By Rizza Edu / Contributor
THE UP Writers Club (UPWC) is holding its third biannual small press expo, called Lit Up, at 8 p.m. on November 13, at Mow’s Matalino, UPWC Events Head Marco Banaag said.
This event was started by UP’s premier writing organization in 2014 as a venue for literary organizations to see what each one is doing and producing, he said.
“As it stands, the distribution of what we produce is only within the university, not even within Metro Manila,” Banaag said. UPWC President Itos Ledesma said the spirit of Lit Up is to decentralize how people view publishing.
“For example, you may be published by the UP Press, or Anvil or Ateneo Press, and now you’re a writer and you won a Palanca, as well, [pero] hindi lang naman kasi ‘yun ang pag-usbong ng literature,” Ledesma said.
Banaag said the org invited bands and poets to perform in Lit Up 3 to pull in people who aren’t really into reading or the literary scene.
“We have Yūrei, the band of our president, The Squibs from the UP Music Circle, Miles Experience from UST [University of Santo Tomas], and Yomi No Kuni,” Banaag said.
Aside from these bands, Lit Up 3 will also be giving a stage to poets Jam Pascual from Ateneo, UPWC’s own Lakan Umali, and Trisha O’bannon, Vince Dioquino from Sulat Kamay and Roch Lazarte, he said.
“Dioquino’s sample was interesting, it being in Sorsoganon. We don’t even see a lot of Filipino slam poetry and most of the time, they kind of stick to one politic,” Banaag said.
Ledesma said the thrust of UPWC is to be inclusive, not exclusive.
“Even if it’s not as obvious as people believe it to be, inviting other kinds of performers will also open up new spaces for new modes of discussion, what gets incorporated into what is perceived as literary expanse,” he said.
UPWC Vice President Nicky San Pedro said Lit Up 3 is a venue for emerging writers to get their works out.
“We hope it inspires other people to start their own small press expos, to gather and continue the spirit of underground writing,” San Pedro said.
As a venue for mostly collegiate writing, UPWC partnered up with various organizations in and out of UP namely Heights and Writerskill from Ateneo, Thomasian Writer Guild from UST, Grail and Sulat Kamay from UP, and Malate.
These organizations will provided booths where they can sell and distribute their works, Banaag said.
“In between performances, we will be giving people time to go to the booths and talk to each other, and Mow’s is a conducive place to do just that. We will also be setting up before 8 p.m. so people can come earlier if they want,” he said.
By continuing Lit Up, UPWC said it hopes to inspire other people to start writing groups or organizations where they are located.
“Basically what we’re trying to do with Lit Up is for everyone to see the emergent literature of at least Metro Manila and what we’re producing,” Banaag said.