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Friday, January 21, 2011
Money, vanity, necessity: Self-publishing in Philippine literature
By Patricia May B. Jurilla, Ph.D. from The Forum - July-August 2010 - (Vol 11 Issue 4)
There is a certain stigma that comes with self-publishing. By personally taking on the task and expense of printing, distributing, and promoting his/her own work, the author invites suspicion—be it of mediocrity (the work must have been rejected by professional publishers); hubris (how proud is the author of the work to go so far as spending for its printing and distribution); vanity (how conceited is he/she to think that anyone else would be interested not only in reading but even buying his/her work); unexplained, possibly ill-gotten, wealth (particularly for literary authors who are generally known or expected to have limited financial resources, where did he/she get the money?); or all of the above. There is the tendency then to regard self-publishing, which is also commonly referred to or scoffed at as ‘vanity publishing,’ as less credible or legitimate than the activity of professional, commercial, and institutional producers of books or the real publishers. In the particular case of literary authors, the stigma of self-publishing is perhaps more marked due to idealised notions on the incompatibility of art (as noble or nearly sublime) and commerce (as materialistic or much too worldly). The self-publishing literary author boldly crosses the boundary between art and commerce by not only expressing him/herself but also selling him/herself thereafter. » Read more...
Santiago B. Villafania, a bilingual Filipino poet who writes in English and in his native language of Pangasinan, is the author of poetry collections Balikas na Caboloan (Voices from Caboloan) published by the National Commission for the Culture and the Arts (NCCA) under its UBOD New Authors Series (2005) and Malagilion: Sonnets tan Villanelles (2007). He has been published in several countries and translated into several languages. Villafania is one of the 11 Outstanding Pangasinenses conferred with the 2010 Asna Award for the Arts and Culture (literature) during the first Agew na Pangasinan and also the 430th Foundation Day of the province on April 2010. He is a member of Philippine PEN. Read more »
"The publication of Malagilion: Sonnets tan Villanelles by Santiago B. Villafania should be a source of rejoicing for readers of regional literatures. This second book by Pangasinan's leading poet today is impressive in both form and substance. Villafania has created 300 sonnets and 50 villanelles in his own language that attempt to reflect the primacy of native culture and return the poet to the central stage of social life." – A Boost to Pangasinan Literaturefrom Breaking Signs by Cirilo F. Bautista (Philippine Panorama, 16 Dec. 2007, pp.25-26)
"Sa kanyang pangalawang aklat na Malagilion, nangahas na naman siya (Villafania) na gumimbal sa pamamagitan ng kanyang Sonnets tan Villanelles upang ilibing sa limot ang aking pag-usisa't pag-urirat kung paano na ang panitikang Pangasinan." – Victor Emmanuel Carmelo Nadera, Jr., Tagapangulo, Unyon ng mga Manunulat sa Pilipinas
"Villafania is not only a visionary poet, he is a linguistic philosopher who codifies the origin of language and culture, dissects the myths and the common beliefs of the people against the urban legends, juxtaposes the literary tradition against the modern influences by dialectically infusing them in his poetic revelation of truth." – Poetic Revelation in Language and Culture by Danny C. Sillada (Manila Bulletin, 12 May 2008, pp. F1-F2)
"Sumusunod si Sonny Villafania sa landas na hinawan ng mga manunulat sa Pangasinan na nauna sa kanya. Sa kanyang paglalakbay, hinahawan din niya ang bagong mga landas na maaaring sundin ng susunod na mga manunulat sa wikang Pangasinan. Subalit hindi lamang para sa mga taga-Pangasinan ang kasalukuyang akda. Ito rin ay panawagan sa mga manunulat sa ibang mga wika sa Pilipinas upang patuloy na pagyamanin ang kanilang panitikan at pagsulat. Kung walang mga lokal na panitikan ay hindi magiging posible ang tunay na panitikang pambansa." – Dr. Ricardo Ma. Nolasco, Tagapangulo, Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino (KWF).
Photos: Book Launching at the Pearl Manila Hotel, 5 Feb. 2008
"Santiago Villafania's Balikas ed Caboloan certainly has reinvigorated the anlong tradition of Pangasinan that for a long period of time suffered silence from the hands of writers more attuned to English writing. Characteristically anacbanua, Villafania's poetry echoes his predecessors and presages a promising era for young writers in Pangasinan." – Dr. Marot Nelmida-Flores
Six of my poems translated into Arabic by Prof. Abdul-Settar Abdul-Latif (English Dept., College of Education, University of Basrah, Iraq) and have been published in TEXT - the Cultural Monthly Journal, Issue No.13
Translations of Swansong of the sea into Italian by Mario Rigli and into Arabic by Nizar Sartawi
Translations of Erolalia in German, Arabic, Italian, Spanish and Bulgarian language. And here is the 1st version of the poem published in The Sunday Times (Manila Times, 11.23.2003).
Friday, January 21, 2011
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