Rutgers-Camden Doctoral Candidate, Filipino Poet, Reads from Book of Poems for Children

CAMDEN – During National Poetry Month, a Rutgers-Camden student scholar and poet will read from her recently published book “Children of Two Seasons: Poems for Young People,” during Rutgers-Camden’s Cappuccino Academy at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 8.

New Brunswick resident Lara Saguisag has found that most children’s books available generalize children as being Western, white, and from a middle-class background. She admits that even in her own home country, the Philippines, “childhood” is often portrayed as an American experience.

To fill a need for children’s books reflecting a Filipino culture, Saguisag has published four books for younger audiences in her homeland. Titled “Children of Two Seasons,” her latest book of poetry represents children as portraying more emotions, than happiness alone.

This latest work of Saguisag’s won the 2006 Writing for Children Chapbook Series competition. According to the judge, Peter Abrahams, “Saguisag has a gift for writing poetry that I think children will love. She is deft with animals – frogs, tadpoles, water buffalo – and never falls into any anthropomorphic traps.”

Additional books by the Rutgers-Camden author include “There’s a Duwende in My Brother’s Soup,” “Tonyo’s Wishes” and “Cat Eyes.”

A graduate of the University of the Philippines, Hollins University, and the New School, Saguisag is a member of Rutgers-Camden’s inaugural class in the nation’s very first PhD program in childhood studies, which is also the first doctoral program at Rutgers-Camden. The program will enrich professional careers and outcomes in education, early childhood, children’s literature, research, and public policy.

Saguisag’s free reading will be held at Barnes & Noble, located at 200 West Route 70 in Marlton.

This lecture is part of Cappuccino Academy, a monthly series of free public lectures delivered by members of the Rutgers-Camden community at Barnes & Noble.  For more information, call (856) 225-6627.

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