THE UST Publishing House (USTPH) is set to unveil four new titles at separate book launches and signings, with plans afoot for a grand book launch.
New titles include “Vilma Santos, Icon: Essays on Cinema, Culture, and Society,” “Celebrating More: The St. Thomas More Lectures,” “The Dominican Rite of Solemn Profession: History, Theology, and Spirituality,” and new soft and hardcover editions of “The Trilogy of Saint Lazarus.”
USTPH Deputy Director Paul Castillo said the books were selected through careful screening and a peer review and blind review process.
“You have [literature], you have star studies, one in religion and ecclesiastical domain, and an anthology of speeches. It’s a good variety of titles and the genres are not the same,” Castillo told the Varsitarian.
Asked which of the works he was most excited about, Castillo pointed to “Vilma Santos, Icon: Essays on Cinema, Culture, and Society,” a book of critical essays on the films of iconic actress Vilma Santos, dubbed the “Star of all Seasons.”
The book was edited by the UST Center for Creative Writing and Literary Studies (CCWLS) co-director, Prof. Augusto Antonio Aguila, and journalism faculty and Varsitarian adviser, Asst. Prof. Joselito Zulueta.
Castillo also said he was looking forward to “The Trilogy of Saint Lazarus,” written by the late National Artist for Literature and former Varsitarian literary editor, Cirilo Bautista.
“Excited ako kasi bagong reading siya of the three collected books of Cirilo Bautista. It’s a book for the new generation of readers who love poetry and Philippine history,” Castillo said.
“The Trilogy of Saint Lazarus” has three parts: “The Archipelago,” “Telex Moon,” and “Sunlight on Broken Stones.”
Encompassing 30 years of Bautista’s literary career, each part revives epic poetry to create a modern retelling of Philippine history.
Asian studies professor Lino Baron will hold another launch for his recently published book, “Celebrating More: The St. Thomas More Lectures.”
First launched on Feb. 24 at the Medicine Auditorium, the book compiles lectures about St. Thomas More, the patron saint of the UST Faculty of Arts and Letters, from 1968 to 2019.
UST Rector Fr. Richard Ang, O.P. described the St. Thomas More Lectures in the book’s foreword as a “chronicle of history for tackling the issues significant to their period and milieu.”
“The Dominican Rite of Solemn Profession: History, Theology, and Spirituality” is a liturgical dissertation by Theology professor Roberto Luanzon, Jr., OP, UST’s vice rector for finance.
The new titles are available in the publishing house bookstore, located at the UST Main Building near the UST Health Service.
The books are also available on online platforms Shopee and Lazada.
Castillo said the grand book launch will be held in April or May.
