POET-DIPLOMAT Vicente Vivencio Bandillo will launch his new collection of poetry in Cebuano, “Ang Musimos Mismo,” on Aug. 31.
It is the Alcantara, Cebu son’s second book of poems in 2018. “Damgo Ug Alimungaw” was released first in Cebu City last April.
Both books are published with the help of Bathalan-ong Halad sa Dagang (Bathalad) Cebu, a group of creative writers that Bandillo himself led as president before joining the Philippine diplomatic service in the 1990s.
Bathalad Cebu is also celebrating its 49th founding anniversary this month.
Bandillo’s literary event will happen at the Books and Brews Cafe (a neighbor of Handuraw Pizza Mango Square) on Juana Osmeña St. in Cebu City.
The program will start at 7 p.m. and it is open to all lovers of literature.
Bandillo, known as Butch to his compatriots, described “Ang Musimos Mismo” as the evil twin of “Damgo Ug Alimungaw.” SunStar Cebu’s resident artist Josua Cabrera, an award-winning writer himself, created the book cover art of “Ang Musimos Mismo.” “Ang Musimos Mismo” is the sixth poetry collection of Bandillo, who is the Ambassador of the Philippines to Bangladesh, including Sri Lanka and Maldives.
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. (KAL)