[Coming soon from the Press] Ang Kartograpiya ng Pagguho

Poet-physician Ralph Fonte pens his first poetry collection in the forthcoming Ang Kartograpiya ng Pagguho showcasing reflections on personal memories, relationships, geography, language, history, and so much more. 

Ang Kartograpiya ng Pagguho maps out journeys from place to place, relationship to relationship, from Spanish to American colonization, and from virtual to physical and back again. Each poem fills seemingly ordinary things and moments with profound emotional depth, like walking on the streets, taking a picture of the sky for an Instagram story, and longing for someone who is far away. A number of poems in this collection tackle the legacy of colonialism in the country which its citizens still continue to grapple with. In El Duende, he explores the similarities between Filipinos and the other peoples oppressed by the Spanish colonization, and how history and culture live on through the arts. In Ang Mapa ng Filipinas ni Fray Murillo Velarde, 1734, he pinpoints the ways in which we have forgotten history, “kapag sinabing EDSA, trapik hindi buong bayang naghimagsik; kapag sinabing Marcos ay highway at rebulto, hindi ang kalansay, abo, at dugong ibinuho sa aspalto at kongkreto.” He circles back to the ramifications of colonization, asking: “kung ang pagpapanglan ay isang uri ng pag-angkin, ano ngayon ang bansa na walang palayaw kundi taguri lang ng banyaga?” The poems cover varied topics threaded together by themes of destruction and rebirth.

Writer and educator Romulo P. Baquiran, Jr. praises Fonte for his lyricism, self-awareness, and critical analysis, “magilas na nagagawa ito sa klase ng diksiyon na sabay na lumilingon at sumusuway sa mga rehistro at tradisyon ng pagtula sa Filipino. Nagsasabay din ang dati na at ang bagong-bago sa paksa at pamamaraan na mahahangaan sa bihasa at minaniobrang pagsisining na inaasahan sa kabataan ngunit may-tiwala sa sariling manunulat. Isang hamon at kasiyahan na basahin si Ralph Fonte.”

National Artist for Literature Virgilio Almario encourages everyone to indulge in Fonte’s mastery of words, “isa siyang mangingibig, ngunit higit na estranghero, destiyero, beterano, siyentista, turista, atbp sa mga pook at tagpo ng kasaysayan. Kasabay ng kaniyang mga paghuhunos ang metamorposis ng kaniyang bokabularyong masarap tuklasin at nais iambag din sa ating pambansang wika at diwa."

Pre-order your copy at bit.ly/Kartograpiya-preorder and avail of a 15% discount. Promo runs until July 14, 2022. Visit the Ateneo Press Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter pages (@ateneopress) for more information.