Fall/Winter Book Releases of PALH (Philippine American Literary House)

 

PALH (Philippine American Literary House) proudly announces its 2022 Fall-Winter Book releases.

            First on the list is Linda Ty-Casper’s Will You Happen, Past The Silence, Through The Dark?: Remembering Leonard Ralph Casper, a book which she calls the Memoir that her husband Leonard Ralph Casper did not get to write. Born in Fond du Lac Wisconsin in 1923, Leonard Casper had a full life as a writer, an academic, a literary critic until he passed away in 2018.

In this book, Linda Ty-Casper collects the letters to and from Leonard Casper, letters which reflect who he was to many friends, high school classmates, teachers and professors, colleagues in the Universities of Rhode Island, Ateneo University of Manila, University of the Philippines and Wisconsin, from editors of Southwest Review who encouraged Len to send stories from the European front during World War II; from Robert Penn Warren starting with his first letter of inquiry (two pages) when he began on his dissertation at the University of Wisconsin, the dissertation becoming the first book on Warren, which critics said showed the way for later books on the Southern writers. There are letters from Filipino writers Len grew to know as friends from years of teaching in the Philippines.

The book has been praised by Author/Editor Joel Pablo Salud who reviewed it, saying: “Will You Happen, Past the Silence, Through the Dark: Remembering Leonard Ralph Casper is a treasure trove of charms and jewels for those like me who find Leonard Casper a bit of a cryptic, enigmatic figure. Linda Ty-Casper has done a great service by shedding light    on Len’s memory, allowing us a voyeur’s look into a life dedicated to the magic and unease found in letters.

“I am sure this book will remain relevant for decades to come.”

 

            The next PALH release is Growing Up Filipino 3: New Stories for Young Adults, which collects 25 short stories by Filipino authors in the US and the Philippines about what it means to be young and Filipino. The stories explore the universal themes of coming-of-age, love, angst, family, relationships, and other young adult issues. The stories reveal Filipino and Filipino American culture, mores, history, society, politics, and other nuances. For instance, Filipino respect for their elders, extended families, religious practices, funereal rites, love for folklore are apparent in the stories.

Growing Up Filipino 3: New Stories For Young Adults follows two earlier critically acclaimed books -- Growing Up Filipino: Stories For Young Adults (2003) and Growing Up Filipino Ii: More Stories For Young Adults(2010), books that have been used by educators and enjoyed by adults and young adults alike.

The University of Santo Tomas Publishing House edition of this book will be released in 2022 (distributors are Lazada and Shopee in the Philippines).

Contributors: Gina Apostol, Kannika Pena, Jack Wigley, Veronica Montes, Nikki Alfar, Yvette Fernandez, Danton Remoto, Cecilia Bainard, George Deoso, Patricia Go, Migs Bravo Dutt, Ian Casocot, James Fajarito, Sarge Lacuesta. Dom Sy, Eileen Tabios, Marianne Villanueva, Marilyn Alquizola, Brian Roley, Patrick Joseph Caoile, Zak Linmark, Linda Ty-Casper, Renee Macalino Rutledge, Noelle de Jesus, Oscar Peñaranda.

 

And third is a children’s book, Asian and Philippine Folktales: Retellings by PAWWA, which, as the title indicates, contains retellings of beloved Asian and Philippine folktales as retold by members of PAWWA (Philippine American Women Writers and Artists).

This small group of Filipina writers in America had published these stories in two books that have been out-of-print for many years. This collection includes 25 stories from places such as Laos, Japan, Korea, Sumatra, Vietnam, China, Bali, Indonesia, India, and the Philippines. The book's target audience is 9 and older.

PAWWA was founded in 1991 by a group of seven Filipina writers in Southern California. It was the first such support group for Filipina women writers. PAWWA's founding members are: Valorie Slaughter Bejarano, Cecilia Manguerra Brainard, Mariquita Athena Davison, Fe Panalingan Koons, Susan N. Montepio, Cecile Caguingin Ochoa, and Nentuzka C. Villamar.

PALH is an offshoot of the work done by PAWWA. When the group dissolved, Susan Montepio and Cecilia Brainard continued the work of publishing and distributing select Philippine and Filipino American books. Later, Susan Montepio went on to do other work and Cecilia Brainard continued the work.

PALH has published books by Filipina American writer Veronica Montes (Benedicta Takes Wing and Other Stories); Linda Ty-Casper collection of a novella and short stories (A River, One-Woman Deep: Fiction); and it has kept in print hard-to-find anthologies such as Fiction by Filipinos in America and Contemporary Fiction by Filipinos in America.

PALH’s books can found at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and from palhbooks.com. For more information, contact palhbooks@gmail.com or palh@aol.com.

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Tags: Philippine literature, Philippine books, Filipino books, Filipino books for kids, Filipino books for teens, Asian books for kids