Dumaguete, Negros Oriental host Taboan 2013 literary fest

DUMAGUETE CITY , Philippines  â€“ An estimated 100 seasoned and 50 emerging writers from all over the country are expected to converge in this city to attend the Taboan 2013, the Philippine Writers Festival for literature of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) from February 7 to 9.

Doctor Christine Godinez-Ortega, NCCA vice head of the national committee on literary arts and Taboan 2013 Festival director, disclosed that at least five schools in this city have already signified their intent to participate in the annual event.

The participating writers will be discussing concerns and issues of literature in the Philippines. Foreign literary artists have been invited as well to join local counterparts in the festival, NCCA’s flagship project for literary arts.

This year’s Taboan Festival, bearing the theme “Celebrating Icons,” will focus on Visayan literature, with Katitikang Bisaya that embraces all forms of literary arts in the Visayas.

Music and dance presentations by cultural groups such as the Tanjay City Symphony Orchestra and the award-winning Rondalla group of Dauin, all from Negros Oriental, will be providing entertainment during the festival, the opening of which will be keynoted by Dr. Resil Mojares, author and scholar of Philippine arts and culture.

Performances on sidoy, balitao and balak (Visayan literary arts forms) will also be done by writers from the Visayas region during the evenings, free of charge, at the Rizal Boulevard.

Other activities are book fair, food and culture and arts exhibits while Visayan writers who have made important contributions to Visayan literature will also be awarded.

Various topics such as “Your Place at the Writers Table’, “Chinoy Writing, Writing Chinoy”, “Experimenting with Genres”, “Gender Factor”, Modern Catholic Writing, Translating Text and discussion on works of noted literary artists are also calendared.

Taboan 2013 Festival is part of the country’s celebration of National Arts Month and is also being held in Pampanga on Feb. 22, Tacloban City in Leyte and Capul town in Northern Samar on February 23 and 24, and in the Ateneo de Manila University on March 1. —(FREEMAN)