LONDON - Agaw-pansin ang mayamang tradisyon at sining ng mga Igorot sa paglulunsad ng bagong akda ng London-based Filipino author na si Candy Gourlay.

Nakatuon ang libro niyang 'Wild Song' sa paglalakbay ng mga Igorot mula Bontoc, Mountain Province papuntang Amerika para dumalo sa World Fair noong 1904 noong panahong sakop pa ng Estados Unidos ang Pilipinas.

“At the fair, they exhibited Filipinos, nine tribes, from the Philippines like Visayans, Bagobo, Muslims, Negritos, to show off how they had now conquered the Philippines; and the experiences of the Igorots at the World Fair were pretty much a degradation. They were degraded at the World Fair,” saad ni Candy Gourlay, author ng ‘Wild Song.’

Kinilala rin si Gourlay sa kanyang akdang 'Tall Story' na nagwagi ng National Children's Book award sa Pilipinas. Isa rin ito sa ‘100 Best Books Of The Last 100 Years’ ng Book Trust, ang pinakamalaking literacy organization sa United Kingdom.

Ang ‘Wild Song’ ay karugtong naman ng kanyang librong 'Bone Talk' na kasama sa shortlist ng British Literary Awards na Carnegie Medal at Costa Book Prize noong 2019.

Pinarangalan din ito bilang outstanding international book ng United States Board on Books for Young People. Napili rin ang ‘Wild Song’ bilang Book of the Month ng magazine na Bookseller.

“It's an incredible account, not just of our history, but of a coming-of-age book for women. it also touches on issues of race, which is important today, and love, too,” sabi Averil Pooten-Watan Chairperson, Igorot UK Charity.

“My question was, what does it mean to be civilized? Because the Americans felt that the Igorots were not civilized, and the answer that I found was that to be civilized, you need to see the humanity in someone who is not you, so at the end of my story, I knew very well who was not civilized,” wika ni Gourlay.

Payo naman ng librarian ng Centre for Literacy in Primary Education sa London, mahalagang gawing isang masayang karanasan para sa mga bata ang pagbabasa ng libro, imbes na isang gawain.

“I think the children are more likely to read books if they are enjoying them. So we should treat it as something that isn't like a chore or a homework or a task but something that you do with the children at the end of the day,” sabi ni Phoebe Demeger, librarian, CLPE-London.

US Senator Bernie Sanders book launch

Sa gitna naman ng kaliwa’t kanang protesta dahil sa krisis dala ng mahal ng mga bilihin atenergy bills, humarap sa Foreign Press Association London ang dating presidential hopeful at US Democratic Senator Bernie Sanders para sa launch ng kanyang librong “It’s Okay to be Angry About Capitalism.”

Tinalakay ni Sanders sa libro ang pagkontrol ng 1% oligarchs ng Amerika sa ekonomiya ng US na kailangan na raw tuldukan.

Nobela ng Pinay sa Lebanon Sa Lebanon

Dream come true naman para sa The Filipino Channel News correspondent na si Rhyse Furio ang mailathala ang kanyang nobela.

Ang librong ‘The Way Back to Eden, A Seal Upon The Heart’ ay tungkol sa labis na pagmamahal ng isang pamilya sa Diyos, at kung paano nila napagtagumpayan ang mga pagsubok sa kanilang pagsasama.

Nagsimula raw ang journey ng pagiging self-published author niya dahil sa kanyang kabigan na sinabing subukan ito.

“Do you know that you can now publish on Amazon.com for free? Well, I do have 150 pages of daydreams just taking up space on my laptop. So bakit ‘di i-publish, free naman, so go,” sabi ni Rhyse Furio, author,The Way Back to Eden, A Seal Upon The Heart.

Nais ding ibahagi ni Furio sa Filipino Overseas Workers na nangungulila sa kanilang pamilya na hindi nila kailangan hanapin ang pagmamahal sa mga maling mga tao at mga maling relasyon.

“Lovestruck women that don’t have to beg for love from flawed people. That love is fully and lavishly available to them through the perfect lover. And of course, we know it’s Jesus Christ,” saad ni Furio.

Para sa mga nagbabagang mga balita tungkol sa ating mga kababayan sa United Kingdom, tumutok sa TFC News sa TV Patrol.