Dubai (Etihad)
As part of its ongoing efforts to promote international literature and culture, the Mohammed bin Rashid Library organized a distinguished literary dialogue evening to celebrate Filipino culture, with the participation of an elite group of Filipino poets, in addition to organizing an exhibition of a group of available Filipino culture books.
The evening witnessed the participation of poet Danabelle Gutierrez, who praised the activities of the Mohammed bin Rashid Library and its embrace of cultures from all over the world. She expressed her happiness at discovering one of the most important rare books from Philippine culture among the library’s treasures. Gutierrez read excerpts from her latest book, “Tears.” Across the Earth,” she also talked about her deep connection to her identity and her country.
Poet Rosanne Riodica Joan delivered poetic and prose texts, through which she highlighted the importance of consolidating Filipino identity with the world and promoting cultural diffusion, while poet Jared Maxillum presented selections from his poems that highlighted contemporary Filipino poetry. Their topics varied between patriotism and sentimentality. He also read poems by prominent poets such as Amado V. Hernandez, José García Vela, Maningning Miklat, and Trish Chichikura.
As for Liz Gonzalez, she read excerpts from “Stories from the Mouth of the Halewood River,” through which she shed light on the art of “Henilawood,” which is considered one of the arts of improvised oral literature that generations inherited and developed through singing, and a source of information about the culture, religion, and rituals of the ancient peoples in Solud, Central Panay, Philippines.
I also read excerpts from the book “The Thief of the Statue of God” by Francisco Sionil José, and linked them to the themes of identity and belonging found in “Henilawood.”
Trixie Daniel spoke about her relationship with language as part of her heritage and identity, presented excerpts from poems related to Filipino culture, and also gave a performance of her poem “IVR.”
For his part, Bing Marlow presented texts about the legendary monster “Bakunawa”, and excerpts from the original Basaya story “Ang Bakunawa”, written by Fernando A. Boissière in 1913, in addition to works by writers from his city such as: J.P. Palma, and Marc Cabinians, winner of the Palanca Prize, and he ended his participation by reading his poem “The Wanderer.”
The event received wide praise from the attendees, who expressed their deep appreciation for the Philippine literary and cultural heritage, which was presented in an interactive and exciting way.
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