Eileen Tabios, an acclaimed Filipino-American writer and editor, will read a selection of her poetry at LaGuardia Community College Feb. 5.
Tabios, who has published 10 books of poetry, fiction, and essays, including “Beyond Life Sentences,” which received the Philippines National Book Award for Poetry, will conduct the reading in the college’s E-building at 31-10 Thomson Ave.
Described as a “specialist in the poetry of the non-arrival,” Tabios uses an unusual lyrical style to explore feminism, colonialism, and the complicated relationship an ex-colonial has with the English language.
In her poetic exploration of English, which she describes as the “borrowed” or “forced” tongue, Tabios’ poetry examines the historical and ongoing struggle for liberation in the Philippines.
In reviewing her work, critic Leny Strobel noted, “When the sorrow of our colonial past is released and we come to know our Philippine history as the history of the world, [Tabios’] poetry becomes an act of rounding up the fragments of our narrative.”
Along with “Beyond Life Sentences,” other noted books of poetry include “My Romance” and “Reproductions of the Empty Flagpole.” She is also the editor of “The Anchored Angel,” a collection of writings by Jose Garcia Villa, the Philippines’ most important 20th century writer and whose work is largely unknown in the United States.
For her work, Tabios has received the PEN/Oakland Josephine Miles National Literary Award and a Witter Bynner Poetry grant.
The event, which will begin at 3:30 p.m., is free and open to the public. For more information, call 718-482-5658 or 5669.
