Poetry and the Mystery of Language by Danny Sillada

FOREWORD

I would like to share my essay, a review on a Filipino poet, which will be published at the local literary journal (magazine). The poet is my friend, one of my most admired Filipino poets writing in his native tongue.

I am passionate about this essay because I have my own struggle as a writer with a great desire to write in my native language. But unlike my friend, I had written only few pieces in my lingua franca and 98% of my writings are in English.

I must humbly admit that I studied several languages and spoke three native Filipino languages, yet I am writing in English. I feel guilty about it, but I have no choice because I could reach a wider audience writing in English.

The following essay is about Poetry as a revelation of truth in the context of native language. This is a critical review based on a Filipino poet, Sonny Villafania, who is writing in his native Pangasinan language with his second book "MALAGILION: Sonnets tan Villanelles".

This is also my tribute to the 170 Filipino native languages spoken by 89,000,000 Filipino people inhabiting the 7,107 Philippine islands. Read more...

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