Rate this book

Ang Mga Kwento Ng Mga Supot Sa Panahon Ng Kalibugan (2000)

by Aga Khan(Favorite Author)

3.75 of 5 Votes: 5

languge

English

genre

review 1: Nagustuhan ko ng bongga ang kwento ng mga SUPOT! nakakaL**BOGIto na ba ang prosa ng aking pag-ibig?ikaw ang dagat,ako naman ang lawa,bagamat magkalayo,andiyan naman ang ilog para pagdugtungin tayo;Hayaan nating magsalubong ang ating mga tubig,para uminog sa natural ang samyo ko,iibabaw ang musika ng talaga, para maging isa tayo.Sasadyukin mo ang isdang alatako naman ang sa tabang,idadarang natin sa apoy para pagsaluhan ang mainit na laman.- excerpt from “Nang Lumapit sa aking labi ang basong ininuman nya"
review 2: Ang Kuwento ng Mga Supot sa Panahon ng Kalibugan“Supot” is an anthology of literary works released in the year 2011 (2nd edition) by a group of writers based in the Polytechnic University of the Philippines. The “Supot” anthology,has repo... morertedly sold more than a thousand copies—this despite it not being available in major book stores—making it a minor cult phenomenon. It is worth noting that, most* of the authors, prior to the anthology's publication, were unpublished and untrained in the art of writing although, as could be gleaned in their works through the occasional allusions/references to literary works, they already had some degree of familiarity with the works of internationally acclaimed writers (e.g. Booker/ Pulitzer/ Nobel Prize winners) as well as with the pieces that constitute the Philippine literary canon. This may be attributed to the fact that they were mentored by renowned fictionist/critic/artist Jun Cruz Reyes himself. This degree of familiarity with works of high-literature helped shape their very own narrative styles and techniques. Although, admittedly, the pieces in the “Supot” anthology would not satisfy the stratospheric (albeit outdated) standards of elitist-formalist writers, there’s no denying the fact that the pieces, as they are, are teeming with promise. Seeds of what could be giant bean stalks. When asked why they ventured into writing, and eventually published the “Supot” anthology, the answer of the authors was deceptively simple: “gusto lang naming maglaro, parang mga bata.” In fact, the intro to the second edition of the book convinces the reader of the “unsophistication” and “inchoateness” of the works, that everything was just “child’s play” and that they are unmindful of what the older guys have to say:Panulat ang supot dito kung pagbabatayan ang diskurso ng literatura. Kami ‘yung sinasabihan ng mga matatanda na wala pang alam sa pagsusulat at pagkukuwento kaya dapat mag-aral muna. Kung baga sa kalibugan magdyakol-dyakol lang muna’t hindi pa puwede sa sex. Kami rin ‘yung mga pagtataasan nila ng kilay sakaling makita nila na may mga produksiyon na kaming kagaya nito. Kung anu-ano ang sasabihin. Na kesyo hindi kami papasa sa kanilang standards. Na wala pa kaming karapatan. Na marami pa kaming hindi naiintindihan…Ganun ang pananaw ng modernista sa mga bata.Only, one who reads the above quoted passage can’t help but smirk at the stark seriousness, fluidity and power with which the message was conveyed, deliberately going against the amateurish/childish and playful image the authors are trying to paint. The introduction is carefully nuanced and the adeptness in the latest critical theories is astonishing. Remarkable, too, is the ingenious appropriation of the supot/tuli binary to allegorically represent the current setting of Philippine letters wherein the efforts of the young writers are perpetually dismissed/spurned by the older writers, the way uncircumcised (supot) kids are always mocked by the older circumcised (tuli) kids. Especially poignant are the last four sentences, these are the sentiments of young writers whose emergent voices are being drowned by the uproar of their older counterparts. There are, all in all, thirty literary works in the said anthology, poems, essays and mostly short stories. About almost everything, (everything that a teenager would care for, anyway) love, nostalgia, politics (yes, the young do care about politics at times) education, etc. Generally the stories and essays are fun to read. When one starts leafing through the pages of the book and decides to read the first line, one would be instantly gripped by its narrative. When one starts reading the page of the first story, he will reach the last page of the last one without noticing time’s passage. Then he will think to himself, while holding the book in his hand, was I transported to another place wherein time does not exist? Maybe so. Isn’t that the goal of literature? To obfuscate spatiotemporal settings? To destroy the very concept of time. Only, in here, it happened quite too literally.To end this review of sorts, let me quote eminent writer Jun Cruz Reyes, for him an effective/great piece of literature is something that “represents the collective consciousness of a particular generation.” The “Supot” anthology is precisely that, the textual representative of the aspirations/vices/thoughts of today's youth. That’s why, I guess, since its publication it has received mostly positive responses from readers, most of which are young. It’s only a proof that the materials are relatable, not pretentious, a glaring testament to the power at the disposal of the writers of this anthology. --*Nante Ciar was already enrolled in the M.A. Malikhaing Pagsulat program of the University of the Philippines at the time of the anthology's publication. less

Download links for: Ang mga Kwento ng mga Supot sa Panahon ng Kalibugan

Advertising