‘Balagtasan’ at the Bowery Poetry Club Oct. 12

'Balagtasan' triumvirate of Nadera, Coroza and Antonio

Poets Vim Nadera, Mike Coroza, and Teo Antonio will be performing a ‘balagtasan’ at the Bowery Poetry Club on October 12.

Balagtasan is the tradition of poetic joust featuring extemporaneous debates in verse. The term got its name from prominent poet Francisco Balagtas noted for his “Florante at Laura” literary epic. Think of it as a philosophical rap battle! The topic for the balagtasan is whether Filipinos should work abroad or not. A winner will be declared by audience vote.

Vim Nadera is an award-winning poet, fictionist, playwright, and essayist. He became the youngest recipient of the Recognition Award from the Commission on Filipino Language, formerly known as the Institute of National Language.

Mike Coroza is a multi-awarded poet, essayist, translator, editor, and educator. He is an associate professor at the Department of Filipino, School of Humanities, Ateneo de Manila University. He won eight major awards from the Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature for his poems, essays, and stories for children.

Teo Antonio is the son of Emilio Antonio, the King of Balagtasan during the 1950s. He won numerous honors, including the World Poetry Reading Summit in Kuala Lumpur in 1996 and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Unyon ng mga Manunulat sa Pilipinas/Writers Union of the Philippines in 2002.

For questions about tickets contact Meredith Ramirez Talusan at demerit@gmail.com.



One Comment

  1. […] Bowery Poetry Club will host a multi-poet “balagtasan,” which FilAm describes as a “philosophical rap battle,” about whether Filipinos should work abroad or […]

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