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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