The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
Iloilo City—Palanca award-winning author Dr. Leoncio P. Deriada recently launched the first two of the four books that he is set to release this year.
The two books, launched at the Produkto Lokal Weekend Fair at The Mango Tree in Iloilo City’s Mandurriao district on Feb. 27, are Eerie and Praktikal Hiligaynon para sa mga Brodkaster kag mga Manunundlo.
The books were published by Kasingkasing Press, an alternative publishing house and online bookshop for Western Visayan writers and readers.
Its founder, University of San Agustin professor Noel de Leon, described Eerie as a collection of 14 short stories about Deriada’s strange personal experiences.
Praktikal Hiligaynon para sa mga Brodkaster kag mga Manunundlo, on the other hand, tackles the common mistakes radio broadcasters commit in using Hiligaynon, and the publisher said it could also help students, teachers, and anyone interested to learn basic Hiligaynon.
Deriada will later release this year Mga Tinuga sang Kangitngit, about the terminologies used in the folk tales, myths and legends of Panay Island; and Panimalay Ilonggo, a basic children’s Hiligaynon manual for parents, primary-school teachers and young readers.
Deriada’s “publications are sought after by many in the academe and literary circles, not just in the region, but throughout the country,” de Leon said. He expressed optimism that the prize-winning author’s new books will have a big impact on Panay natives’ linguistic and literary heritage, “and on how Hiligaynon is being taught and used as a regional language.”
“Dr. Deriada is a staunch advocate for the use of local language, inspiring many of his protégées to become distinguished writers in Hiligaynon, Kinaray-a and Aklanon, apart from Filipino and English,” de Leon said.
Regarded as the father of contemporary West Visayan literature, Deriada was inducted into the Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature’s Hall of Fame in 2001 after garnering five first-prize wins: “The Day of the Locusts” (short story in English) in 1975; “Mutya ng Saging” (one-act play in Filipino) in 1987; “The Man Who Hated Birds” (short story for children in English) in 1993; “Medea of Siquijor” (one-act play in English) in 1999; and “Maragtas: How Kapinangan Tricked Sumakwel Twice” (full-length play in English) in 2001.
His other awards include the Gawad CCP (Cultural Center of the Philippines) Para sa Sining (Panitikan) (2015); Kampeon ng Wika from the Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino (2014); and a lifetime-achievement award in literature from the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (2013).
Deriada has written and edited more than 20 books, including the novel People on Guerrero Street, a co-winner of the National Book Award for Novel in English in 2004.
He also served as a panelist in various creative-writing workshops, influencing many young writers. PNA