A New Anthology of 100 Bikol Poems Off the Press

Naga City (June 3 2011) - Sagurong, an anthology of 100 poems in Bikol will be launched at the Metropolitan Museum in Manila on June 17, 2011.

Literary professor Paz Verdades Santos and Bikol writer Kristian Sendon Cordero,who lectures at the Ateneo de Naga University, are the editors of the said collection.

The Bikol anthology is part of the seventeen-book collection, which is being published by the De La Salle University (DLSU) to commemorate its centennial anniversary as an academic institution.

Last year, through its academic publication office in partnership with Vibal Publications, DLSU also published Maharang, Mahamis Sa Literaturang Bikol, a landmark literary history and anthology in Bikol edited by the Dr. Santos.

The collection promises a surprising and delightful experience to survey the various kinds of Bikol from Buhinon to the Gubatnon; from the supposed standards that are Bikol-Naga and Bikol-Legazpi and to the insulated variants of Catanduanes and Ticao.

Also showcased are the unflinching folk humor that stands out in the works of Juan Sicat, Gualberto Manlagñit, and Yatoy Carretas and the heart-wrenching poems of Jazmin Badong-Llana, H. Francisco V. Peñones Jr, Merlinda Bobis and that unnamed Catholic nun who joined the New People’s Army in the 70’s.

The cover art in this anthology was created by Fr. Nunilon Bancaso Jr.

Significantly, the anthology is endowed with the prose and poetry of young writers who are not yet in their 30’s but are already displaying their mature affiance and defiance to their local settings and influences by turning into a discursive linguistic exploration of the Bikol tongues as reflected in the manners and motifs of Vic Nierva, Allan Popa, J. Pilapil Jacobo, Alvin Yapan, Jimple Borlagdan, Johner Caneba, Dada Docot, Sonny Sendon, Eduardo Uy and Rodel Añosa among others.

All said, the anthology is set to bear witness to the abundant literary harvest that is coming from the Bikol region.

The book launching in Bikol is set this coming September. For your orders and questions, please email at agnuspress@gmail.com or doodsantos@yahoo.com