Powell's question # 7

Here is my unsolicited answer to the seventh question raised by Adam Donaldson Powell:

"What do you think established large press enterprises think of and look for in bilingual poetry? Are they and/or most literary magazines in your country of residence open to publishing bilingual poetry, or poetry written by persons who have another mother tongue?"

In the Philippines, all publishers publish bilingual poetry, because they all publish books in English. English is a second language in my country, which has more than a hundred indigenous languages, about a dozen of which have long and continuing literary traditions. A paradox, however, is that while linguists in the country (as well as outside the country) recognize and accept the variety of English called "Philippine English," publishers still generally look for the "American English" variety. This is a remnant of colonial days (the country was an American colony during the first half of the last century).