E15 Gian Lao | Poet & Former Presidential Speechwriter | Crafting the state of the nation

Is it possible to find the poetic in the political? Award-winning poet and writer Gian Lao shares how a poetry mentor and romantic heartbreak led him to his first job as a speechwriter for the Office of the President of the Republic of the Philippines.

Currently working in strategic communications for the private sector, including a recent stint as Communications Lead of the Metro Pacific Hospitals COVID Task Force, he is better-known for his thought-provoking, viral essays that hold a mirror to Philippine society – how we treat our security guards, the gaps in our justice system, and the inequalities exacerbated by the pandemic.

On this episode, Gian takes us back to 2010 – 2016, when he drafted policy speeches for the late President Benigno “Noynoy” S. Aquino III and his Cabinet. He gives us an empathetic, insightful, and balanced view of working inside government, including moments of humor, personal regrets, hard-won lessons, and thoughts on legacy.

While his first job may not have been easy, it definitely gave him creative material for a lifetime.

This episode is dedicated to all the good people in government, and all the good people holding governments everywhere accountable.

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Follow Gian on IG @gian.lao and on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/gian-lao-9768b484/

Ask him about his first book of poetry, “All the Winters of My Body,” as well his poetry zine, “What We Can See of the Sky”

https://cnnphilippines.com/life/culture/literature/2017/03/21/gian-lao-all-the-winters-of-my-body.html

Articles we discussed

https://news.abs-cbn.com/ancx/culture/spotlight/03/04/20/opinion-security-agencies-should-stop-abusing-the-very-people-they-arm-with-guns

https://news.abs-cbn.com/ancx/culture/spotlight/11/10/19/the-tulfos-are-the-face-of-philippine-justice-and-that-should-bother-us

https://news.abs-cbn.com/ancx/culture/spotlight/06/25/21/pnoy-was-my-boss-a-delayed-dispatch-from-a-palace-speechwriter

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Note: The Silliman University National Writers Workshop (SUNWW) is the longest running creative writing workshop in Asia.

Established in 1962 by National Artist for Literature Edith L. Tiempo and Edilberto K. Tiempo, both of whom had taken part in the Iowa Writers’ Workshop in the United States, the annual workshop is widely considered a rite of passage for the country’s finest writers.

With the support of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, fellowships are offered to emerging Filipino writers in various genres, namely fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, and drama.

https://lifestyle.inquirer.net/2252/a-golden-age-of-writing/

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Music: “Neon Laser Horizon” by Kevin MacLeod (imcompetech.com) licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

Sound Editing by franticsong

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xoxo Jo