KAGAY-ANON POET. Mark Anthony “Ton” Daposala, a student of Xavier Ateneo’s MA Literature program, is a fellow at the 2018 University of the Philippines National Writers Workshop (UP NWW). Photo by Anthony Jacob Karagdag.
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Philippines — A student of Xavier Ateneo’s MA Literature program was named one of the 12 writing fellows at the 57th University of the Philippines National Writers Workshop (UPNWW), organized by the Likhaan: UP Institute of Creative Writing.
XU graduate student and Cagayan de Oro City-based poet Mark Anthony “Ton” Daposala says in an online interview he is glad his manuscript was selected for UP NWW, which will run from April 1 to 8.
“I believe this [workshop] will help me greatly, considering that the panel will be critiquing the whole manuscript. Writing a poem is one thing, but gathering and arranging poems in a book is another — it's an entirely different beast,” Daposala shares.
The event's official announcement reads that the UP NWW, which was previously dedicated to helping up-and-coming writers, has been reformatted to mentoring writers in mid-career. The workshop also aims to help writers who have already published (or are on the verge of publishing) a book, or have won major literary awards, further hone their craft.
“I don't know what to expect but I hope after the event, whatever the things I will learn from the UP National Writers Workshop, I can apply them in my project and, perhaps, I can confidently say that my book of poems will be ready [by then],” says Daposala, a senior fellow for poetry at the Nagkahiusang Magsusulat sa Cagayan de Oro (NAGMAC), a collective of established and up-and-coming writers of poetry, fiction (short stories and novels), creative non-fiction, plays, and screenplays in Northern Mindanao.
The selection of fellows was presided over by this year’s workshop director Vladimeir Gonzales.
The 2018 UP NWW fellows are as follows:
Bernardo O Aguay Jr (Poetry, Filipino)
Niles Jordan Breis (Essay, Filipino)
Victorette Joy Z Campilan (Fiction, English)
Noreen Capili (Fiction, Filipino)
Carlito P Casaje (Essay, English)
Eljay Castro Deldoc (Drama, Filipino)
Patricia Celina A Ngo (Fiction, English)
Romeo P Peña (Poetry, Filipino)
Anna Sanchez (Essay, English)
Cherilyn Sarigumba (Fiction, Filipino)
Januar Yap (Fiction, Filipino, translated from Cebuano)
Mark Anthony L Daposala (Poetry, Filipino, translated from Cebuano)
The workshop’s teaching panel is composed of National Artist for Literature Virgilio Almario, National Artist for Literature Bienvenido Lumbera, Amelia Lapeña-Bonifacio, Gémino Abad, Jose Dalisay Jr, Charlson Ong, Cristina Pantoja Hidalgo, J Neil Garcia, Jun Cruz Reyes, Victor Emmanuel Carmelo Nadera Jr, Luna Sicat Cleto, Eugene Y Evasco, Roland Tolentino, and Vladimeir Gonzales.
All fellows will receive a modest stipend and free hotel accommodation.
The UPNWW is complemented by the Amelia Lapeña-Bonifacio Writers Workshop, which is geared towards young writers.∎