
In celebration of April as National Literature Month, the Institute through the Office of Publication and Information and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts hosted Dandaniw, a poetry forum, and an open mic session on April 8, 2016 at the CASSalida Theater.
Dandaniw an Iluko word meaning ‘oral poetry’ is also a part of collaboration with the regional conference entitled Current Issues and Trends in Language and Literature: Globalizing the Local which is organized by the senior students of the Department of English, College of Arts and Social Sciences (CASS).

The forum was attended by distinguished literary icons in the Southern Philippines, namely: Prof. Hobart P. Savior and Prof. Roger F. Garcia from Xavier University, Dr. Victor N. Sugbo from UP College Tacloban, Dr. German V. Gervacio and Dr. Steven Patrick C. Fernandez from Mindanao State University – Iligan Institute of Technology.
The event began with a conversation with the poets on Creative Writing, The Use of Language, and Transcreation.
“The never ending accommodation of imagination” said Prof. Savior when asked about where he gets his motivation to write. “Imagination is limitless. It may be a cliché but imagination brings you somewhere. However, your responsibility is to pin down, that your imagination is relatable to others and that your imagination is something that will do something whether personal, institutional, or on the societal level.”

It ended with an open mic session at the HRM Laboratory where some original compositions of acoustic songs and spoken word poetry were performed by members of The Authorities, a group of young aspiring writers who submit to the authority of words in giving meaning to the being. They are Ric Anthony Pacaldo, Jibril Monsanto, Karl Anthony, Raymond Beltran, AJ Baterna, Rohanimah Ace Guro, Earl Ross Espere, Faith Brillantes, and Kim Ashley Escalona.
Topics : Dandaniw Arts Month NCCA OPI