Busilak: New LGBTQ Poetry from the Philippines

by J. Neil C. Garcia (Editor)

The poetry suites of the LGBTQ poets in this [book] are postconfessional precisely in these respects: they “confess” their makers’ gendered and sexual subjectivities, both textually, through their works’ representational content, and extra-textually, by the sheer performativity of their having been included in [the first Global GRACE LGBTQ National Writers Workshop]. They also all evince varying degrees of self-disclosure, which may be reckoned in terms of the polarity of timidity on one hand, and excess on the other.

The… authors of [these] poetry suites, mostly all approached the subject of sexual and gendered self-disclosure indirectly—through the use of personae and stories that do not so much represent or describe as evoke their identities as queer subjects. In other words, while tapping into the formal and thematic affordances of confessional poetry, they nonetheless demur against its more readily recognizable features by thickening or attenuating their poems’ queer representational contents. In either case, the resultant articulation can be read postconfessionally as queer, despite or precisely because of the stylistic circumvention it performs.

–from the Introduction by J. NEIL C. GARCIA

Genres: Poetry

201 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2020

About the author

J. Neil C. Garcia finished his BA Journalism (magna cum laude) in the University of Santo Tomas in 1990. He is currently teaching creative writing and comparative literature at the University of the Philippines , Diliman, where he also serves as an associate for poetry in the Institute of Creative Writing . He is the author of numerous poetry collections and works in literary and cultural criticism, including Our Lady of the Carnival (1996), The Sorrows of Water (2000), Kaluluwa (2001), Philippine Gay Culture: The Last Thirty Years (1996), Slip/pages: Essays in Philippine Gay Criticism (1998), Performing the Self: Occasional Prose (2003), The Garden of Wordlessness (2005), and Misterios and Other Poems ( 2005) His latest critical work , Postcolonialism and Filipino Poetics: Essays and Critiques , is a revised version of his PhD dissertation in English Studies: Creative Writing, which he completed in 2003. He is currently working on a full-length book, a postcolonial survey and analysis of Philippine poetry in English.

Reviews

[Alfonso Manalastas · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars kasi andyan ako

[C · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nosebleed 😆

[Meeko · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very powerful and intrinsic introduction to the whole collection was well-written by J. Neil Garcia. It felt like a guiding hand to an exciting journey ahead of the readers so that they will not, in any way, lose their way in navigating the ins and outs of the “postconfessional” poems written.

It’s refreshing to read this collection since the readers can actually see different perspective on how queerness is being incorporated into local literature by these amazing writers included in this. I’m still a little lost on J. Neil Garcia’s invention of postconfessional poetry but I think I have a good grasp of it, thanks to the written poems in the book. The word is intimidating but there’s a strange feeling of understanding and familiarity that can be found in these poems, as a queer reader. Reading this felt like discovering distinct experiences of LGBTQ community represented by the writers hence it gave me the feeling of being seen and accepted in a whole another community where LGBTQ and literature meet.

[Kentaro · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first poetry collection I have read from start to end. The diversity of topics explored by every author, each with their own perspectives and experiences which enrich their poetry, makes it easy to find works that deeply resonate with you. Among some of my favorites are: "I, The Sky And You, The Sea" by Paul Sumayao, "A Study of Anger" by Alfonso Manalastas, and "Ang Ibong Dadapo sa Akin 2" by Marvin Davila Aquino. More than anything, this collection has inspired me to delve deeper into the world of Philippine poetry. Also, the representation of my community in literature is always touching and a pleasure to see in and of itself.

[Jefferson Lexus Jonson · Rating 4 out of 5]

No doubt. This book holds some of the gems I've read in Philippine Poetry in varying vernaculars. Garcia's introductory article about postconfessional poetry and how it is different from confessional poetry made experiencing the poems different than I usually would have.

A criticism, probably, would be the lack of better representation for women and trans writers, which are evidently lacking in this book.

Full review to be posted soon.

[Steno · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars din kasi kasama ako dito. Hahaha!