Literature both spectral & realistic: PH gears up for primetime in 2025 Frankfurt book fair

FRANKFURT, Germany — The fiercest of Filipino books were written with blood and aphorisms, not just read but (in the words of either Goethe or Zarathustra) learned by heart. Those who claim that the Philippines is known mainly for its crime and calamities, with Manila being dubbed by Forbes as the fifth riskiest city for tourists, have never seen Filipino artistry and talent being celebrated on the world stage at events such as the Venice Biennale or the Frankfurt Book Fair.

Our current writers (committing ink to paper like veins of lightning just as José Rizal and Nick Joaquin before them), artists and architects (participating in the global dialogue to redefine visual culture and spatial innovation), as well as actors and filmmakers (from mainstream to slipstream — such as Kidlat, Lav, Khavn, etc.), who are legion, would like to have a word. We belong, always have and always will, and have many wondrous, multi-woven stories in our craw.

Thus, it is crucial how the Philippines will fulfill its role as the Guest of Honour (GoH) country in next year’s Frankfurter Buchmesse, on the heels of literature-rich countries such as Italy and, before that, Slovenia. Aside from maintaining its usual national stand, our country gets to showcase its cultural, literary and creative identity at the central pavilion as well as present a program that gives shape to its national narrative. And it took an entire village to get to this point, but it was one woman who envisioned us receiving the Guest Scroll from a host country and being in a position to share our literary blood and aphorisms in the publishing world’s Olympics of sorts — joining Indonesia as the only Southeast Asian countries to be bestowed this honor.

Senator Loren Legarda had been pushing for the GoH mantle in the world’s oldest and most prestigious book fair since 2016. It was late in 2015 when Karina Bolasco, then director of the Ateneo de Manila University Press, presented the idea of participating in the fair, and the senator supported it all the way. Being a GoH country holds great potential in bringing about changes in our publishing industry, according to Senator Legarda. This prestigious position can yield tangible and substantial economic benefits, such as an increase in the number of book exports, sales of translation rights and other derivative rights, and publication opportunities for our writers, editors, artists and book designers. Additionally, it offers us the chance to deepen our connections with global networks of publishers and cultural institutions.

According to the senator: “Filipino writers and publishers possess a distinct voice and perspective that enriches the global literary landscape. It is high time for the international community to recognize the value and importance of Filipino stories, told in our own voices and reflecting the complex dynamics shaped by our colonial and post-colonial experiences.”

This push-and-pull of past and future and everything ephemeral in between is encapsulated by the theme lifted from the Sisa chapter in José Rizal’s Noli Me Tangere: “The Imagination peoples the air.” Creativity in the case of us Filipinos really is like a universal force that surrounds us, an unseen wind that breathes our ideas, stories and dreams into life.

We catch up with the personalities from the cultural agencies involved — the National Book Development Board (NBDB) and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) — to give their insights as to how the NCCA’s Philippines-as-Guest-of-Honour-at-the-Frankfurt-Book-Fair-2025 project will get the job done.

Dr. Patrick Flores, the curator of the Philippine Pavilion, talks about how those involved will balance traditional and contemporary voices in representing the richness of Philippine literary and artistic contributions to the world.

Flores explains, “The line from the quintessential patriot-artist José Rizal is both an aesthetic condition and an ethos in which the entire ambience is suffused with speculation and intuition as embodied by thinkers, writers, dreamers, workers, storytellers, witnesses and believers. In many ways, it signifies the virtues exemplified by Rizal: inquisitive, investigative, imaginative.”

The aim is to convey a culture that embraces diverse perspectives, willingly engages with challenging and complex ideas, and is both cosmopolitan and deeply rooted in rich cosmological traditions. The public will be immersed in a vibrant atmosphere filled with conversations, mythologies, migrations, and more.

Even before the fair itself in October 2025, there will be exhibitions, publications, performances, and screenings to herald our country’s main character role in Messe Frankfurt. Flores amplifies, “Within the Pavilion, there will be presentations of ideas, sound and movement that span the gamut of what is broadly called the ‘Filipino’ or the ‘Philippine.’ They also draw the public’s attention to the lush and robust sensorium that stirs, animates and sustains the making of books and the communities of readers, writers, publishers who breathe the temper of words and feel the impulse of their worlds.”

For the pavilion design, they are envisioning a welcoming atmosphere — open, generous and hospitable, with a sense of lightness, air and shared warmth. The architecture and furnishings will be modular, versatile, sustainable and movable, blending practicality with a poetic sense of openness. This space will serve as a forum, actively inviting reading, conversation and the shared experience of books. The curator concludes, “The Pavilion will project Philippine culture as gracious and decisive, disarming in many ways, and sensitive to the urgent demands of the times.”

Industrial designer Stanley Ruiz, who leads the project’s design team, says they are approaching the construction of next year’s Philippine Pavilion in Frankfurt with both excitement and unease. There is a thrill in the possibilities — the chance to showcase the best of what the country has to offer in terms of literature and design. Yet, given the scale of the task, they are cautious in their approach, aiming to avoid excess and steer clear of established codes and design stereotypes.

“As far as elements go, light will be present,” points out Ruiz. “The idea of the temporary, as well as improvisation are some of the ideas I’ve discussed with the curator. I am glad to be working with Prof. Patrick Flores, as he really gives me the liberty to approach this from my own lens and experience, and further suggests that I combine it with some elements of my practice (like sound art). Hopefully we can come up with an engaging piece of work.”

How will he balance the use of traditional Filipino materials and aesthetics with modern design practices?

Ruiz answers, “That’s a tough call, really. On the one hand, I’d want the design to look Filipino; on the other, I don’t want it to be obvious.”

Stanley cannot divulge details of the Pavilion design just yet (just imagine standing on an ultramarine floor surface to mirror the deep blue sea). “Somehow the mystery gets lost, and there’s a certain amount of satisfaction in gatekeeping. I’m hoping that the audience will have a memorable experience, and, perhaps, feel that we are progressive. That our design culture, as with literature, is evolving. That our imagination truly peoples the air.”

Oh how the winds in Frankfurt shall stir with conjured worlds: spectral, realistic and everything in between.