MANILA, Philippines - The Bienvenido N. Santos Creative Writing Center (BNSCWC) and the Literature Department of De La Salle University (DLSU) will launch Fishes of Light/Peces de Luz: Tanrenga in two tongues (Sipat Publications, 2013) by Marjorie Evasco and Alex Fleites on March 22, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., at the fifth floor of Henry Sy Sr. Hall, DLSU-Manila.
An ancient form of poetic dialogue from Japan, tan-renga is a poet’s endeavor to connect with another poet’s evocation of life through language and music. Fishes of Light, written in English and Spanish, is a collaborative play of images between Evasco and Fleites, as their verses crisscrossed seas and shores for two years.
Evasco was the 2010 S.E.A Write Laureate for the Philippines and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts’ Ani ng Dangal 2011 awardee. Her three poetry collections are Dreamweavers (1986), Ochre Tones (1999), and Skin of Water (2009).
Fleites hails from Havana, Cuba. He has published eight books, receiving a number of awards including the Julian del Casal National Poetry Prize and the “26 de Julio†National Prize for Journalism. His poetry collections are Un perro en la casa del Amor (2004), Omnibus de noche (1995), De vital importancia (1989) and A dos espacios (1981).
Fishes of Light contains Chinese paintings by Chua Keng Keng and calligraphy by Kristian Jeff Agustin. Book design is by Donato Mejia Alvarez.
For inquiries, call the BNSCWC at 524-4611 local 233, or e-mail bnscwc@yahoo.com.