12.16.2003
Poetry from the City |
Stories from the City
by: Isabelita Orlina Reyes Reviews from other artists: Of Stories from the City, Gemino Abad, the poet, scholar, and former director of the U.P. Creative Writing Center, has written: "From poem to poem one encounters not language or text but a meaningfulness of living." And poet-critic Neil Garcia says: "Stories from the City is anything but urbane: these are brave and even cutting poems that do not balk at the idea of confronting racism, sexism, classicism, disbelief, loveliness, ennui, death, and all the other verities attending contemporary urban existence. But ultimately, this book celebrates living in the city of our collective childhood-glittering with dream, paved with simple and uncompromising need, bustling with games of precious kinship-the city buried under the jaded wakefulness we shall, after reading this astonishing first collection, barely be able to call life." About the Author: Issy Orlina Reyes holds an M.A. in Creative Writing and worked for a time in advertising and as Literary Editor of the Philippines Free Press. At present, she teaches literature and creative writing as part of the U.P.'s prestigious Creative Writing Program. Short Review: if you are the kind of person who loves what other people wouldnt want to talk about, or the one who'd rather be conventionally unconventional - then this book is for you, take it! |