Ateneo's Literary and Cultural Studies Program hosts reading event as part of National Literature Month

As part of its celebration of National Literature Month, the Literary and Cultural Studies Program (LCSP) of Ateneo de Manila University's School of Humanities hosted a reading event at their office on 24 April 2025.

This event challenged a group of guest writers to choose from the artworks currently on display at the LCSP office, which also doubles as an art gallery, and write about them.

The featured writers in this event were Genevieve L Asenjo, from De La Salle University (DLSU); MJ Rafal, from the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP); as well as homegrown Atenean writers Stephen Zagala and Deirdre Camba.

Genevieve L Asenjo is a Filipino poet, novelist, translator and literary scholar in Kinaray-a, Hiligaynon, and Filipino. Her works include Indi Natum Kinahanglan kang Duro nga Tinaga sa Atun Tunga, Ang Itim na Orkidyas ng Isla Boracay, and Pagkamangha sa Parang-Katapusan-ng-Mundo. She is also an full professor at DLSU.

MJ Rafal is a Filipino author and teacher specializing in literature, creative writing, and Filipino studies. He is a graduate of PUP, holding degrees in AB History and MA Filipino, and currently teaches at the same institution.

Stephen Zagala is currently an Undergraduate Bachelor of the Arts in Literature (English) under the Literary and Cultural Studies Program at Ateneo de Manila University. In addition, he's also a fellow in the 30th Ateneo HEIGHTS Writers' Workshop. 

Deirdre Camba graduated from Ateneo in 2013 with an AB in Literature with a minor in Creative Writing. During her time at Ateneo, she received a Loyola Schools Award for the Arts in 2013, and was a fellow for poetry.

Last February, the LCSP inaugurated its new office and gallery with the launch of its first exhibition, "The Future is Present." The exhibition features artworks by Fr Jason Dy SJ, Elwah Gonzales, Leslie de Chavez, Mikhaela Marie, and Joar Songcuya.

Of the artworks on display, it was those by Songcuya – a self-taught artist and former marine engineer – that drew the most attention from the guest writers.

The readings were followed by an open forum where attendees were encouraged not only to ask the writers questions about their creative process, but to share poems of their own.

The Literary and Cultural Studies Program offers degrees in AB Literature (English) and MA in Literary and Cultural Studies. For more information, please e-mail litcs.soh@ateneo.edu or visit the program’s website.