SU faculty member to discuss poetry at national museum event
Angela Gabrielle Fabunan, a faculty member of the Silliman University (SU) Department of English and Literature, will be the featured speaker at the National Museum of the Philippines – Dumaguete’s (NMP – Dumaguete) “Muse and Metaphor at the Museum” on April 15, 2025, from 9:00 A.M. to 11:00 A.M.
Held in celebration of National Literature Month and in partnership with SU’s Edilberto and Edith Tiempo Creative Writing Center (SUCWC), the event will showcase Fabunan’s insights on how institutions and influences shape the 21st-century Filipino poet.
Fabunan, author of the acclaimed poetry collection Young Enough to Play (University of the Philippines Press, 2022), will explore the boundaries and possibilities of formal poetry through her call-and-response theory. This framework proposes a dynamic conversation between tradition and innovation, examining how contemporary poets negotiate the constraints—or boundless potential—of poetic form.
This lecture borrows from Fabunan’s paper, Call-and-Response: A Theory of Form as Boundary in Formal Poetry, a literary and scholarly research that was first presented at the 13th Literary Studies Conference & The 6th ASLE-ASEAN Ecocritical Conference in Yogyakarta, Indonesia on the 3rd-4th of October 2023.
This talk seeks to answer the questions: Where do poetry and prose intersect with history and heritage? How does literature shape our identity? How do the stories we tell define our culture and future?
Through Muse and Metaphor at the Museum, writers and aspiring creatives can draw upon museum collections as sources of literary inspiration. This activity underscores the museum’s role as an interactive space where heritage and the arts intersect, fostering a deeper appreciation for both tangible and intangible cultural expressions.
As one of the major stakeholders in Dumaguete City’s bid to join the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) as a City of Literature in 2025, NMP-Dumaguete remains dedicated to preserving and promoting the city’s literary heritage. With initiatives like Muse and Metaphor at the Museum, the museum supports programs that highlight the power of storytelling, poetry, and other written works in shaping cultural identity and inspiring future generations.
The SUCWC, as the primary partner for this event, aims to reinforce its commitment to excellence in creative writing and literature by highlighting the research and scholarship of its members. Through this initiative, the Center seeks to further establish SU’s reputation as a premier research institution renowned for its contributions to literary arts and scholarship.
Muse and Metaphor at the Museum is open to the public and will take place at the National Museum of the Philippines, Dumaguete. The event will also be live streamed on the SUCWC’s Facebook page.
