UH Ilokano Program Faculty launched his two books comprising The Negros Trilogy

Photos by Alliah Martha Agsalda

Dr. Aurelio Solver Agcaoili, faculty of the UH Manoa Ilokano Program and chair of the Department of Indo-Pacific Languages & Literatures, launched two books of his three-book project, The Negros Trilogy, on September 17. The books are Arsenal of Words and We Left & They Kept Dying.

Arsenal of Words is published by Sadiri Publications, in collaboration with KARAPATAN, a human rights alliance based in the Philippines and founded in 1995 to protect and promote human rights in the country, and Northern Dispatch, also called Nordis, an alternative media outfit dedicated to truthful news dissemination from the perspective of grassroots organizations and communities.

We Left & They Kept Dying is solely published by Sadiri Publications, an independent publishing house that has been at the forefront of literary and scholarly work in three languages: English, Ilokano, and Tagalog.

Attended by academics, students, and members of the community, the launch of the two books paved the way for continuing dialogue about the purpose of art and writing at a time when deepfakes and false propaganda are fodder for trolls and state-sponsored media in the country.

Those who shared their views about the two books were Dr. Patricia Halagao, director of the Center for Philippine Studies and professor in the College of Education; Dr. Fred Magdalena, retired associate director of the CPS; Dr. Nadezna Ortega, faculty of the UH Ilokano Program; and Elena Clariza, librarian of the Philippine Studies Collection at Hamilton Library.

Portions of the books were read by Elena Clariza, Nadezna Ortega, Lydia Pavon, and two graduate students from the UH Manoa Linguistics Department, Will FitzGerald and Robert Choate.

The third book of the trilogy, We Have Seen This: A Poetry of Witness, is being published by Ukiyoto Publishing and is expected to be released before the end of the year.