The Balikbayan Artist
Penguin Random House SEA
ISBN: 9789815233049
Release Date: October 2024
Penguin Random House SEA Publisher’s Book Page
Distributors: IPG Books in North America and Europe; Times Distribution in Singapore, Malaysia and Brunei; Alkem Company in the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia; and PRH Australia in the ANZ region.
I'd like to share that there's an interview of me about my book THE INVENTOR on WLBH Radio's "Listen & Be Heard" program. You can catch it online at this link: https://listenandbeheard.net/2024/09/19/s2e29/
Information on the book is at https://eileenrtabios.com/prose-collections/the-inventor/
My newest book, a second novel, will be released in mid-October 2024:
Penguin Random House SEA
ISBN: 9789815233049
Release Date: 2024
Penguin Random House SEA Publisher’s Book Page
Distributors: IPG Books in North America and Europe; Times Distribution in Singapore, Malaysia and Brunei; Alkem Company in the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia; and PRH Australia in the ANZ region.
BOOK SUMMARY
Farm-laborer-turned-artist Vance Igorta returns to the Philippines as a balikbayan after nearly fifty years in the United States. He is a member of the Manong Generation, the largest diaspora of Filipinos who worked physically demanding jobs, mostly in California’s agricultural fields.
Coming home to a country on the brink of becoming a dictatorship, Vance’s paintings shift from abstractions to didactic, political art to better reflect the rebellion that he eventually joins. Didacticism also facilitates his meditations on the impact of leaving his birthland to become a powerless Manong and then an impoverished artist of color in New York.
The Balikbayan Artist—inspired by and dedicated to Venancio C. Igarta (1912–2000), the real-life leading artist of the Manong Generation—takes readers from the early twentieth century to the present day when Vance Igorta’s art is being discovered anew. His legacy is validated for allowing his art to address the tensions of his time instead of keeping it solely entrenched in aesthetic concerns. The artist’s choice reflects what Vance Igorta learned as a voraciously self-educated person: that in circumstances where power corrupts, what makes anyone and everyone dangerous is love.
In 2020, I read 403 books. But after 2020 I began focusing my writing on novels and not just poems. As a result, my reading dropped drastically--in 2021 I read 209 books and in 2022 only 91 books--as the form of the novel requires more and more deliberate attention. While my 2023 reading of 145 books increased over 2022, I still read at a significantly reduced pace compared to when I wasn't working mostly as a novelist. Anyway, here's my reading list in 2023 with authors listed alphabetically, mostly books but I also include book(ish)-length publications like newsletters:
2023 BOOKS READ: 145
26 Fiction, 79 Poetry, 40 Non-Fiction
FICTION-26
HEALERS by Jonel Abellanosa (Penguin Random House, 2023). Novel.
The Alphabet Tax by Rosa Woolf Ainley (Grand Iota, 2023). Novel.
Bibliolepsy by Gina Apostol (SoHo Press, 2022. American version of 1997 Philippine edition). Novel.
La Tercera by Gina Apostol (SoHo Press, 2023). Novel.
All is Forgotten, Nothing is Lost by Lan Samantha Chang (Norton, 2010). Novel.
Metropolitan Stories by Catherine Coulson (Other Press, 2019). Novel.
The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery, Trans. by Irene Testot Ferry (Wordsworth Editions, 1995). Novel.
Simple Passion by Annie Ernaux, Trans. by Tanya Leslie (Seven Stories Press, 2003). Novel.
When the Hibiscus Falls by M. Evelina Galang (Coffee House Press, 2023). Short stories.
As A Friend by Forrest Gander (New Directions, 2008). Novel.
The Spy Coast by Tess Gerritsen (Thomas & Mercer, 2023). Novel.
Marshlands by Andre Gide, Trans. from the French by Damion Searls (Preface by Dubravka Ugresic) (New York Review Books, 2021). Novel.
REJWACH by Mikolaj Grynberg, Trans. by Sean Gasper Bye (Jewish Currents, 2019). Short stories.
All the Lovers in the Night by Mieko Kawakami (Europa Editions, 2011). Novel.
Anne Frank in Jerusalem by Scott Macleod (Serious Publication, Oakland, 2022). Novel.
Betaville by Scott Macleod (Serious Publication, Oakland, 2022). Novel.
