REMEMBERING trips to the beach, a chat between OFWs, an awkward encounter at a mall escalator, enduring the traffic along EDSA, and restricted drives between cities during the lockdown are among the topics covered in the essays, poems, and short stories published in Ani 41: Lakbay, the official literary journal of the Intertextual Division of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP).
The works revolve around the theme of “lakbay” or “travel.”
Edited by award-winning writer and editor Herminio S. Beltran, Jr., with Mia P. Tijam as the special section editor, the literary journal features 146 works by new and veteran writers, including Anna Vanessa G. Miranda, Arnel T. Noval, Basil Bacor, Jr., Christine Marie Lim Magpile, Cris R. Lanzaderas, Dionisia B. Fernandez, Eilyn L. Nidea, Emmanuel Lacadin, Fe M. Valledor, Genaro Gojo Cruz, Gil S. Beltran, Gregorio V. Bituin Jr., Jack Lorenz Acebedo Rivera, Jan Angelique Dalisay, Jeremie B. Joson, Joel F. Ariate Jr., John Patrick F. Solano, Kelvin Gatdula Lansang, Mac Andre Arboleda, Mark Anthony Angeles, Napoleon Arcilla III, Nikki Mae Recto, Patricia May Labitoria, Peter Michael C. Sandico, Raphael A. Coronel, Reynaldo M. Tamayo, Jr., Roman Marcial Gallego, Ronnel V. Talusan, Shur C. Mangilaya, Wama A. Jorbina, and Yvette Tan.
The works are in English and several Philippine languages including Filipino, Bicol, Pangasinan, Cebuano, Visayan, Waray-waray, Hiligaynon, and Kankanaey.
The book cover, designed by Ronie Chua Padao, features a photograph titled Bangka, by Marcellino C. Sanchez, Jr. Art by Dominic Ian E. Cabatit, Fara Manuel-Nolasco, Jean Govinda Marquesto, Jerome Agustin, Kyle Alistair Tan, and Norma Jean Lopez serve to divide the book into different sections.
This year, the people behind the journal also aimed “to help promote inclusivity in the publishing field,” so 13 of the works were written by Persons with Disability (PWDs) and Persons Affected by Disability (PADs).
“Ang paglalakbay ay isang malaking hamon ngayon dahil sa pandemiya. Pero hindi nag-atubili ang mga manunulat para maglakbay ang kanilang diwa at imahinasyon para sulatin ang kanilang mga karanasan tungkol sa iba’t ibang lugar na kanilang kinalakihan (Traveling is a big challenge now because of the pandemic. But the writers did not hesitate to travel with their spirit and imagination in order to write their experiences of the places they grew up in),” the journal’s editor, Mr. Beltran, said during the journal’s online launch streamed through Facebook.
“Ang mga katha ng mga Pilipino sa panahon ngayon ay pagsusulat para [mabuksan] ang ating isipan at ating guni-guni sa ating kapaligiran, sa ating kasaysayan, at sa ating hinaharap (The creations of Filipinos today are written to open our minds and imagination to our environment, history, and future),” he said.
The Ani 41: Lakbay e-book can be downloaded for free at http://bit.ly/Ani41Lakbay. For more information, visit the CCP Intertextual Division’s Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/CCPInterxtualDivision). — MAPS
