Two transgressive covers

An uninspired transgressive book cover of Almost Never by Daniel Sada.

And here's an inspired one – The Vivisector by Patrick White.

When the riots come (poem)

When the riots come the old Chilean mutineers will cry
of nostalgia and sorrow for no longer being alive
and the toilets will explode and the plumbing on the black horizon
will be a pure knot soaked with shit
...........................................................
When the riots come the old Chilean military-men
will dance a cuenca along the sea
and all the whales will come up to see such a marvel
and they will open their whale jaws
so that there will be thousands of Jonases
all over the world

– from "The riots" by Roberto Bolaño and Bruno Montané, in Cascadia Solidaria, poems and translations by Phil Neff; original poem in Diez poemas y once poetas infrarrealistas by Cuauhtémoc Méndez Estrada (via Cascadia Solidaria)

A library is a moveable feast

ART BY MALANG

Kudos to Mang Nanie Guanlao for a worthy project which had caught online attention (here, here and here). Mang Nanie is the librarian of a mobile library without rules, a worthy cause on spreading out the words on books. I don't know Mang Nanie personally but had the privilege of communicating with him online as a fellow judge in this year's inaugural Filipino Readers Choice Awards.

Reading list: Palanca Awards (Philippines)

The Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature is a prestigious literary prize in the Phiippines. Beginning in 1951, the Awards is awarded to the best short stories in English and Filipino. Its coverage has since expanded to include other genres (plays, poetry, novel, essay, etc.) and several Philippine languages. After 60 years of existence (and counting), the Palanca has become a showcase of the best Filipino writers and the vitality of Filipino writing.

Below is a list of the Grand Prize winners in the Novel category in English and Filipino which were awarded every year starting in 1980 and then every three years starting in 1984. Several years did not produce a "Grand Prize winner/s" and these were indicated.



NOVEL IN FILIPINO

1980 Grand Prize: Gapo by Lualhati Bautista

1981 Special Prize: Mga Tinapay sa Ibabaw ng Tubig by Reynaldo A. Duque

1982 Grand Prizes: Kulang ng Isa sa Sandosena: Ba't di pa Magkasya sa Labing-isa na Lang by Victor V. Francisco; and Tutubi! Tutubi! 'Wag Kang Magpapahuli sa Mamang Salbahe by Jun Cruz Reyes

1983 Grand Prizes: Dekada '70 by Lualhati Bautista; and Ficcion by Edel Garcellano

1984 Grand Prizes: Bata, Bata, Paano Ka Ginawa by Lualhati Bautista; and Bata, Sinaksak, Isinilid sa Baul by Tony Perez

1987 Special Mentions: Mga Aninong Hubad by Cyrus P. Borja; and Mga Limbas sa Lupa ng Muhammad by Ramon V. Lim

1990 Honorable Mentions: Gagamba by Reynaldo A. Duque; and Kwadresentinyal by Rosauro Dela Cruz

1993 Grand Prizes: Bulaklak ng Maynila by Domingo G. Landicho; and Moog by Buenaventura S. Medina Jr.

1996 Grand Prize: Malaybay by Edmund Coronel

1999 Grand Prize: Ang Kaulayaw ng Agila by Lilia Quindoza Santiago

2002 Grand Prize: Kung Paano Ko Inayos ang Buhok Ko Matapos ang Mahaba-haba Ring Paglalakbay by Norman Wilwayco

2005 Grand Prize: Unang Ulan ng Mayo by Ellen Sicat

2008 Grand Prize: Gerilya by Norman Wilwayco

2011 Grand Prize: Ang Banal na Aklat ng mga Kumag by Allan Alberto N. Derain



NOVEL IN ENGLISH

1980 Special Prize: Silapulapu and The Zebut Brothers by Remmie Suaco Brillo

1981 Grand Prizes: Mass by F. Sionil José and Sangria Tomorrow by Wilfrido D. Nolledo

1982 Grand Prize: Surveyors of the Liguasan Marsh by Antonio R. Enriquez

1983 Special Prize: The Standard Bearer by Edilberto K. Tiempo

1984 Grand Prize: Vaya Con Virgo by Wilfrido D. Nolledo

1987 Grand Prize: Great Philippine Jungle Energy Café by Alfred A. Yuson

1990 Grand Prize: Bamboo in the Wind by Azucena Grajo Uranza

1993 Grand Prizes: Killing Time in a Warm Place by Jose Y. Dalisay Jr.; and Subanons by Antonio R. Enriquez

1996 Grand Prize: Recuerdo by Cristina Pantoja-Hidalgo

1999 Grand Prize: Smaller and Smaller Circles by Ma. Felisa H. Batacan

2002 Grand Prize: The Sky Over Dimas by Vicente Garcia Groyon

2005 Grand Prize: Salamanca by Dean Francis Alfar

2008 Grand Prize: Ilustrado by Miguel Syjuco

2011 Grand Prize: In the Service of Secrets by Maria Victoria Soliven Blanco

Lemebel, Cortázar, Ōe, Ishiguro, Wallace, Bolaño (Grand Street links)

Selected online things from the defunct magazine Grand Street.

Two Chronicles by Pedro Lemebel, trans. Mary Ann Newman

A Rejected Chapter from Hopscotch, trans. Alberto Manguel

A dialogue between Kazuo Ishiguro and Ōe Kenzaburo

Death Is Not the End by David Foster Wallace

Speaking of Grand Street, issue # 67 (Fire) (1999) must be collectible. It marked the English debut of Roberto Bolaño with "Phone Calls", translated by Mark Schafer. Upon his death, the translation was reprinted in his memory, in Grand Street # 72 (Detours) (2003).