POET-DIPLOMAT Vicente Vivencio Bandillo will launch his new book of poems, “Damgo ug Alimungaw,” on April 27 at the Jose T. Joya Gallery of University of the Philippines Cebu on Gorordo Ave. in Cebu City.
The literary event will start at 6 p.m. and will end at 10 p.m.
“Damgo ug Alimungaw” is the fifth poetry collection of the 61-year-old Alcantara, Cebu native, who is the Ambassador of the Philippines to Bangladesh, including Sri Lanka and Maldives.
The book consists of over 90 poems. Its cover is an artwork by artist Josua Cabrera.
During the launch, the poet-diplomat himself will read some of his works and deliver a lecture on his craft.
Young and young-at-heart poets will read some of the poems from “Damgo ug Alimungaw,” which is Bandillo’s first book in the new decade and published under Bathalad Cebu, a literary group engaging in independent book publishing.
Bandillo’s other books are “Tsinelas Nga Nalubong sa Danaw” (2009), “Sanglitanan sa Kalipay ug Kasakit” (2003), and “Earth alive, moon eternal” (2001).
A selection of his Cebuano poems, translated into English and Bengali, are included in “The Book of Departures” (2017).
Bandillo had edited and co-edited anthologies of poems and stories by Cebuano writers.
Asked about his poetry, he quoted Wallace Stevens: “The poet is a god, or the young poet is a god. The old poet is a tramp.”
For inquiries about the book, send them to damgougalimungaw@gmail.com.