Literati and artists from other forms will join hands to give book reading and literature a louder voice with a day-long arts assembly at the Melvin Jones ground on April 21.
The Pasa-Kalye conceived event Literaday is also an advance celebration of the International Day for Books on April 23 in the hope of giving the most quiet of arts a boost and other art forms to support it.
“This is to promote reading especially among our kids,” said Pasa-Kalye Group of Artists president Maricar Docyogen, owner of Bookends which is promoting book reading by selling cheap second hand books.
Docyogen said that main event will be pastel painting interpretation of a poem which will be chosen by poet and literature representative to the Creative Council Frank Cimatu.
Docyogen wants a poem about the environment for the 20 student artists who will join the painting contest.
Other activities include book mark making for students which will also one of the highlights of the morning activities. The afternoon will be dedicated for poetry reading, storytelling by the Kawiwit Storytelling Initiative, monologue by Angelo Aurelio, an award winning stage director, random quiz on literature, cultural dance and busking.
“We hope to stage a successful event, the first, hopefully, in a tradition that will become a regular event during April, which happens to be the month of literature.
The event was conceived to boost reading especially literature, the most quiet of the seven art forms.
While literature has been deemed important in promoting the other art forms, literature has a dwindling readership.
“You’re lucky if you get to sell 5,000 books in a country of more than 100 million people,” said national artist for literature Virgilio Almario during the Creative Hub display at Malcolm Square last February.
“Wala ng nagbabasa,” exclaimed Almario, who is pushing for the inclusion of literature in the cache of books the Department of Education acquire for elementary and high school students.
Almario is proposing for a must read books that will include works of Filipino writers to give students a well-rounded education.
“his is what we are pushing, support literature and with help from the other art forms, like music, visual arts and even performance,” added Docyogen. **PML
