Best-selling author and scriptwriter Ricky Lee will be coming out in May with a special edition of Si Tatang at mga Himala ng Ating Panahon, the classic anthology that broke convention by combining an author’s journalism, film and literature in one book.
Si Tatang..., which first came out in 1988, is a collection of Lee’s reportage, interviews and short fiction, including “Servando Magdamag” and “Kabilang sa mga Nawawala.” It also features the full-screenplay of the Nora Aunor-starrer Himala, which recently won CNN Viewers’ Choice as the Best Asia Pacific Film of All Time, besting Akira Kurosawa and Wong Kar Wai films in the process. It has been required reading in schools and a common missing/lost item in school libraries.
When it was originally published in 1988, Lee went back to his sources and updated his journalistic articles written earlier. This special edition of Si Tatang... will follow Lee’s unconventional journalistic tradition with further updates on the interview articles more than two decades after it was first published. For instance, three interviews of Jacklyn Jose—from the young promising starlet to the critically acclaimed actress to the sensitive mature thespian that she is now. Moreover, additional, new photographs will complement the essays, stories and scripts.
Ricky Lee is also the author of Trip to Quiapo, a Filipino classic text on scriptwriting. His writing is characterized by a rare combination of critical acclaim and popular following. Critic Isagani Cruz credits Lee for creating “through an unconventional use of Filipino, a new way of looking at our everyday world…” And here’s what National Artist for Literature Bienvenido Lumbera has to say about the forthcoming special edition of Si Tatang... and its author:
Sa antolohiyang ito, walang duda na ang pinakadakilang himala ng ating panahon ay ang manunulat na si Ricardo Lee. Magaling siyang kuwentista. Bilang mananaysay, malaman ang kanyang mga sanaysay. Batbat ng kabatiran ang kanyang mga screenplay.
Maurirat ang kanyang mga interbyu. Bawat anyo ng pagsusulat na kanyang hawakan ay nagpapakilala ng kahusayan ng kanyang panulat at ng malalim na pagkabatid sa mga suliranin ng tao at ng lipunang ginagalawan nito. Kung ihahanay natin siya sa kanyang mga kapanahon, namumukod ang kanyang talino at talento. Ang muling paglilimbag sa Si Tatang at mga Himala ng Ating Panahon ay okasyong dapat ipagdiwang ng mga dati nang mambabasa ng awtor at ng mga bagong mambabasa na dadanas sa bagong panahon sa himalang ang pangalan ay Ricardo Lee.
Ricky Lee’s successful first novel Para kay B (O kung paano dinevastate ng pag-ibig ang 4 out of 5 sa atin) continues to capture the readers’ imagination and has already been reprinted after just three months since it was launched.
Si Tatang at mga Himala ng Ating Panahon will be launched on May 31, 2009 (Sunday), 3 p.m. at Powerbooks, SM Megamall, Mandaluyong City.
Discounted bulk orders and autographed advance copies can be pre-ordered through the Writers Studio. Contact Jerry at 0921-7849363 / 0917-5331948 / 9289557 or through e-mail <writers.studio12@gmail.com>.
RSS Feed