Severo, Nadera at UST Discussion
SPOKEN word, also known as performance poetry, took center stage at the USTingan Roundtable Discussion at the Thomas Aquinas Research Center (TARC) Auditorium, University of Santo Tomas, with the “father of performance poetry in the Philippines” Carmelo “Vim” Nadera, Jr., Ph.D. and spoken word phenomenon Juan Miguel Severo as featured speakers.
USTingan is the bi-annual gathering of writers, teachers, students, and lovers of literature, at which certain topics of contemporary interest involving writing, publishing, and popular culture are discussed.
The event, anchored on the theme “Ang Tula Bilang Bigkas at Palabas” (Poetry as Spoken and Performed) was organized by the UST Center for Creative Writing and Literary Studies (UST CCWLS) in cooperation with the UST Literary Society. It was the contribution of the organization to the National Literature Month celebrated in April.
Nadera, Southeast Asian (SEA) Write awardee, is the director of the Makiling High School for the Arts. He has represented the Philippines in various international literary festivals, seminars, and conferences. He is a member of the UNESCO National Commission of the Philippines Culture Committee, Philippine Center for Gifted Education Board of Directors; Commission on Higher Education Technical Committee on Literature; and Philippine High School for the Arts Advisory Council. He has also received numerous awards, including The Outstanding Young Men (TOYM),
the Philippine Centennial Literary Award for the Filipino epic and novel, the National Book Award, and the Carlos Palanca
- umnist, translator, and author, he has published numerous books in various literary journals.
Severo is a spoken word artist and actor who rose to fame with his performances that usually focus on unrequited love. He started performing in Sev’s Café in 2014, where he met Words Anonymous, an active group of spoken word artists, of which he is now the most popular member. His love poems, like “
(The Last Poem I Will Write for You), have since been going viral. Severo describes himself as “a writer who performs and a performer who writes.”