Seminars, book forums, shows to mark Nat’l Literature Month

THE POWER OF THE PEN The April celebrations draw inspiration from the poetic masterpiece “Florante at Laura” by Francisco “Balagtas” Baltazar, as announced during a recent media event on National Literature Month. The National Commission for Culture and the Arts, the Komisyon ng Wikang Filipino, and the National Book Development Board have prepared a calendar packed with activities.

Hot on the heels of the Philippine Book Festival which drew throngs of readers—and which gives the lie to the oft-repeated statement that Filipinos don’t read—is April as National Literature Month, as proclaimed by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA).

Literature is one of the seven major arts which form the main advocacy of the NCCA. The other six are architecture, cinema, dance, music, theater, and visual arts.

This year’s theme is “Unity Through Literature,” or “Beket (an Agutaynen Palawan language word meaning unity) Panitikan para sa Katwiran at Kalikasan” (Togetherness in Literature for Reason and the Environment).

This was announced at a recent media event at the Manila Metropolitan Theater, attended by officials led by NCCA president Eric Zerrudo and representatives from the Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino (KWF) and the National Book Development Board (NBDB).

The three agencies have prepared seminars, commemorations, book discussions, and other activities geared toward the young.

The celebrations draw inspiration from Francisco “Balagtas” Baltazar, author of the poetical masterpiece “Florante at Laura.”

Reason and nature

“This year’s celebration highlights the vital contribution of indigenous imagination to the development of national literature and shaping Filipino identity,” Zerrudo said. “Drawing from indigenous strength, the theme affirms that the nation is built of diverse communities and writers whose connections continue to grow.”

“This positions literature as a vital link to collective memory, imagination, and intellectual development,” the NCCA president said. “The celebrations also emphasize the need to unite for both reason and the environment. It echoes the long-standing call of the country’s writers to uphold reason as a foundation for freedom and well-being, while encouraging greater awareness of the people’s responsibility to care for nature as an integral part of life.”

The celebrations actually began late in March, with dates adjusted due to the observance of Lent.

Nationwide activities

Filmmaker-writer Alvin Yapan of the Ateneo de Manila University gave a cinematic interpretation of a Balagtas work in Balagtas town (formerly Bigaa), Bulacan on March 27.

Michael Charleston Chua of De La Salle University will talk on Philippine history in Pandacan, Manila, on March 31. Gary Devilles of the Ateneo’s Department of Filipino will lecture on how ethnographic practices can bring heroes back to life, in Orion, Bataan.

Come April, a “Tertulya” (a traditional literary-music event) will be held in the north (Abra State Institute of Sciences and Technology), and in the south (Mindanao State University). This will be participated in by writers, researchers, teachers, and students.

Balagtas Day will be celebrated in Orion, Bataan, on April 1. Although the poet was born in Bigaa (a town later renamed in his honor), Bulacan, he later transferred to Orion where he lived and worked until his death in 1862.

Celebrations will also be held at the University of the Assumption in Pampanga (April 7 to April 8); Basco, Batanes (April 8); and the University of the Philippines at Los Baños, Laguna.

In mid-April, the focus will shift to the Ateneo de Manila University with a foundational lecture on April 16; BookTalks, April 17; Graduate Symposium, April 18; and a convention and workshop on April 30.

Gathering of writers

Cebu writers will meet on April 24; the National Writers Congress will be held on April 25; a Komposo (song) performance in Iloilo City on April 25; a literary tour in Cubao, Quezon City, also on April 25; and a Funnytikan x SPIT (improvisation theater) Manila at the Manila Metropolitan Theater on April 26.

“A National Artist Reads” will be held in Zambales, Iloilo, and Bukidnon. The monthlong celebration concludes with a gathering of writers in Naga, Bicol, and in Palawan.

“The National Literature Month reminds Filipinos of the power of stories to connect communities and preserve heritage,” Zerrudo said.

(For more information, call 0945-7885698 or email paio@ncca.gov.ph)