CCP Intertextual launches e-book on Filipino mothers’ experiences in time of Covid-19

With the year 2020 clearly defined by the Covid-19 pandemic, it is inevitable that literature coming out from this period will have the health crisis as its primary focus.

The Cultural Center of the Philippines through its Intertextual Division, is set to launch one such work, an e-book collection of pieces by Filipino mothers about their respective experiences during the pandemic.

Entitled In Certain Seasons: Mothers Write In The Time of COVID, this e-book will be launched on January 23, 2021, 2:00 PM, via the official Facebook pages of the CCP, CCP Intertextual Division, and the Philippine PEN.

The Filipino mother writers whose work are collected in the e-book are:

Kora Dandan Albano (Nanay)

Nikki Alfar (Surviving Ourselves)

Merlie Alunan (Pilgrim Heart)

Alma Anonas-Carpio (Pandemic Kitchen)

Lualhati Bautista (Usapang Rape)

Adelle Chua (Nest Never Empty)

Jhoanna Lynn B. Cruz (Some Terms of Reference for a Pandemic)

J. G. Dimaranan (Sa Wakas)

May Dolis (Ang Iyong Ama)

Heidi Emily Eusebio-Abad (Isang Panalangin)

Rowena P. Festin (Tanawin Mula sa Aking Bintana)

Geraldine Flores-Ingco (Braso ni Mercedes)

Christine V. Lao (Violin Practice)

Babeth Lolarga (Dreaming of When It's Over)

Maricel Padua Lopez (Sabay: Buhay-Guro, Buhay-Nanay)

Gina Lumauig (When Kindness Becomes Contagious)

Ruth Elynia Mabanglo (Pamamaalam)

Liwliwa Malabed (Mahal Kong Sampinit)

Princess Malonzo (Linggo)

Alma Cruz Miclat (Lola Love in the Pandemic)

Banaue Miclat-Janssen (Learning in the Time of Covid-19)

Aimee Morales (Mother Panawagan)

Reina Mae Nasino (Mensahe ng Pasasalamat at Panawagan)

Marot Nelmida-Flores (Life-Changing)

Eunice Barbara Novio (Yet, We Had Each Other)

Rica Paloma-Espiritu (Chicken Soup)

Mae Ann Reginaldo (Mga Lalaki sa Cubao sa Panahon ng Lockdown)

Rae Rival (Paliligo sa Bakuran)

Hope Sabanpan-Yu (The Garden is Always There)

Adelma Salvador (Bisikleta)

Anna Felicia C. Sanchez (Snapshots from the Pandemic Summer)

Aida F. Santos (Being a Mother in the Underground)

Heidi B. Sarno (Ponx Not Dead)

Lee Sepe (Sa Bawat Bukas)

Neni Sta. Romana-Cruz (Cocooning with No Complaints)

Eleanor Strata (Shelved)

Angela Stuart Santiago (Way to Live)

Almayrah A. Tiburon (Pagluluwal)

Mia Tijam (Directing Grace)

Winnie Velasquez (Takipsilim ni Granny Google)

Lalaine F. Yanilla-Aquino (Roller Coaster of Emotions, Blessings in Disguise, at Reversal of Roles).

Together with the Philippine PEN, the book project aims to understand the importance and the role of women, specifically mothers, and their literature during the global crisis, and promote the narratives of women who are mothers, highlighting that women can be both child-raisers and artists amid the struggles of being a parent.

In Certain Seasons: Mothers Write In The Time of COVID is edited by Che Sarigumba and Jenny Ortuoste and features a cover by Imelda Cajipe Endaya. The book also includes artworks by Imelda Morales, Jenny Ortuoste, Kora Dandan Albano and Chua Keng Keng – Lua.

A copy of the e-book can be availed for free by visiting the CCP Intertextual Division Facebook page, by sending an e-mail to ccpintertextualdivision@gmail.com, or by texting 0919-317-5708.