The Maps of Camarines by Maryanne Moll (Penguin SEA, 2023). Novel.
Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata, Trans. by Ginny Tapley Takemori (First Grove Atlantic, 2016/2018). Novel
Department of Speculation by Jenny Offill (Vintage/Random House, 2014). Novel.
The Heart of Summer by Danton Remoto (Penguin, 2023). Short Stories.
Barkada Ng Lima / Gang of Five by Ninotchka Rosca, Trans. by Pia Arboleda (Villarica Press, 2015). Short Stories.
The Collector by Daniel Silva (Harper, 2023). Novel.
Secret Behind the Gate by Zvi A. Sesling (Cervena Barza Press, 2023). Fictions.
WHEELS: Flash Fiction by Zvi A. Sesling (Alien Buddha Press, 2023). Fictions.
How Can I Help You by Laura Sims (Putnam's Sons, 2023). Novel
The Mountain That Grew by Alfred A. Yuson with art/design by Marcel Antonio and Ilana Antonio (San Anselmo Publications, Philippines, 2022). Children's literature.
POETRY-79
Invitation to See the Leaves Outside by Eric Abalajon (in manuscript, 2023). Poetry.
Waking Up to the Pattern Left by a Snail Overnight by Jim Pascual Agustin (Gaudy Boy LLC / Singapore Unbound, 2023). Poetry.
CELLSEA by Sacha Archer (Timglaset Editions, 2023). Visual Poetry
The Flayed City by Hari Alluri (Kaya Press, 2017). Poetry.
Continuity by Cynthia Arrieu-King (Octopus Books, 2021). Poetry.
Narrow Road to the Interior by Matsuo Basho, Trans. by Sam Hamill (Shambhala, Boulder, 2019). Poetry.
A Glyphic House: New and Selected Poems 1976-2019 by Beau Beausoleil (Blue Light Press, 2020). Poetry.
Another Way Home by Beau Beausoleil (Blue Light Press, 2022). Poetry.
The Killing of George Floyd by Beau Beausoleil (Intermittent Press, 2023). Poetry.
Kneel Said The Night by Margo Berdeshevsky (Sundress Publications, Knoxville, TN, 2022). Poetry.
The Obvious Poems and the Worthless Poems by James Berger (Spuyten Duyvil, 2023). Poetry.
FEAST by Ina Carino (Alice James Books, 2023). Poetry
Bamboo Ridge 45th Anniversary Issue edited by Eric Chock, Darrell H.Y. Lum, and Juliet S. Kono (Bamboo Ridge, 2023). Poetry/Fiction Journal.
Adjacent Islands by Nicole Cecilia Delgado, Trans. Urayoan Noel (Ugly Duckling Presse, 2022). Poetry.
Gazing Down On It by Lauren de sa Naylor (Ugly Duckling Presse, 2022). Poetry.
xO 16 edited by Amanda Earl (2023). Experimental literary journal.
Marsh Hawk Review, Spring 2023, Editors Thomas Fink, Sandy McIntosh, and Burt Kimmelman. Literary/Arts magazine.
ZEUGMA by Thomas Fink (Marsh Hawk Press, 2022). Poetry
Crisis Inquiry by Tony Iatosca (Ugly Duckling Presse, 2022). Poetry.
Dear Human At The Edge of Time: Poems on Climate Change in the United States edited by Luisa A. Igloria, Aileen Cassinetto & Jeremy S. Hoffman (Paloma Press, 2023). Poetry.
Snapshots From the Ark by David Jalajel (read in manuscript to provide blurb for Otoliths). Poetry.
Tropic of Squalor by Mary Karr (Harper Collins, 2018). Poetry.
Will You Be My Friend by James Kavanaugh with drawings by Merike Tumma (E.P. Dutton / A Sunrise Book, 1971). Poetry.
Steeple at Sunrise by Burt Kimmelman (Marsh Hawk Press, 2023). Poetry.
It got so dark by Benjamin Krusling (Ugly Duckling Presse, 2022). Poetry.
New Hull by Mikhail Kuzmin, Translated by Simona Schneider (Ugly Duckling Presse, 2023). Poetry.
Letters in Language by Harold Legaspi (Flying Island Books/ASM/Cerberus Press, Macau and Australia, 2021). Poetry.
