Grace Celeste T. Subido
Department of Language, Literature and the Arts, College of Arts and Communication, University of the Philippines Baguio, Philippine
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Published in: Inter: A European Cultural Studies : Conference in Sweden 11-13 June 2007
Linköping Electronic Conference Proceedings 25:59, p. 571-592
Published: 2007-11-27
ISBN:
ISSN: 1650-3686 (print), 1650-3740 (online)
Baguio City; nestled in the Cordillera Mountain range in Northern Philippines has; throughout history; been the site of numerous encounters between native and foreigner. Originally an Igorot settlement; it was “re-invented” during the American Colonial period to serve as host to their primary rest and recreation facility. Today; the city is home to a heterogenous population and remains a fertile meeting ground for various peoples and cultures. This paper explores the idea of “Baguio;” an “invented space;” as likewise possibly the site of invention and re-inventions.
This paper employs postmodern theory in an analysis of the poetry of multi-awarded; tri-lingual; contemporary Filipino writer based in Baguio City; Franklin Cimatu. It focuses particularly on this writer’s “Routine Poem Series.”
Launching off from the Lyotardian perspective of the postmodern as “incredulity to metanarratives;” the paper then examines the various manifestations that reveal the liminal nature of the writer’s poetic practice and the anti-metanarrative impulse which pervades this body of work. The paper investigates the various interrogations of Truth; Identity and History; the metanarratives that make absolutistic claims. The study likewise explores the notion of hybridity in an attempt to interweave subjectivity; context; and poetic practice.
