Unsere Nationalliteratur: Fantasie und Seele der Philippinen

Merlie Alunan writes creative nonfiction and poetry in both English and Cebuano. Her poetry is collected under six titles, namely: Hearthstone, Sacred Tree (Anvil, 1993), Amina among the Angels (UP Press, 1997), Selected Poems (UP Press, 2004), Tales of the Spider Woman (UST Publishing House, 2010), Pagdakop sa Bulalakaw ug uban pang mga Balak (AdMU Press, 2013), Running with Ghosts (AdNU Press, 2017) and Tigom Collected Poems of Merlie M. Alunan (UP Press 2024). She was awarded the National Book Award in the 35th, 36th, 37th and 42nd NBDB-Manila Critics Circle for the following titles: Sa Atong Dila Introduction to Visayan Literature (UP Press 2015); Susumaton Oral Narratives of Leyte (AdMU Press 2016); Tinalunay Hinugpong nga Panurat ha Winaray (UP Press 2017); Running with Ghosts and other Poems (AdNU Press, 2017), and Hubad Ester Tapia (UP Press 2024). She taught literature at UP Tacloban College and retired as Professor Emeritus of the University of the Philippines in 2008. She worked for most of her life as a teacher of literature and creative writing. She is also known for her work in promoting writing and reading in the Visayan mother tongues.

KRISTIAN SENDON CORDERO is a poet, fictionist, essayist, translator, and an independent filmmaker. He has written five poetry collections in Filipino, Bikol and Rinconada, the latest two both received the National Book Awards for Poetry in Filipino and Bikol in 2014. As a translator, he translated selected poetry of Rainier Maria Rilke, Minatubod Ako Sa Diklom (I Have Faith in the Night), Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis, An Pakagimata ni Gregor Samsa in Bikol and An Mapara Sa Kinaban/Ang Maglaho Sa Mundo, selected poetry of Jorge Luis Borges in Bikol and Filipino under the translation grant from Programa Sur of Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores Y Culto of the Republic of Argentina. He was named one of the Ten Outstanding Young Men of the Philippines for Arts and Literature in 2022. He is the co-head of the Translation Committee for the Philippine Guest of Honor in the 2025 Frankfurt Buchmesse and serves as the director of the Ateneo de Naga University Press.