21st Paz Marquez Benitez Memorial Exhibit and Lecture

21st Paz Marquez Benitez Memorial Exhibit and Lecture*
honoring
ANGELA MANALANG-GLORIA

4:30 P.M., Monday, 9 November
ALiWW Reading Room
1/F Old Rizal Library, Ateneo de Manila University                         

Angela Manalang-Gloria (1907-1995), hailed by feminist critics as “the matriarch of Filipino poets writing in English,” wrote Poems (1940)—the first and only pre-war anthology of poetry in English by a Filipino woman.   

Among ALiWW’s collection of Manalang-Gloria’s personal papers are two notebooks containing penciled drafts of some of her early poems and notes. Contents include the draft of the controversial poem, “Revolt from Hymen,” which “seethes with anger at the experience of marital rape, and becomes a compelling read against the final version of the poem [that] transmutes the raw display of rage into controlled but masterful spite.”

The exhibit will feature personal papers, works and memorabilia. Poets Isabela Banzon and Paolo Manalo will serve as speakers during the exhibit opening.

About the Speakers:

Isabela Banzon teaches and heads the Creative Writing Program at the University of the Philippines-Diliman.  She has authored three poetry collections, and a number of her works have appeared individually in publications such as AsianCha (Hong Kong), Asiatic (Malaysia), Indian Literature, Quarterly Literary Review of Singapore, Transnational Literatures (Australia), An Anthology of English Writing from Southeast Asia, and Desde Hong Kong.

Paolo Manalo teaches creative writing and comparative literature at the University of the Philippines-Diliman.  His poetry has been published both here and abroad.  Among the most recent is “Querida,” published in the Anvil literary anthology.

*The Ateneo Library of Women’s Writings holds an exhibit and lecture each year in memory of Paz Marquez Benitez (1894-1983), trailblazer for Filipino women writers in English. This annual event highlights the contributions of Filipino women writers to Philippine literature in English.  It features lectures delivered by eminent writers, teachers and scholars.

To confirm your attendance, please contact Ms. Karen Dabu via email kdabu@ateneo.edu or telephone 4266001 ext. 5561.