The UPV Skimmers and UPV Language Program held The Pintados Poetry Workshop on August 06, 2022, at the University of the Philippines Visayas Iloilo City campus and via Zoom. The two-hour workshop session, which covered the basics of poetry-writing and the importance of writing for the regions, was facilitated by renowned Antiqueño poet, fictionist, essayist, playwright, translator, and literary scholar Dr. John Iremil E. Teodoro, who was joined by over 50 registered attendees online and on-site.
Dr. Teodoro divided the workshop into four parts: a lecture, a writing session, a critiquing session, and an open forum in which the participants, as young as sixteen years old and from different schools and regions, actively participated.
The Pintados Poetry Workshop is one of the events under “Pintados: Tinta, Estorya, Kabuhi,” a project by the UPV Skimmers in collaboration with the UPV Language Program. Pintados features the Bachelor of Arts in Literature program of the University and is a manifestation of the academic group’s dedication to creating art for a purpose.
The group recognizes literature as a means of heightening social consciousness, documenting the current milieu, and developing the self. Consequently, this workshop is aimed to bring literature closer to the youth, foster a “regional consciousness” and an appreciation for regional literature, and provide an avenue for the sharpening of one’s creative writing skills.
Moreover, the workshop gives the youth the opportunity to realize their potential in the field of literature and be part of a new generation of writers who share the dedication to creating art not merely for art’s sake but for humankind. In a word, the workshop is a stepping stone and opens the door to something greater. (Mr. Liane Carlo Suelan, BA in Literature)
