Palanca awardee set to release another poetry collection
by Irish Mae F. Dalona
Dr. Anthony “Tony” Tan, three-time Palanca awardee and former faculty member of MSU-IIT, will launch another book on February 18, 2019 from 8 am to 12 noon, at CASSALIDA Theater of the College of Arts and Social Sciences (CASS).
The book “Crossing the River (Poems Old and New)” features poems that came from the author’s ruminations of people and events in his life, particularly his childhood in the island of “Muddas”.
The author has reminded readers that once they get to know who is speaking in the poem, or where the narrative is taking place, it is very easy for them to get engaged in what the poem is trying to say. “The initial pleasure,” according to Dr. Tan, “comes from knowing the speaker and the narrative. The deeper pleasure is in seeing the “insight,” that is the meaning of the poem. The highest pleasure is in the appreciation of the manner/the verbal facility/felicity with which this meaning is conveyed.”
Former colleagues in the English Department, Dr. Lerry Valdez and Dr. Rhodora Englis; Dr. Rosario B. Dizon and Asst. Prof. Airen Sajulga, faculty members from the Filipino Department; and Lureva Razuman, a 4th year AB English student, will be reading sample poems from this collection during the day of the launch.
Sir Tony has retired from MSU-IIT after 43 productive years in teaching, but his love and passion for literature lives on. Proof of this is his persistent publication of his anthology of essays, short stories, and poems, as well as the different accolades he has received from local and international giving bodies.
This event is hosted by the Departments of English and Departamento ng Filipino at Ibang Mga Wika (DFIW) of CASS through its lecture series dubbed as DisCASSion, in celebration of the college’s 35th Foundation Anniversary, in partnership with Xavier University Press, the publisher of the book.
Copies of the book are available for sale during the event, and book signing will follow after the program.