Literary titles as collectibles
These notable writers have been on a roll. Ranged against the explosion of publications from younger writers championing various literary genres—as recently displayed in the Philippine Book Festival—the four books cited here also offer continuing examples of distinctive literary worth.
National Artist for Literature Virgilio S. Almario remains constant in his writing, publication, and promotion of poetry. Lemlunay: Pagunita sa Gunita (Reminder for Memory), published by the NCCA, features 30 of his poems written in Filipino from 2018 to 2023. Translations in English are provided by fellow poet Marne Kilates, who expressed his own appreciation for the landmark achievement before his sad demise last year.
“Lemlunay, as we now know, should be celebratory and full of smiles. But the voice or voices in many of these poems is/are elegiac. The visual reality apparently would give us—eye-witness reader and listener-over-the-shoulder—no quarter from the growing realization that, either by slow on-coming tide or the rush of tsunami, sorrow is at hand. On the other hand, as the poet sings the Songs of the Ordinary (from the contemplation of art to the flying of the child’s kite) and holds in front of himself the Mirror of History, Lemlunay demands the re-visioning and the re-education of the Filipino—under centuries of dross of post-colonial oppression and no little deceit—into a state of real self-pride, national self-respect, and true human dignity.”
For her part, Sen. Loren Legarda wrote: “I support NA Almario’s book as it aligns with my own belief in the significance of our native culture. It is high time we give it the attention, appreciation, and love it rightfully deserves. Almario’s commitment to account for our historical narratives and his unwavering dedication to our national culture and the nation itself is commendable. I sincerely urge our readers to join us in recognizing the importance of the ideas advocated in this book.”
First launched at the Gimenez Gallery in UP Diliman, the book enjoyed successive presentations, beginning at Zambales on February 23, 2024, where Casa San Miguel Booknook distributed complimentary copies for schools and libraries.
On March 15, 2024, copies were presented at the Museo ng Republikang 1899 of the historic Barasoain Church in Malolos, Bulacan. The program included a screening of the short documentary from Mayumo Films, Sariling Gunita (A Personal Reminiscence), directed by Mark Daniel de Castro. The film focuses on Almario and his hometown San Miguel. The community-based theater group Barasoain Kalinangan Foundation Inc. (BKFI), and students and teachers from three high schools read from the book and shared performance pieces.
On Aug. 23-24, Lemlunay had its Bikol Region launch on successive evenings in Legazpi City—at Ninong’s Hotel then at Pacific Mall Legazpi, with featured co-poets Romulo Baquiran Jr., Niles Jordan Breis, Abdon Balde Jr., Bonifacio Caña, and Eilene Narvaez, who served as editor and publication director.
On Aug. 27, the Baguio City launch was held at Teatro Amianan of UP Baguio. These multiple presentations were in keeping with Almario’s stated mission of distributing books to cultural institutions all over the country, as well as the promotion of poetry. “Ibalik ang tula sa pusò ng madla (Bring poetry back to the heart of the people).”
Lemlunay actually refers to the concept of paradise in the mythology of the T’boli people of southern Philippines. The book is highly visual, with photographs by journalist and publication designer Roel Hoang Manipon, and design by Manipon and Mervin Concepcion Vergara.
Almario expressed during the initial launch: “‘Lemlúnay’ is a remembrance of our history. The difference of this book is that I reflected on the history of the Philippines through cultural objects, from primitive art objects, relics, and recently discovered fossils and others, as well as works by our great painters and writers, which we must return to, study diligently and correct our perception about them.”
Almario’s next book, Ano ang Demokrasya?, was published by San Anselmo Publications in October 2024 under the imprint of Aklat Kabataan. It is available via both Shopee and Lazada. The author explains the concept of democracy, from its beginnings in Greece to its inception and growth as an essential element of Philippine history.
Ani Almario: “Ang tekstong ito ay sinulat ko para maging panimulang gabay kung ano ang mga sangkap ng demokrasya. … Pwede itong dagdagan ng paliwanag. Pwedeng annex halimbawa ang bill of rights ng 1987 Constitution. O ang Kartilya ng KKK na sinulat ni Jacinto. Inaasahan ko itong lagyan ng angkop na ilustrasyon para mas maintindihan. Pwede sa anyong komiks para sa lahat at sa anyong picture book para sa mga musmos. Malaya ang sinumang artist para bigyan ito ng interpretasyon.”
