PAWA (Philippine American Writers and Artists) in conjunction with Arkipelago Books presents a book launch of:
Growing Up Filipino II: More Stories for Young Adults
Edited and Collected by Cecilia Manguerra Brainard
Saturday, January 16, 2010
2:00 – 5:00 PM
Bayanihan Community Center, 1010 Mission St., San Francisco
Featuring Readers Rashaan Alexis Meneses, Veronica Montes, Tony Robles, and Marianne Villanueva.
By Karen Pierce Gonzales
What I like most about folk stories is that they tell us something important about other people. They create specific examples of universal themes that exist in all cultures; they express the uniqueness of a particular time and a particular people that enlightens us all about our own humanity.
This is what I recently experienced after reading Growing Up Filipino II: More Stories for Young Adults, a collection of contemporary stories for young adults collected and edited by Cecilia Manguerra Brainard.and spread the word to friends, family, students and other interested parties…
…Other stories also reveal the hard facts of immigrant life. Alma (‘Here in the States’ by Rashaan Alexis Meneses) struggles to understand how hard her mother must work as a nanny to make ends meet. Shame and sadness mingle when she questions the discrepancy between her mother’s role as a respected professional back home and her new role as a domestic helper. Adolescent resentment and rebellion about having to help care for younger siblings (something the maid back home did) further complicate Alma’s efforts to make sense of this new world. It is in her mother’s quiet strength and acceptance of life’s uncertainties that Alma finds her greatest comfort and connection.
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BOOK DESCRIPTION: A welcome addition to Filipino American literature, Growing Up Filipino II: More Stories for Young Adults is the second volume of the Growing Up Filipino series by PALH. In this collection of 27 short stories, Filipino and Filipino American writers explore the universal challenges and experiences of Filipino teens after the historic events of 9/11. The modern demands do not hinder Filipino youth from dealing with the universal concerns of growing up: family, friends, love, home, budding sexuality, leaving home. The delightful stories are written by well known as well as emerging writers. While the target audience of this fine anthology is young adults, the stories can be enjoyed by adult readers as well.
CONTRIBUTORS: Dean Francis Alfar, Katrina Ramos Atienza, Maria Victoria Beltran, M.G. Bertulfo, Cecilia Manguerra Brainard, Amalia B. Bueno, Max Gutierrez, Leslieann Hobayan, Jaime An Lim, Paulino Lim Jr., Rebecca Mabanglo-Mayor, Dolores de Manuel, Rashaan Alexis Meneses, Veronica Montes, Charlson Ong, Marily Ysip Orosa, Kannika Claudine D. Peña, Oscar Peñaranda, Edgar Poma, Tony Robles, Brian Ascalon Roley, Jonathan Jimena Siason, Aileen Suzara, Geronimo G. Tagatac, Marianne Villanueva
ISBN: 978-0-9719458-2-1
ISBN: 978-0-9719458-3-8
PUBLISHED BY:
PALH
P. O. Box 5099
Santa Monica, CA 90409
Tel/fax: 310-452-1195; email: palh@aol.com; http://www.palhbooks.com
For more information on the event contact:
PAWA, Inc. at pawa@pawainc.com, http://www.pawainc.com
Rashaan Alexis Meneses 