Book written by young Kapampangan poets out soon

By Joelyn G. Baluyut

Monday 2nd of July 2012

ANGELES CITY, Pampanga, July 2 (PIA) -- The Center for Kapampangan Studies (CKS) of Holy Angel University (HAU) will launch this Friday another book that will promote the Kapampangan dialect and help those who are interested to learn Kapampangan poetry as well.

The book, entitled “Diwang Kayanakan: Kawatasan Kapampangan, Sunis 1,” was written by three young Kapampangan poets – Roilingel Calilung, Adrian Lee Magcalas, and Ernie Sabandal.

“Diwang Kayanakan will promote Kapampangan language and also specify the role of KATATAGAN Inc., as the project proponent and publisher,” said Calilung.

Katipunan da ring Talasaliksik at Talaturung Kapampangan (KATATAGAN) Inc. is a non-stock, non-profit organization established to promote and preserve the Kapampangan culture, history, literature and language.

Calilung, 25, is a poet from from Bacolor town who works at the Angeles City Library.

Calilung started writing poetry in Kapampangan at a very young age and has won school-based Kapampangan writing contests and is currently pursuing law studies.

Meanwhile, Magcalas, who is a poet from Porac, explained that “the definition of ‘sunis,’ which he means ‘indayog’ in Tagalog and ‘rhythm’ in English; is one of the essential elements in writing poetry."

He added that “the book could encourage Kapampangan poetry to the youth, where it can be seen is declining.”

Magcalas, 28, is an instructor of Information Technology at HAU. Writing first in English and Tagalog, he started to pen in Kapampangan at the age of 16. Like Calilung, he also had won school-based writing competitions.

For his part, Sabandal when asked what would the book contribute, responded that “their book is a good reading for those who want to learn Kapampangan poetry, it has an additional 32 pages on how to write a poem and 20 pages of Kapampangan glossary, called ‘talabaldugan’ in vernacular.”

Sabandal, poet from Angeles City, is a shy young man tackling a wide array of subjects: a provocative question on norms, a married woman’s suffering, or a person’s point of view of a lady’s gaining respect. He was an honorable mention in a poetry competition sponsored by University of the Philippines Clark Campus. (CLJD/JGB-PIA3)