Song Sonnets by Harold Legaspi (Papel Publishing, 2023). Poetry.
Postcards From Mental States by Julia Rose Lewis & Paul Hawkins (Hesterglock Press, 2023). Visual Poetry.
Reading Mei-mei Berssenbrugge by Ella Longpre (Belladonna, 2019). Poetry.
DANCE: Indigenous Poets Write From the Library of Congress edited by Denise Low and Edgar Silex (Mammoth Publicatios, 2023). Poetry.
Selected Poems by Hugh MacDiarmid, Edited by David Craig and John Manson (Penguin Classics, 1976). Poetry.
Happy as Larry by Scott Macleod (Serious Publication, Oakland, 2022). Poetry.
LIFT YOU by Scott Macleod (Serious Publication, Oakland, 2022). Poetry.
Before the Dark Comes by Jose Primitivo Charlevoix edited by Arturo Mantecón (Nomadic Press, 2022). Poetry.
El Dia Mas Delicioso De Mi Vida by Emeterio "El Chango" Landeros as told to Arturo Mantecon (Prickly Pear Publishing, 2022). Poetry.
PoetsArtists magazine, editor Didi Menendez (Spring 2023). Art & Poetry
SOSTENUTO by Sheila E. Murphy (Luna Bisonte Productions, 2023). Poetry
October Sequence by Sheila E. Murphy (mOnocle-Lash Anti-Press, 2023). Poetry.
Seguiriyas by Ben Myerson (Black Ocean, 2023). Poetry
Lunduzinho by Tatiana Nascimento, Trans. by Natalia Alfonso (Ugly Duckling Presse, 2022). Poetry.
Exilium by Maria Negroni, Trans. by Michelle Gil-Montero (Ugly Duckling Presse, 2022). Poetry.
The Bungalow of Colorful Aging by Bruce W. Niedt (Kelsay, 2022). Poetry.
Shellback by Jeanne-Marie Osterman (Paloma Press, 2021). Poetry.
Everything Turns on a Delicate Measure by Maureen Owen (read in manuscript to provide blurb for BlazeVox Books). Poetry.
Devil-Fictions by Lance Phillips (BlazeVOX Books, 2023). Poetry.
Ariel: The Restored Edition by Sylvia Plath with Foreword by Frieda Hughes (Harper Perennial, 2004). Poetry.
small mammals by Cati Porter (Mayapple Press, 20230. Poetry.
Outside Texts by Eleonora Requena, Trans. by Guillermo Parra (Ugly Duckling Presse, 2022). Poetry.
Wine Poems edited by Marilyn Robitaille (Romar Press, Texas, 2022). Poetry
THE LAST THING: NEW AND SELECTED POEMS by Patrick Rosal (Persea, 2021). Poetry.
Sleep by Amelia Rosseli (New York Review of Books, 2023). Poetry.
Song of the Absent Brook by Sabrina Ramos Ruben, Translated by S. Yates Gibson (Ugly Duckling Presse, 2023). Poetry.
Collected Poems by Sonia Sanchez (Beacon Press, 2021). Poetry.
SAPPHO, Trans. by Mary Barnard (University of California Press, 1958, 1986). Poetry.
Meditations: December 2019-December 2020 by Susan M. Schultz (Wet Cement Press, 2023). Poetry
Water From Another Source by Barry Schwabsky (Spuyten Duyvil, 2023) Poetry.
Simple Game & A Ghost of Fenway: Baseball Poems by Zvi A. Sesling (Alien Buddha Press, 2023). Poetry.
The Carrying: Poems by Ada Simon. (Milkweed Editions, 2018). Poetry.
Duende by Tracy K Smith (Graywolf Press, 2007). Poetry.
-48 by harry k stammer (Sandy Press, 2021). Poetry.
ALLEYS’T’ by harry k stammer (Concrete Mist Press, 2023). Poetry
walls 't's by harry k stammer (Sandy Press, 2021). Poetry.
Beesily by harry k stammer and Karri Kokko (xPress(ed), 2005). Poetry.
Tocsin by harry k stammer (Otoliths, 2019). Poetry.
grounds by harry k stammer (Otoliths, 2013). Poetry.
tents by harry k stammer (Otoliths, 2007). Poetry.
