In celebration of World Poetry Day last March 21, the Kamuning Bakery and Cafe's Pandesal Forum invited two of the country's esteemed literary figures namely Butch Dalisay and Vim Nadera.
Moderated by Wilson Lee Flores, the forum had Nadera and Dalisay share their respective insights not just on poetry, but also in literature, specifically Philippine literature, in general.
Vim Nadera, the pioneer of Poetry Therapy in the country, acknowledged that the balagtasan has given way to FlipTop. These rap battles have been the rage for the past decade or so and is said to be what the balagtasan has evolved into. He also recognized the emergence of spoken word artists who have capitalized on hugot or the pent up, innermost feelings, mostly of hurt, then expressing them in front of an audience. Nadera then said that the currently popular forms and their respective young writers should be welcomed into the fold. The old guard should recognize their works and then use their experience and knowledge to raise the level of the young writers in order for them to be globally competitive.
Butch Dalisay also echoed Nadera's sentiments on Philippine poetry and literature's aim to be a global force. Dalisay laments that poetry has been divorced from creative writing and that poets have receded into the academia. Instead of writing for people at large, they wrote more for themselves, hence it is now hard to find a poet who is well known and admired by the masses. As one of the rare Filipino contemporary writers published internationally, Dalisay shared the advice to young writers hoping to crack the global market to be the best Filipino writer of their time.
Efforts by the government to promote Philippine poetry and literature were also discussed during the forum. Beverly Siy, from the Intertextual Division of the Cultural Center of the Philippines was invited to join the forum to present the upcoming Performatura Festival happening on March 31-April 2, 2023 at the Tanghalang Ignacio B. Gimenez (Black Box Theater).
Siy, who has been one of the most active promoters of Philippine literature online during the pandemic, laid out the numerous activities lined up at this festival of written words and performances that is returning on-site this year after an online edition back in 2021.
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| Beverly Siy, Vim Nadera, Butch Dlisay, and Wilson Lee Flores |
Here's a brief line up of what is in store at Performatura this year.
March 31, 2023, Unbox@Blackbox
Festival director Vim Nadera heads the first day with the morning session focusing on literature on social media. Vlogger entrepreneur Carlo Ople launches his creative non-fiction book Suweldo is Not Enough. There will be a panel of speakers, sneaker shoe auction, and a poetry performance by Hannah Leceña.
A celebration of National Women’s Month happens in the afternoon with a turnover ceremony of the printed copies of the book In Certain Seasons: Mothers Write in the Time of COVID with the PEN Philippines and Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines’ Bureau of the Copyright and Related Rights. This will be followed by the launch of the Lila Mga Tula, a poetry book written by women from the Linangan sa Imahen, Retorika at Anyo. Sponsored by the Spark and LILA groups, the launch will offer talks by women writers and literary performances.
Day 1 will be capped by a special film screening of Moral, directed by National Artist for Film Marilou Diaz Abaya and written by National Artist for Film and Broadcast Arts Ricky Lee, who will do a talk back session after the screening. Moderated by Patricia Holgado, this film event is co-presented by the CCP Film, Broadcast and New Media Division and the Film Development Council of the Philippines.
April 1, 2023, The Art of Spoken Word
The Ampalaya Monologues, the Philippines’ premier spoken word collective headed by its founder Mark Ghosn takes charge on the second day with the Spoken Camp, a page-to-stage writing workshop where participants will have the chance to develop their writing skills; the Spoken Fest featuring the hottest spoken word artists, backed by indie music; and the Spoken Night, an open mic session giving a platform to aspiring poets to share their voice and stories.
The second day also gives the spotlight to National Artist for Literature Gemino Abad who will give a talk on performing written poetry.
April 2, 2023, Araw ni Balagtas
The 3rd day pays tribute and celebrates the 149th birth anniversary of Francisco Baltazar.
The last day will feature performances by The Makatas with Ingay Likha battle rap artists Tulala, Zantasa and D.O.C.; a talk by Singaporean literary artist Chris Mooney Singh talks about Balagtasan in the World Literature, a talk by National Artist for Literature Virgilio Almario about the significance of Bataan in the life of Balagtas; and performances by teachers and students of Bataan High School for the Arts.
Closing the festival is KamPerformatura’s offering of poetry and performances by the youth participants, kickstarting the Tanghal Makata 2023, the Performatura-born competition.
Judging the cometition are spoken word expert Mark Ghosn, poet performer Kooky Tuason, and authentic mambabalagtas from Bulacan Melandro Pascual to name a few. Tanghali Makata 2021, Librarian Juireo Abela of Lucena City, will be on hand to present the Sam Penaso trophy and laurel sculpture by poet Raul Funilas to the next winner. The closing segment is presented by GSIS Museum, LIRA, and Unyon ng mga Manunulat sa Pilipinas (UMPIL).
Other attractions of the festival include a mini-exhibit by artist Mimi Tecson at the lobby of the CCP Tanghalang Ignacio Gimenez. Merchandise booths by artists, writers, and publishers, organized by Pia Perez of The Indie Publishers Collab PH and Mark Ghosn will be on March 31-April 1, 2023 while Artists and entrepreneurs from the Unbox team sell their works on April 2, 2023.
Admission to each segment (performance, book launch, talk, etc.) to Performatura is through a donation of a book of any kind. Donated books will then be handed over to CCP partner libraries.
