THE Reading the Regions: A National Arts Month Celebration for 2020 gathered writer-educators and artists at Pinnacle Hotel in Davao City on Feb. 28-29, 2020.

The participants in the event organized by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) shared different approaches to teaching local literature to teachers, including those who teach senior high school students.

National Artist for Literature Dr. Resil B. Mojares delivered the keynote address on writing from the regions.

He said the “regional literature can no longer be thought of as marginal.”

“In any case, many of the stereotypes equating the ‘regional’ with what is localistic and parochial have lost their force. One has only to look at the writers from or in the regions today, particularly among the young—passionately engaged in local languages and traditions, yet also distinctly multilingual, well-read, mobile, wholly at ease and confident in the language or languages they have chosen to write in even as they are effectively plugged into what is going on in the nation and the world,” said Mojares, professor emeritus of University of San Carlos (USC) in Cebu City.

Plenary lectures were given by multi-awarded writer Merlie M. Alunan and Brother Karl Gaspar of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer.

Highlighted in the teaching presentations were distinct traditions and emerging themes from different regions and across the different languages of the country.

USC-Cebuano Studies Center director and former National Committee for Literary Arts chairperson Dr. Hope Sabanpan-Yu presented “The Importance of Allowing ‘Poems’ to Speak to Us.”

Other USC faculty members showcased the works of renowned Cebuano writers: Bea Martinez presented “K-12 Teaching Module for Ernesto Lariosa’s Sakdapanay.” Raphael Dean Polinar talked about “Teaching ‘Ang Ungo sa Sanpilar’ by Lamberto Ceballos,” while Charles Sanchez tackled “The traditional and modern: Conflict and theme in Temistokles Adlawan’s ‘Tingog sa Kitarang Bagol.’” Francis Luis Torres discussed “K-12 Teaching Module on Ma. Victoria Beltran’s ‘Ang Damgo ni Eleuteria Kirschbaum.’” S