1. Damagan by Allan Popa
This poetry collection attempts to retrieve the memory of a time
past; the verses are charged with resistance, seemingly against
the currents of time. Popa’s words move on the paper, drawing
the reader in and pushing the reader back once again, as
Galileo Zafra observes: “Ang pagbabasa ng mga tula ni Allan
Popa ay pakikipagsapalarang lagi sa walang katiyakan.
Madalas, hihilahin ka paloob-palabas ng tula, at aakayin sa
sikot, ligid, lalim nito.”
2. Aralín at Siyasat: Mga Pagninilay Hinggil sa Tula by Louie Jon A.
Sanchez
In this book of criticism, Sanchez recognizes the critical role of
the writer both as a craftsman and as an inspector, a critic. On
the use of the word “pagninilay,” Sanchez notes, “Sa ganitong
pagpapangalan, parang nababalikan ko, muli at muli, ang
kalikasan ng tula na tumititig sa danas at sumisinop mula rito ng
kislap-diwang maaaring makapagdulot ng panibago at sariwang
tingin sa daigdig.”
3. Between the Confucian Li and Ren: A Philosophical Hermeneutics by Rev. Fr. Richard G. Ang, O.P.
Through this book, Rev. Fr. Richard G. Ang, O.P. contributed to the Confucian Li-Ren discourse, by surveying and synthesizing past and contemporary scholars who sought to illuminate the truth behind the relationship between the two concepts. The book, according to Prof. Emer. Alfredo Co, “will open wider doors and venues for a better understanding of [the Middle
Kingdom’s] culture and thought.”
4. Walang Iisang Salita by Paul A. Castillo
This collection of poetry is the author’s first book, and in here he questions the finality of a word, the singularity of meaning, and unhurriedly reveals, in beautiful verse, a world that is never concluded, without the tyranny of a last word, as Joselito De Los Reyes remarks: “Ang kabuuan ay magpapaalala sa ating maghinay-hinay, magnilay, magsinsay sa kawalan-ng-iisang- salita.”
5. Muni: Paglalayag sa Pamimilosopiyang Filipino by Jovito V. Cariño
This book is a flight not only towards a philosophy written in Filipino, but more importantly towards a “Filipino philosophy,” through which, with the help of local and foreign philosophers, Jovito Cariño speculates on the question of Filipino-ness: the migrant experience, architecture and globalization, the conceptualization of freedom, and the dawdling yet always determined search for “being Filipino.”
6. Hantong: Mga Kuwento by John Jack G. WigleyThis book is the author’s first collection of short fiction in Filipino. Wigley proves his ability not only to draw out humor even from the most painful situations, but also to tell a story with immersion, with complex truths, and, as Romulo Baquiran notes: “matiyaga [niyang] binubuo ang daigdig ng tauhan … Bawat detalye ay mahalaga sa piniling paksa at walang maitatapong bahagi.” |
7. Drift by Joel H. Vega
This collection gathers together observant and observing
poems; Vega notices and renders unfamiliar the little fragments
of existence often missed. As Joel Toledo observes: “[It]
immediately resonates for the collection’s willingness to
transcend (or at least bring into new light) everyday things and
explore oft-tenured buildings and uncharted territories.
