National Artists for Literature, F. Sionil Jose (left) and Bienvenido Lumbera lead the
unveiling of the shelves
The National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), the government’s primary arm in promoting Filipino culture and arts, launched its latest publications and unveiled the new shelves for its books at the NCCA Lobby on November 25.
Two of the country’s honored National Artists for Literature, Professor F. Sionil Jose and Dr. Bienvenido Lumbera, led the unveiling of the shelves. With them were NCCA Chairman Felipe de Leon Jr. and OIC Executive Director Adelina Suemith who also shared their views on the current state of Philippine Literature.
Discourses on the availability of printed books to the Filipino reader, its role in the cultural growth of the country and the culture of book reading among Filipinos were the issues discussed at the activity.
“It is not true that the Filipinos are not wide readers,” said de Leon in his message elaborating that thriving book sales and trade prove that Filipinos continue to patronize books on print despite technological options.
This is seconded by Dr. Lumbera’s comment in an interview where he said that books are still more accessible through the libraries and easier to purchase in book sales.
Books that were launched at the event were Dr. Lumbera’s Paunang Salita and Professor Jose’s The Feet of Juan Bacnang, along with other NCCA publications.
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