Jaya Jacobo makes her poetic debut with ‘Arasahas’

Born and raised in Naga City, Jaya Jacobo, a writer and educator, has unveiled “Arasahas,” a collection of 40 poems spanning 25 years of her creative journey.

This captivating book is published by Kristian Cordero’s Savage Mind and celebrated with a remarkable online launch on September 15. The launch featured an array of artistic performances, including literary, critical, theatrical, photographic, cinematic, and musical contributions by Jaya’s friends and colleagues from San Francisco, California, USA, to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to Sydney, Australia, offering attendees a sensory feast.

The cover art for the book is a collaboration between visual artists Nunilon Bancaso and Cyan Cuatrona.

“Arasahas” delves into the experience of time in tropical settings, allowing the poet to explore and reimagine diverse ways of existing in the world, particularly from the perspective of a transgender woman’s encounter with difference.

Jaya Jacobo, who currently serves as a gender studies lecturer at Coventry University in the United Kingdom, resides in Birmingham, known as the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution. She maintains strong connections with the Filipina/x/o trans and queer community in London. Her roots trace back to San Jose, Camarines Sur, and her childhood was spent in Camalig, Albay.

Before her academic journey that took her to Ateneo de Manila University and the State University of New York via a Fulbright scholarship, Jaya considered Naga City her home.

For those interested, copies of “Arasahas” can be ordered online through Savage Mind’s digital portal on Facebook: [Savage Mind’s Facebook Page](https://www.facebook.com/SavageMindBikol/).