Intercultural Productions of Switzerland. The book was printed and launched in South Africa. It was recently performed by the author in the Poetry Africa 2002 International Festival last April-May 2002. 

In this collection of poems that spans 20 years of writing, readers are invited to a secret place, a healing place where one sums up hope, such as that found in something as simple as a change of seasons, or as profound as the presence of a soul-mate, whom she describes as “someone who understands without expectations, who shares one’s political struggles, joys and pains”. A secret place could also be the home of one’s ancestors, “for in being reminded of who I am, I come closer to accepting and loving myself.” For women, it is a secret garden where the goddess inside can flourish without boundaries or restrictions, where everything is beautiful and well-nourished because there thy have the absolute power to make it so. 

The book cover is hauntingly illustrated by Filipina painter and artist in New York, Maria Madonna Davidoff. Edessa and Madonna’s friendship is, in itself, a story worth publishing. Having stumbled upon Edessa’s web site two years ago, Madonna found “a friend and comrade in arts”, and they have not stopped e-talking ever since. Madonna’s illustration of the cover for “In A Quiet Place” won the hearts and acclaim of the South African audience during the book launchings in Pretoria, Durban, Cape Town and Johannesburg. 

Edessa’s poetry opens a doorway to knowing more about Philippine history and culture, told in a very personal way. This collection of poems, for example, includes poems written from the days of the Philippine revolutionary struggle of the ‘80s, penned in mountain enclaves or behind the front lines of violent anti-dictatorship rallies. 

What better way to sum it up than in the words of British author and poet Mark Roper:

“… I must say I was very interested in the poems about the Philippines, knowing so little about the country. There's a great, and wondering, acceptance of life in the poems, a great sense of the brave journey of (her) life, a great sense of the struggle against oppression, and a great sense of comradeship”.

* derived from a book review of “Alone on the Road at Night” which appeared in Yimby Online Magazine, Los Angeles, CA.