Interfaced: Reimagining Literature through New Media
The Nagkahiusang Magsusulat sa Cagayan de Oro (NAGMAC) launches the tenth issue of the Bulawan Literary Journal of Northern Mindanao.
In an age where digital technologies are reshaping how we communicate, consume, and create, the landscape of literature is undergoing profound transformation. We explore this evolving frontier, where traditional forms meet the dynamic possibilities of digital innovation. This issue seeks to capture the rich interplay between literature and new media, celebrating how writers are expanding the boundaries of storytelling in an interconnected, digital world.
Bulawan is a multilingual journal published by Bulawan Books, the indie publication arm of NAGMAC. It is one of many NAGMAC-organized platforms for local writers to showcase their talents to an audience of creative enthusiasts who appreciate their work.
This issue of Bulawan is accessible through different digital platforms. Scroll down to the individual hyperlinks and click the titles of the works you wish to view. A PDF with the links and descriptions is also available to download for free. Please type “0” in the price box and click "I want this!" to get your copy.
This piece is a recreation of a single person's experience of being alone in quarantine during the COVID-19 pandemic. The space here is a museum of sorts, exhibiting the things that we acquired (that perhaps tried, or maybe failed) to keep us whole while sheltering in place. Best viewed on desktop. Audio and video permissions will be requested, but should not be in use while in the space.
The project is essentially a series of "poems" that function as one poem in its entirety. It plays upon the common poetry formats that can be seen on TikTok, which is where it is primarily published. When seen in order, the repetition of the poem's structure is emphasized through the music, the cadence of delivery, and pictures utilized despite some differences. When seen randomly on the For You page on TikTok, the user's experience with the poem may go in a number of ways, all of which, if a little curiosity is entertained, leads to some level of confusion.
@yanyears (Jan Rupert I Alfeche): Cross-Cultural Kid, MA Sociology, Music Director, Violinist, Poet, Defiantly Floating Shipwreck
The narrative follows the Persona and their journey through letting go of the material flesh(of course, always open to interpretations). This audio poem is composed of separate video-stanzas meant to be played in random order. Each title contrasts with its theme, inviting the listener to experience a shifting, reshaped narrative with every shuffle.
@TiffanyMae (Tiffany Mae Uy): ✍️🎨☕ from CDO. Loves 📖, 📝 short stories & 🎭 interactive poetry. Inspired by 🎬, 📚 & 🎤.
"TOL" is a pun on "toll"—two toll booth workers at NLEX chat about Holy Week vacations, and how their boring lives take a toll on them. It's DIY theater, mixing Fluxus. It's part of my "Theater ON Demand" ("TOD") project, exploring how theater can be as easy to access as streaming.
@giancarlo_dejesus: Creative educator, playable theatermaker, and game designer reimagining learning and storytelling through play.
This is a PowerPoint piece about personal growth by going back to school at any age—even at sixty. It is an invitation to pursue life-long learning as a way to savor life. At several points in the life journey, opportunities abound to reinvent the self through new skills, new perspectives, and new friendships.
@Seeker (Amelia Pulvera Agbayani): Started scribbling when floppy diskettes were still used but challenges are energizing and new things like new media are exciting; so, here goes.
The posts in this account are a curation containing musings that deserve no place on a platform like Instagram. Its layout is meant to provoke the viewer to explore the account however they like. Making this work was relatively easy; it was only when I began to post the pictures when a problem arose, in which I mixed up the placements and which caption belonged to where. I tried to reupload the photos in an attempt to restore what was finalized, but the captions could not be found once uploaded. At first I was slightly frustrated, but later I realized that I was losing sight of my intentions. It's funny how life (and technology) breaks the chaotic "order" you are not supposed to make.
With the outputs set up within an hour, and this natural inclination that I will add no more photos after my submission, this work is essentially a performance. It is not trying to mimic actual accounts, nor is it attempting to be as realistic as possible. I created this account for a particular reason, under particular circumstances, and every time you visit its page, you will be reminded of it. From the beginning of conceptualization to the end, I was slowly distancing myself from the project.
While I consciously tried to explore traveling, content creation (including caption-writing), center-region relations in the Philippines, and even this little, fragile thing called privacy, I welcome other nuances that have gone unnoticed in this work.
This work is a play on memory’s dual nature of ephemerality and permanence. The magnets represent mementos of experiences that are displayed to trigger associations but each person’s perspective may be different. These short reflections were posted as Instagram Stories which are meant to be viewed for only 24 hours, and yet when put in a highlight, they remain on a person’s profile long after they are “expired.”
The author encourages new viewers to send their own magnet memories to be added to this collection.
@abbyinred (Abigail C James): Storyteller from Cagayan de Oro.
This work is an interactive tic-tac-toe game where each move triggers a poem to be played, inviting users to passively and playfully experience poetry.
The author recommends unmuting the device’s volume for the full sensory experience.
@raisonneur: Aspiring Philosopher | Servus Servorum Dei
Copyright Section
The Bulawan Literary Journal of Northern Mindanao is the flagship publication of Nagkahiusang Magsusulat sa Cagayan de Oro (NAGMAC) under its publication arm Bulawan Books.
This issue is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0).
The copyright of each work remains with their respective authors. Third-party images and platforms used in the pieces are for educational and non-commercial purposes only.
Editorial Board
General Editor NH Legaspi
Issue Editor Abigail C James
Section Editors Alessandro Kennz Nioda Jan Rupert I. Alfeche
Credits
Cover design by NH Legaspi Cover photo by Leonardo Barese on Unsplash Dummy code from Github