Lugar Lang

by Jaku Mata

Sa Lugar Lang, si Jaku Mata ay makata, mangingibig, at manlalakbay—isang makabagong Orpheus, mula Negros at Iloilo hanggang Maynila. Binabaybay niya ang mga lansangang binaha ng alaala, ang mga tubuhang nagkubli ng mga anino, at ang mga lungsod na kinakain ng sarili nilang liwanag. Dito, ang bawat espasyo ay tagpuan, ang bawat taludtod ay paglalakbay pabalik sa mundong maaaring nawala o kailangang ipaglaban muli.

80 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2025

Reviews

[Beatrice · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love poetry collections and during the Ahi’Ani event ng @uppressofficial , I am on the hunt for poetry books and the first book I spotted is Lugar Lang by Jaku Mata (@jaku.mata ). I finished this gem in one or two sittings and here are some of my annotations on the poems I like. Whether we are in a city or province— there will be fond and ugly memories. How we sometimes explore different places to reflect on our daily battles.

My favorite poems:
💫 Bangungot
💫Mga baon sa biyahe
💫 Pangunahing tauhan
💫Walang ikaw lamang

Challenging basahin to kahit maikli lang yung libro. Kailangan mo namnamin ang bawat linya at nasa saiyo kung ano ang iyong interpretasyon.

[yan ✦ · Rating 5 out of 5]

jaku mata's first published poetry collection is a whole experience. reading is and has always been resistance, and it's taken so many different meanings through time, through language, through spaces. lugar lang is guns out bleeding heart rhyme and rhythm that beautifully encapsulate that. it has everything: history, politics, struggle, romance across towns and islands; it had heavy, it had soft. but mostly, i loved how all that was made very accessible to a girl who just misses her hometown very much.

[Emmzxiee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Isa sa mga magagandang kalupunan ng mga tula na aking nabasa. RTC.

[Jini]

Ang ganda ng mga tula niya. Grabe. Parang iisa lang 'yung wavelength ng aming mga utak bulang mga hopeless romantic na may malaking attachment sa mga lugar.