The inside-back-cover page of the 32-page booklet lists the 13 lessons written by Emilio Jacinto as “Mga Aral ng Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan.”
Published by University of Santo Tomas Publishing House and finally bringing together all of her short fiction written over a period of almost 50 years, Complete Stories & Tales by Cristina Pantoja Hidalgo includes stories published in her separate short story collections, and tales embedded in two of her novels.
Originally published in 2019 as Collected Stories and Tales, the update has added the earlier stories of Catch A Falling Star, including her highly popular Patriciang Payatot series. There are also three New Stories, and the same number of Early Stories. The initial chronology is then followed, of her collections thus far that began with Ballad of a Lost Season, until Tales from A Book of Dreams, and finally, The Story from the Likhaan Anthology of Philippine Literature in English from 1900 to the Present: The Art of Understatement.
The last includes the following passage, which may as well define the author’s prose from strength to strength.
“Her language served her well for the evocation of mood, the exploration of nuances. One felt the subtlety of her mind, the delicacy of her sensibility.”
In effect, Hidalgo’s life work that began with journals, travel writing, and magazine features now showcases “the originality, variety, and depth of her art,” as proclaimed for the 2019 collection.
We can only agree that “Books like this one are designed to allow readers to chart the development of the writer’s art, from its beginnings to the present day. They also serve to introduce the writer’s body of work to a new generation of readers.”
In his Introduction to the complete collection, Angelo Lacuesta writes:
“Hidalgo’s early style and subject matter, already rich with the polish that less ambitious writers might strain for, would merely be the beginning of a journey through fiction."
“In (her) latter fiction,… it is the realm of memory and dreams that takes over the realist narratives found in Ballad of a Lost Season…. The woman is herself the dream, attaining a musical, ethereal, almost mythical state, capable of creating her own world, perhaps a little like the world in Hidalgo’s own journeys as traveler and writer—by building labyrinths out of stories, each tender and exquisite, secret and set apart, their hearts reachable only by memory and magic, but always present, and always true.”
Sojourner, Settler, Seer: The Complete Stories of Charlson Ong, from Milflores Publishing, collects four compilations of his fiction published in a span of four decades, plus three uncollected pieces and 2018 Likhaan Journal story. Credit should be given Marius Black for the cover and inside illustrations.
While thematically covering “Chinese heritage, … strained relationships, and historical and socio-political issues. … the stories at times veer into the territory of fantasy.”
In a recent interview with Raissa Falgui, Ong states: “With China increasingly seen as imposing its interests and narrative upon the rest of the world, the Chinese-Filipino writer risks no longer being seen as representing a minority discourse but representing a hegemonic power. This is what faces us today and is the subject of my next novel.”
We look forward to this, just as we agree with how Ronald Baytan starts his introduction, The Work of Fiction: Musings on the Stories of Charlson Ong, “There is only one Charlson Ong—and this book is proof of the singularity of his vision and the magnificence of his imagination.”
Indeed, admirable has been Ong’s imaginative infusions while contouring plot twists and turns. Readability suffers no lag, thanks as well to a propitious blend of exposition and dialogue that both advance an intriguing narrative, and a casual understanding of when to shift points of view —to enhance characterization.
From the previously unpublished Sheltering of 2020:
“I had a mind to talk to Titus Rey, the president of our homeowners’ association. A prick if ever I met one, hasn’t even been here a year. Heard he’s a retired cop or military. He’s been anal over security and stuff since winning by a mere three votes over me and Julie Kong last elections: changing security agency—claiming that the guards were ’fraternizing’ with long-time residents like myself—requiring car passes, installing CCTV. And now they’re letting in strangers when the ramparts should be up.”
In another section, while addressing the central female character after her last verbalization on “Sheltering in place,” the first-person POV turns internal, magnified in italics: “Listen, remember your darkest moment, remember his hand holding yours, begging you to stay, to not let go, remember the light, remember that. Not this, not this. Things change. People change … heal, I wanted to say but knew the futility of it all.”
