Celebrating Nick Joaquin (ft. Gina Apostol, Ninotchka Rosca, Alex Gilvarry, & Melissa R. Sipin)

In this episode of AAWW Radio, we’re celebrating the new edition of works by Nick Joaquin titled The Woman Who Had Two Navels and Tales of the Tropical Gothic. Nick Joaquin is one of the most important writers of the Philippines who is only recently being published in the United States for the first time by Penguin Classics. Born in 1917, Joaquin wrote a surreal, anguished sentence that cast an ironic eye at colonialism’s longue durée and Catholic rites, both of which he depicted through magical realism and baroque splendor. To read and discuss Joaquin’s work, we’re featuring Pen Open Book winning author Gina Apostol alongside legendary activist and author Ninotchka Rosca who was a friend of Joaquin’s, and Five-Under-35 winning author Alex Gilvarry. After these contributors read excerpts of their pieces, they are joined in a Q&A; with writer and editor Melissa R. Sipin.