Pick up these poetry books
When you want to take time out from the humdrum of the day or your endless scrolling, when you feel like nobody can understand your despair or your delight, when you need soulful sustenance that quietly speaks to you and what’s happening around you, poetry is usually a good answer.
At the Mess Studio bookshop, there are many local titles from Filipino writers, artists, and even activists, you’re bound to find one that resonates. Let these poetry books nourish you when you need to slow down and ponder about oneself or society—from the tenderness of daily life to its struggles, from motherhood to Martial Law.
Conversations with my Self(ies) by Pierra Calasanz-Labrador
A collection of poems “born from self-soothing practices throughout the pandemic,” is how Calasanz-Labrador describes her third book of poetry. For all of us who lived through the lockdown, the collection not only soothes but surprises. She takes you down the familiar and mundane when we were sheltering in—a decluttering here, adding to cart there—and reassures, finding the words for the emotions we all needed to articulate. She sees the tenderness of daily life, but hints at deeper truths, from stillness to surrender.
Among the pieces that linger long after reading are those that feel like quiet revelations—”Riptides” on the emotional shipwrecks left beneath the surface and “Beautiful Mess” on letting go. Short but striking, poems like “Lifeline” and “Kintsugi” glint with brevity and emotional heft. Through it all, Calasanz-Labrador writes truthfully about the things we tell ourselves and the slow, stubborn process of learning to be our own lifeline. (Designed and illustrated by Wiji Lacsamana)
Mangled Mornings by Aida F. Santos
Spanning several decades, the collected poems of feminist, activist, and award-winning writer, Aida F. Santos, takes you on a journey through devastating loss, darkness, and somehow, through it all, optimism. Having been a detainee during the Martial Law years—when dissent could get you arrested without warrant, assaulted, or executed—Santos writes about those harrowing times. Her poems “Memories 1,” “Memories 2,” and “Memories 3” offer stark glimpses into life in detention.
As you read “Storm,” “At Eliazo, Evening of a People Strike,” or “Geology,” you’ll feel there is grief alongside grace. She writes about departed friends, fellow revolutionaries in the cause, about goodbyes (none of them perfect), and of storms and suffering. Her poetry moves through these moments with great care and clarity, whether it’s set on another continent or a tiny island, in a protest rally or an airport. She endures, and so do her rampaging words.
Anothology by Guada Tagalog
Visual artist and writer Guada Tagalog takes the different “eras” in a decade of her life and has turned it into a collection of artworks and rhyming poetry. From what she calls her “angsty youth” to her “spiritual awakening era,” from making her painting dreams a reality to the joys/chaos of motherhood, the anthology is her attempt to try and make sense of it all or answer the question, “Ano ba toh?”
Anothology is divided into five chapters representing those different eras. For her, whether you relate to her work or not, “We all have a story to tell” and she’s earnest in her hope that her readers get to experience, as she writes, “the wisdom to make the choices that are true to your soul’s calling.”
Pasakalye by Lean Borlongan
Winner of the 40th National Book Awards for Best Poetry in Filipino, Pasakalye confronts the grim societal issues plaguing the Philippines, particularly the life and struggles of ordinary Filipinos who toil and labor. Each chapter thoughtfully explores the grueling lives of workers and the marginalized, and lays bare the abuses inflicted upon the poor by those in power.
The Pangkaraniwan and Patungan chapters capture the frustration and rage as much as the injustice and anguish in the daily fight for dignity and rights. Pahayag at Paglayag tackles the issues during the Duterte government, of tokhang and EJKs, in both graphic and sublime manner. The short poems in Tulala, often just two to four lines long, are stark and restrained—yet they cut deep, leaving a lasting impression on anyone who opens this powerful collection.
SaLoobin (Mga akda ng/para sa kababaihang bilanggong pulitikal)
This poignant collection of poetry, essays, and artworks aims to offer a glimpse into the plight of female political prisoners. Featuring voices like Reina Mae Nasino, Amanda Echanis, and Cora Agavido, the book captures not only their personal struggles but also the broader injustices faced by women who are criminalized for activism and expression of dissenting political beliefs. It also shows how these women carry on with hope that everyone, not just a few, will be able to live with dignity.
Through verses written in both English and Filipino, the anthology explores incarceration, separation, and the cost of fighting for one's rights. But more than a record of suffering, SaLoobin pulses with resistance. It tells of the daily realities of imprisonment without giving in to despair. The women in these pages are not defined by their detention, but by their resilience. This collection is a powerful reminder that the fight for human rights continues behind and beyond prison walls. (This book was published together with KAPATID-Friends and Families of Poltical Prisoners.)
