Cartography
Cartography (Anvil, 1992); 1993 National Book
Award for Poetry, Philippines
The poems in this collection are based on the history of Baguio City, which was
created as a colonial hill station for the American colonial government in the
Philippines at the turn of the last century. The poems make imaginative journeys
into the past, present, and future of Baguio, in order to ponder the connections
between history, identity, and place.
The book received a National Book Award for Poetry from the
Manila Critics Circle in the Philippines. In addition, at least fifteen of the
poems from this volume originally received First Prize in the Palanca Awards
for Literature (Poetry); the Palanca is the Philippines’ highest literary distinction,
equivalent to the Pulitzer Prize.
