A JOURNALISM alumnus was among the litterateurs honored in the 66th Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature held last Sept. 2 at the Peninsula Manila Hotel.
Louie Jon Agustin Sanchez won second place in the Tula category for his collective work of 12 poems titled Tempus Per Annum at iba pang Tula that discusses the “ordinariness” of issues such as terror, violence, and injustice.
The 12 poems are part of Kapiling, a collection he is working on.
“[The ordinariness of uncertainties such as violence is the focus of my work] because it is our reality,” Sanchez told the Flame in an online exchange. “It is a hopeful, spiritual collection that aspires to make whole what is painfully shattered in our commonplace lives.”
Sanchez, a first time Palanca awardee, added that the education he received from the University helped him develop his writing skills.
“My poems are of course shaped by my education as a writer, and the University of Santo Tomas is very important in the shaping of my poetic sensibilities,” he said, recalling that his professors stimulated his spiritual voice.
Sanchez, who graduated in 2002, encouraged Artlets to “endure and enjoy the creative journey.”
“It’s quite solitary and it would be very lonely at times, but the craft will be very good if you will give it all your love,” he added.
The Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature is the longest-running literary contest in the country that aims to promote and develop Philippine literature. F VANN MARLO M. VILLEGAS
