Manila Times column for 14 June 2009: "It’s raining lit!"

original post here.

basically, it's just about publicizing a lot of people's stuff hehe. notably, yung books na bago nina iwa at vlad. talaga lang nalimas pera ko sa powerbooks last weekend noh hehehe. pero masaya naman. daming good finds, and now i'm speed reading harry potter and the half-blood prince (eep! lapit na ipalabas!). baka di na rin ako pumunta sa book launch kasi nga binili ko na yung mga books (kasi may powercard discount card ako e hehe) pero bahala na...

to new readers and comebacking ones and those who decided to follow this blog, salamatz! :)

THE SCRIBE VIBE By Libay Linsangan Cantor It’s raining lit!

June is already here, signifying not only the start of the school year but the “official” start of the rainy season. But besides rains, we also have a deluge of literary stuff pouring this month, which began last month and continues to the next. It’s exciting to know that there are a lot of new books out in the market penned by local authors. A couple of weeks back, scriptwriter extraordinaire Ricky Lee re-launched his old book entitled Si Tatang at Mga Himala ng Ating Panahon which contains a hodgepodge of his writings, notably some short stories, reportage, essays, and even the script of his famous film Himala. This volume gets an updated look but most of its contents remain essentially the same. This was first published in 1988, so imagine it reaching a new generation of audiences this 2009. On June 15, Mag:Net Katipunan in Quezon City will be the venue of the regularly scheduled Happy Mondays poetry sessions. But that date marks more than the usual literary gathering of friends and literary lovers as it is also the launch date of three new titles from three very diverse authors: Vladimeir Gonzales comes out with his latest book entitled A-Side/B-Side: Ang Mga Piso sa Jukebox ng Buhay Mo which is a collection of essays written in Filipino while Carljoe Javier launches his book entitled And The Geek Shall Inherit The Earth. Both titles are published by Milflores Publishing Inc. Completing the trio is Norman Wilwayco’s launching of his latest novel entitled Gerilyera. This novel was the top winner in the Filipino novel category at the 2008 Carlos Palanca Awards. Congrats Vlad and Iwa! By the fourth week of June, a book compilation of plays will be launched at the opening of the annual Virgin Labfest at the Cultural Center of the Philippines on June 23. The yearly festival of new plays penned by members of the Writers Bloc Inc. will, once again, showcase edgy new material from contemporary playwrights. The anthology, edited by Rody Vera, will feature about four years’ worth of plays from the four years that the Virgin Labfest has been staged. Now that’s a collection worth having. Call the CCP box office for details. These are just some of the new titles I encountered lately. But browsing through the collection in bookstores these days, it’s exciting to see that there are more Filipino-penned titles offered and featured by the stores. Those who want to buy a lot of these titles should visit Powerbooks branches as they are having a month-long sale of Philippine publications. Now you know where my money went last weekend. But buying local titles is always worth it, believe me. So many books, so many plays, so many literary happenings to watch out for and attend. Who says Philippine literature is dead? Long live the word! Comments? Suggestions? E-mail libay.scribevibe@gmail.com. She is also at libaycantor.multiply.com.