He was the writer as columnist, earning his large and loyal audience through sheer skill in writing. But the power of his prose depended on the clarity of his thought. Published in Rappler on November 11, 2023.
When my students at the University of the Philippines hosted Conrad de Quiros at a forum they organized for my opinion writing class, back in 2009, they prepared an unusual reception for him. Instead of the usual set-up, with the speaker in front of the auditorium at the lectern and the audience seated in the usual rectangle of neat rows, my class covered the entire front part of the College of Mass Communications auditorium in handwoven mats and then spread throw pillows all over the place. In the middle of that large, improvised, banig circle was a lone chair, reserved for Conrad. It was a sit-in, the perfect setting for a forum my students titled "Jamming with Conrad."
I was not prepared for it (my students do all the work in the forums; my only role is to invite the speakers), but when I walked into the auditorium I immediately realized it was an inspired idea. We all ended up literally sitting at his feet, while he took questions and gave calm, calming answers.
Some of his answers were deeply provocative, because Conrad was a provocative thinker. But in person, Conrad was a gentle, thoughtful presence. My students in 2009 must have come up with the concept for the forum because they saw Conrad as a guru to listen to, someone to jam with: long hair, crisp English, with an earned reputation for both hard drinking and fearless writing. And to borrow the rhythm of his own prose for a moment, Conrad did not only look the part, he did not only act the part, he WAS the part.
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