More poets and actors join the Himati Poetry Project

AS of this writing, the Himati Poetry Project has featured fourteen episodes since its first episode uploaded last April 1, 2020.

Uploaded every Monday and Friday in the Facebook pages of Savage Mind, a local independent bookshop and cultural hub in Naga City and the Ateneo de Naga University Press, the project has generated support among writers, visual artists, filmmakers and actors.

The latest episodes include stage and film actor Richard Quan and Irigenyo actor and radio talent Bon Vibar. Both actors have appeared in many important contemporary Filipino films. One of Richard Quan’s latest project is 1957, directed by Bikolanano Hubert Tibi and was filmed in Iriga City. Mr. Quan won the Best Supporting Actor Award in the Tofarm Film Festival where the said film was one of the competiting entries. For his first episode, Mr. Quan read a poem by San Francisco-based poet and essayist Wilfredo Pascual while Mr. Vibar read a poem by National Artist José Garcia Villa.

The Himati project which started as a lockdown art initiative by Kristian Sendon Cordero, poet, filmmaker and founder of Savage Mind together with film critic and anthropologist Tito Genova Valiente, has already received popular and critical reception among its subscribers and supporters. It has also generated some interest and book sales for the featured poets.

“For the upcoming episodes, three Filipino actors will read in Bikol, Bisaya, and Filipino to encompass the mission of the project that is to celebrate the multilingual and multicultural realities of our Filipino identities”, said Cordero.

Naga-born actor and athlete Enchong Dee for his third episode will read an excerpt from the Bikol translation of Antoine Saint-Exupery’s The Little Prince, translated by Fr. Wilmer Tria; Sandino Martin for his second episode will read Allan Popa’s Caramoan from his newest collection, Autopsiya ng Aking Kamatayan and Christian Bables will read in Bisaya from the poetry collection of Michael Obenieta’s Sanga sa Angkla, Hangin Sa Samin/Branch in the Anchor, Air in the Mirror published by Ateneo de Naga University Press. For the previous episodes kindly click the following links:

Enchong Dee https://youtu.be/zNRmpvKcMnI (Gibran/Tria) https://youtu.be/qMnldlIYXWY (Villasis) Sandino Martin https://youtu.be/gR2z1mTlbyA (Rio Alma) Christian Bables https://youtu.be/-qT5W-Po4YM (Cordero) Bon Vibar https://youtu.be/Ui23pXqR1_M (Garcia Villa) Richard Quan https://youtu.be/wff2W-5bZSg (Pascual)

All books are available at Savage Mind. The bookshop can deliver books anywhere in the Philippines via its service providers. Naga residents can order thru Community Mart, a digital application developed by Nueca. For inquires please send a message to savagemindbookshop@gmail.com