'Secret Asian Man' visits campus

Amanda Wiles
Staff Writer

    Who is Ang Tunay Na Lalaki?

    For those of you who did not attend the poetry reading on Oct. 20 featuring Nick Carbo, Ang Tunay Na Lalaki is a secret Asian man. He is a character who is said to be similar to Mr. Clean or the Marlboro man, except that he has imaginary adventures in the chat rooms of AOL, or in the famous Metropolitan museum in New York.

    Carbo has two books of poetry published entitled "Secret Asian Man" and "El Grupo McDonalds."

    Carbo is the recipient of fellowships in poetry from the National Endowment for the Arts and the New York Foundation for the Arts. He is Filipino-American.

    Carbo was brought in through the Ohio Poetry Circuit, which includes nine Ohio colleges and universities. Jane Varley, an assistant professor of English, describes his poetry as funny yet serious all in one.

    One of the poems he read is entitled "Votive Candles." He wrote the poem for his wife while they were dating.

    It discussed many aspects of Catholicism and how her mother lit two candles for the two of them so that they would receive perpetual help from Jesus.

    Carbo's distinct writing style blends poetry with narrative form. His poems focus on one main character, time, setting and objective, and many of his poems deal with popular culture.

    "Consumerism is shoved down our throats constantly, it is a symbol that you can easily attack," said Carbo in an interview after the poetry reading. "In literature you can do whatever you want."

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