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Selected BA English (BAE) students’ literary works were reviewed and improved in the recently-concluded Davao Writers Workshop (DWW). BAE students Reggie Faye Canarias, Clint Jovial Delima, and Czarina Rae Yamas were among the 12 workshop fellows that also included BAE alumna Rizia Jahziel Perez. The Davao Writers Guild organized the workshop that ran over five weekends, from April 26 to May 24, 2025, held in a combination of face-to-face and online sessions, under guild vice-president and workshop director Jade Mark Capiñanes.
“This year, the Davao Writers Guild was able to bring the Davao Writers Workshop back after a five-year hiatus because of funding from Vibal Foundation, Inc.,” said guild president and UP Mindanao professor Jhoanna Lynn Cruz. “But we knew that it had to be re-conceptualized because nothing should go back to what or how it used to be before the pandemic. So in this year’s workshop, the fellows had the opportunity to reflect on and speak about their writing and to be mentored closely throughout the month. We hope it makes a difference in their writing lives,” she said.
Canarias’ fiction pieces were Creation Story and Notes on How to Survive the End of the World, while Delima’s fiction works were titled Mga Jambolero and Paingon sa Kawanangan. Czarina Rae Yamas, on the other hand, had her essays, Letters from a Moth-child and Sweeping. Perez’s fiction pieces were Ganesha by the Bridge and Adiw’s Dream.
The panel of workshop mentors included UP Mindanao faculty members MJ Tumamac and Prof. Cruz, plus BS Social science alumnus and Palanca prize-winner Errol Merquita.
“The workshop’s new setup this year allowed the fellows to build genuine connection among other writers,” said fictionist Canarias. “It gave us the opportunity to learn about one another’s writing process, giving us a broader understanding on how to approach their works without disregarding their concepts. It was an honor meeting the future of Mindanao literature,” she said
“The workshop helped me develop a greater love and appreciation for Cebuano literature.” said fellow fictionist Delima. “Thanks to my mentor, sir Errol, and my co-fellows/groupmates, I was able to understand more about what it means to be a Mindanawon, and how we, as writers, can contribute to the ongoing discourse and use writing as a way of returning to our communities. Using Cebuano as a medium allowed me to express emotions and sensibilities that English could only hope to capture,” he said.
“This year’s Davao Writer’s Workshop was definitely an experience,’ said essayist Yamas. “It was exciting to meet fellow writers across different places in Mindanao and to meet the mentors for this workshop. It has definitely helped me hone my skill in writing and widen my perspective on Mindanaoan literature. The things I have learned at DWW 2025 are lessons I will always carry with me,” she said.
