Freeway, Free verse and Villa

MANILA, Philippines - Freeway pays homage to another great National Artist — the legendary poet, fictionist and NA for Literature, Jose Garcia Villa.

The third part of the series will feature the literary works of Jose Garcia Villa. He is known for his “comma poems” and his collection of short stories. In 2008 well-known publisher Penguin Classics launched Doveglion (short for “Dove, Eagle and Lion” which he used as a pen name) as a centennial edition of Villa’s collected poetry including rare and previously unpublished material.

Villa was a Filipino poet, literary critic, short story writer, and painter, and was hailed as Philippine National Artist in 1973. He was considered a powerful literary influence in the Philippines throughout much of the 20th century, although he had lived most of his life in the United States; thus earning the name “Pope of Greenwich Village.” As Luis Francia explained in Asiaweek magazine, “In a world of English language poetry dominated by the British and Americans, Villa stood out for the ascetic brilliance of his poetry and for his national origin.”

Freeway features some of his well-known works as interpreted in the collection which includes graphic tees, leggings, outerwear, woven tops, woven dresses, tote bags and clutches. The merchandise has combined high-technology printing and colorfully creative graphic works and layout to achieve the wonderful pieces that represent the series.

As a first, the brand’s National Artist Series will carry some of Villa’s poems in Pilipino as well as some of his own hand-drawn sketches, beautiful keepsakes to wear and to give away. Freeway has successfully paid tribute and recognition to two national treasures last year as it featured the works of literary genius Nick Joaquin, and the paintings and sketches of visionary master Ang KiuKok through its limited edition fashion collection.

All items will have their own gift packaging, a swing tag of Villa’s bio and a Jose Garcia Villa authenticity stamp printed on the merchandise. 

To view the entire collection, visit www.freeway.net.ph, and with fresher updates at Freeway’s Facebook fan page (search for “Freeway Online”) and Twitter twitter.com/FreewayOnline.