An evening of poetry presented by four leading Pinay poets who will read from their most recent work and discuss the long tradition of Pinay poetry, its place in the Philippines, the United States, and in the literary canon.

Arlene Biala is an award-winning poet who has been participating in poetry performances and workshops in the Bay Area for over 20 years. She is currently Poet Laureate of Santa Clara County for 2016-17. Her poetry has been described as "grounded in ritual object and ritual practice, mantras that resonate within the body, and plant the body firmly in the world." She is the author of several collections of poetry: "bone," "continental drift," and her latest book, "her beckoning hands," which won the 2015 American Book Award.

Janice Lobo Sapigao is a writer, poet, and educator from San José, CA. Her first book of poetry, "microchips for millions," is about immigrant women in the Silicon Valley who make microchips. She is a VONA/Voices Fellow and Kundiman Fellow.  She earned her M.F.A. in Writing from CalArts, and she has a B.A. in Ethnic Studies with Honors from UC San Diego. 

Veronica Montes is the author of the upcoming short story collection "Benedicta Takes Wing." She came of age in the fog and mist of Daly City, California, with thousands of other Filipino kids who frequently appear, sometimes unbidden, in her writing. Her stories have appeared in Bamboo Ridge, Prism International, andmaganda, as well as in many anthologies.

Barbara Jane Reyes is the author of "To Love as Aswang." She was born in Manila, Philippines, raised in the Bay Area, and is the author of three previous collections of poetry, "Gravities of Center," "Poeta en San Francisco," which received the James Laughlin Award of the Academy of American Poets, and "Diwata," which received the Global Filipino Literary Award for Poetry.