A Manuscript by Unnamed [for a competition]. Poetry
Vessels by Robert van Vliet (read in manuscript to provide blurb for Unsolicited Press). Poetry.
Tamsen Donner: a woman's journey by Ruth Whitman (Alice James Books, 1977). Poetry.
Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji by Martin Willits Jr. with woodblock prints by Katsushika Hokusai (Shanti Arts Publishing, 2024. In manuscript form)
A Rupture in the Interiors by Valerie Witte (Airlie, 2023. Read in manuscript). Poetry.
sorties by Mark Young (Sandy Press, 2021). Poetry.
The Sasquatch Walks Among Us by Mark Young (Sandy Press, 2021). Poetry
The Toast by Mark Young (Luna Bisonte Prods, 2021). Poetry.
Ley Lines II by Mark Young (Sandy Press, 2023). Poetry
XXXX CENTONES from the Cantos of Ezra Pound by Mark Young (Sandy Press, 2023). Poetry.
with the slow-paced turtle replaced by a fast fish by Mark Young (Sandy Press, 2023). Poetry.
Kafka in the Tropics by Krip Yuson (San Anselmo Press, 2023). Poetry.
NON-FICTION-40
The True Story of Jesus-Christ: Three Notebooks From Ivry (August 1947) by Antonin Artaud, Trans. by Peter Valente (Infinity Land Press, 2023). Journals.
balikbayan blues by Anne Camille Baello (Carleton University, 2017). Thesis submitted for Master of Architecture Professional degree.
The Microbibliophile, Vol. XLII, No. 5, Issue 245, edited by James M Brogan (Oct.-Nov. 2023). Miniature Books Newsletter.
The MicroBiliophile, Vol. XLII, No. 2, Issue 242, March-April 2023, Editor James Brogan. Miniature Books Newsletter.
The Microbibliophile, Vol. XLII, No 1, Issue No. 241, Editor James Brogan (Miniature Book Society, January-February 2023). Newsletter.
Brooklyn Rail, editor Phong H. Bui (Brooklyn Rail, October 2023). Arts magazine.
"Kindred Spirits Spark": An Exploration f the Origins and Evolution of The Sisters of Color Writers Collective and Its Literary Journal SEEDS edited by Esperanza Cintron and Lori Anderson Moseman (Among the Neighbors/The Poetry Collection of the University Libraries, SUNY Buffalo, 2023). History and Poetry.
Once Upon a Tome: The Misadventures of a Rare Bookseller by Oliver Darkshire (Norton, 2023). Memoir.
THE YEARS by Annie Ernaux (Editions Gallimard, 2008). Memoir.
In Artists' Homes by Roberta Kimmel with Edith Newhall & photographs by Kari Haavisto (Clarkson Potter/Publishers, 1992). Design/Art.
AUTUMN by Karl One Knausgaard (Penguin Random House, 2015). Essays.
A Bibliography of Belladonna* Collaborative Chaplets 2000-2020 by Krystal Languell (Among the Neighbors/The Poetry Collection of the University Libraries, SUNY Buffalo, 2023). History and Poetry.
Magical Creatures From the Films by Donald Lemke (RP Minis, Philadelphia, 2020). Size: 2.5" x 3". Miniature Book.
The MacDowell Colony 2021 Annual Report (The MacDowell Colony, 2021). Annual report.
Creativity: Where Poems Begin by Mary Mackey (Marsh Hawk Press, 2022). Memoir and Poetry.
METPO by Scott MacLeod (Serious Publication, 2022). Memoir.
No Comment edited by Scott MacLeod (Serious Publication, 2022). Prose.
Our Lady in Art by Scott Macleod (Lulu, 2022). Art.
Publishing Romance Fiction in the Philippines by Jodi McAlister, Claire Parnell, and Andrea Anne Trinidad (Cambridge University Press, 2023). Literary study.
The Award Winning Miniature Books for 2023, Miniature Book Society (MBS, 2023). Catalogue.
Competition and Exhibition Catalog 2022 (Miniature Book Society, 2022). A book catalog.
The Miniature Book Society Newsletter, Issue No. 121 (Miniature Book Society, December 2022). Newsletter.
