BNSCWC calls for submission for Premio Ambahan 2013

Photo courtesy of Mangyan Heritage Center

When a Mangyan poet writes of a flower, 

he writes of it not for the purpose 

of celebrating its beauty or fragrance 

but to make it an allegory or symbol of human life, 

its problems, and its challenges. 

– Antoon Postma

The Bienvenido N. Santos Creative Writing Center (BNSCWC) announces a call for submission to "Write Green: Premio Ambahan 2013." This is a poetry writing competition that seeks to promote the writing of ambahan as a contemporary expression deep-rooted in our tradition.

Ambahan is a short poetic form indigenous to the Hanunuo Mangyans of Mindoro. It consists of seven-syllable lines, mono-rhyme scheme, and the images illustrate people’s lives in relation to their natural habitat. Its original language uses an ancient syllabary or a writing system Indic in origin.

Premio Ambahan is open to all bona fide DLSU undergraduate students. Only one entry is allowed and must be original. It should follow the stylistic features of an ambahan, written in English or Filipino.

The theme of the contest is "Landscape and Environment." The poem may reflect on green things, retell scenes of disasters, rediscover myth and milieu, imagine the future, or just love the planet.

Entry should include author’s full contact information (address, email, phone) and a copy of the student's current EAF (3rd Term, A.Y. 2012-2013). Student personnel of BNSCWC are not eligible to join this contest.

Three winners will receive a certificate and a cash prize: First place - Php 4,000; Second place - Php 3,000; and Third place - Php 2,000. Deadline of submission of entries is on February 28, 2013. Winners will be announced in March 2013.

Address your entry to:

The Bienvenido N. Santos Creative Writing Center

Miguel Building Room 208

De La Salle University, 2401 Taft Avenue, Manila 1004

For electronic submission, please send as MS Word attachment to: bnscwc@yahoo.com. Indicate “Premio Ambahan” in the subject line.

For inquiries, please contact BNSCWC Office at (632) 5244611 local 233; or email bnscwc@dlsu.edu.ph.

+  Follow me on Twitter and join my Facebook Page.  +