07/08/2024
Tacloban Mayor backs National Artist nomination of EV poet
Mayor Alfred Romualdez has expressed strong support for Tacloban poet Merlie Alunan's nomination for the National Artist for Literature spot. During Alunan’s courtesy visit to the City Mayor's Office on Wednesday morning (August 7, 2024), Romualdez praised her for raising Tacloban’s banner to the "highest national recognition given to Filipino individuals who have made significant contributions to the development of Philippine arts."
The local chief executive and the poet shared their vision for Tacloban and Eastern Visayas, focusing on enriching the cultural scene by showcasing and celebrating the talents of the local artists. They were joined by Jenelyn Garcia, Dean of ABE Tacloban and President of KATIG WRITERS NETWORK, the organization that lobbied Alunan’s nomination.
UP Professor Emeritus Alunan, nominated by the KATIG WRITERS NETWORK in June 2024, has made significant strides in promoting language justice through her poetry, intellect, and mentoring. Her works have been influential in the revival of writing in the mother tongue, encouraging many local writers and resulting in the growth of high-quality literary works from EV which ushered in more opportunities to showcase their pieces in the national venues.
At 80, Alunan’s extensive body of work reflects her unique poetic voice and intelligence consistently engulfed with nationalism. Her poetry is collected under seven titles: Hearthstone Sacred Tree (Anvil 1993); Amina Among the Angels (UP Press 1998); Selected Poems (UP Press 2004); Tales of the Spiderwoman (UST Publishing House 2010); Pagdakop sa Bulalakaw ug Uban pang mga Balak (AdNU Press 2013); Running with Ghosts and other Poems (AdNU Press 2018); Tigom: Collected Poems of Merlie Alunan (UP Press 2024).
She has also authored three ground-breaking anthologies such as Sa Atong Dila: Introduction to Visayan Literature, and Tinalunay: Hinugpong nga Panulat sa Winaray, both published by the UP Press (2016 & 2018), and Susumaton:Oral Narratives of Leyte (AdMu Press, 2017). Meanwhile, Our Memory of Water (AdNU Press 2016), a collection of literary materials compiled two years after Typhoon Haiyan hit the country in November 2013, gained much attention for its eco-critical essence.
If awarded the title of National Artist for Literature, Merlie Alunan will be the first Visayan female and the first individual from Eastern Visayas to receive this highly prominent badge. | Via rpa cablao / CIO