Appendicular Historicae by Jerry Morris (Booksby Press, 2022). Non-fiction in miniature book.
THE DISPLACED: Refugee Writers on Refugee Lives, Edited by Viet Thanh Nguyen (Harry N. Abrams, New York, 2018). Essays.
Poets on the Road by Maureen Owen and Barbara Denning (City Point Press, 2023). Journal with poems.
Every Ounce of Courage: A Daughter’s Reflection on Her Mother’s Bravery by Elizabeth Ann Besa-Qurino (sp, 2023). Biography.
The Traveling Notebooks by Merle Bachman, Laurie Fader, Tiff Dressen, Chris Carreher, Sharon Coleman, Jaime Robles, Nancy Mozur, SM Steele, Dale Going and Michelle Murphy (compiled by Jaime Robles). Journals.
Pressing Further: Voices for Justice in the Book Arts curated by Meredith G. Santa's (Bromer Booksellers & Gallery, 2023). Book Catalogue.
Closer to LIBERATION: Pin[a/x]y Activism in Theory and Practice edited by Amanda Solomon Amorao, DJ Kuttin Kandi, and Jen Soriano (University of California, San Diego / Coagnella, 2023). Essays & Poetry.
A Life With Books: Three Essays by Todd Sommerfeld (Booksby Press, 2023). Essays
Burger King Vignettes II by Todd Sommerfeld (Booksby Press, 2023). Size: 1.25" x 2". Non-fiction.
Consent by Vanessa Springora, Trans. from French by Natasha Lehrer (HarperVia, 2020). Memoir.
Published at The Poetry Project by Nick Sturm (Among the Neighbors/The Poetry Collection of the University Libraries, SUNY Buffalo, 2023). History and Poetry.
Hungarian Miniature Books in the Golden Era by Benedek Takacs (Miniature Books Society, Pleasanton, CA, 2022). Literary Study. Size: 2=3/8" x 2-5/8"
Obliteration of the World: A Guide to the Occult Belief System of Antonin Artaud by Peter Valente (Infinity Land Press, 2023). Literary Study.
THE PASSIONATE EYE: The Collected Writings of Suzanne Vega (Avon Books, 1999). Memoir with song lyrics
Rooted in Practice: Pinays in Law edited by Justine Eva Li Villanueva in collaboration with Pinay Powerhouse (Sawaga River Press, 2022). Nonfiction.
Entanglements: a crated collection of contemporary culture curated by Annette Wylde (PreNeo Press/Hunger Button Books, 2023). Artist's Book.
Threescore and Ten—the images from the covers of Otoliths May 2006 to August 2023, edited by Mark Young (Otoliths / Sandy Press, 2023). Art.
The Right Foot of The Giant by Mark Young (Bumper Press, 1999). Memoir
After creating and describing a poetic form, I rarely give instructions on how other poets might write in the form. But I occasionally give tips (e.g., for the hay(na)ku I've suggested avoiding one-line articles like "the" or "a"). For the monobon, my (optional) tip is to radicalize the poetic leap between the prose and the ending monostich (one-liner). By "radicalizing" here, I mean writing a monostich that could not have been expected from the prose. Here's my example, the poem below that's entitled "Monobonbon." Monobonbon was a term I thought of while exploring what to name the form that I eventually call monobon. I loved the integration of "bonbon" because of its reference to candies. So I wrote the poem below, but which also displays a radicalization of that poetry leap between prose and one-liner. Perhaps you'll consider it for writing a monobon.
REMINDER: The deadline, Oct. 31, 2023, is coming up for a Monobon poetry folio to be published by The Halo Halo Review. Go HERE for Submissions Call.
"What is so magical about this collection is that we are not left hanging and lost in the dense material of this ambitious project; we are shown abundance and astounding imagination in what remains. This project is love."
It's so difficult to write for/about my mother. But I did manage the poem "The Peony Named Beatrice" (my mother's name was the derivation "Beatriz") and I'm grateful it recently found publication in Entanglements2: A Curated Collection of Contemporary Culture, Curator Annette Wylde (PreNeo Press / Hunger Button Books, 2023). Here's my poem and other images from this gorgeous book that explores “Biophilia,” defined as biologist Edward O. Wilson as the “emotional affiliation of human beings to other living organisms” into our cultural consciousness and conversations:
