A Discussion of Jessrel Escaran Gilbuena’s “Chemical/Physical Change” (for Literature Teachers)
This short article was originally read as part of a discussion on contemporary Philippine literature on Sari-sari: Panitikan at Kulturang Filipino ng Radyo Katipunan 87.9 (Ateneo de Manila University), held via Zoom and recorded on March 4, 2021. * * * When I was first asked by CB [Christian Benitez] to participate in this discussion on contemporary Philippine literature, I figured this would be a great opportunity to highlight the work of a fellow millennial writer from the province of Cebu, but one who, in some ways, subverts certain expectations or assumptions many of us may have upon hearing the term “Cebuano literature.” At first, said term may seem pretty easy to pin down. In his essay “Ang Sugboanon: The Cebuano,” scholar Resil Mojares states that the most obvious hallmarks of a Cebuano include “language, local residence, or orientation to Cebu province as a cultural or sentimental ‘homeland’” (266). To add to this, the average Cebuano also tends to be trilingual, with Cebuano s...