Bloodred Dragonflies – Jim Pascual Agustin

Description

Bloodred Dragonflies, a selection from three decades of his writing, is Jim Pascual Agustin’s first book published in South Africa. It includes new poems and some recently translated versions of poems from the Filipino. Constructed from subtle images, close observations of nature and refracted memories, Agustin’s poems express an innocence that has survived the most difficult conditions. – Deep South Website

“The work of Agustin is notable for its intense imagery. He is economical with words, never going past that which is necessary for a fulfilling experience […] There is an observant quality to the poems. Whether writing about various insects or family life or the downtrodden, the poet’s power is in his descriptive ability. Bloodred Dragonflies is a book that documents not only the breaking down but also the rebuilding of a life that can change for better, or worse, in an instant.” – Sihle Ntuli, Botsotso Literary Journal

About the Author:
“Jim Pascual Agustin writes and translates in Filipino and English. He holds a degree in English Literature from Ateneo de Manila University in the Philippines, and has worked as a lecturer, an NGO worker, a music shop employee and a seller of fridge cleaners. In 1993 he fell in love with a South African-Canadian woman while exploring the Mountain Province in the north of the Philippines in the monsoon season. He has lived in Cape Town since 1994.

Agustin’s several books of poetry and one collection of stories have been published in the Philippines, the UK, South Africa and the USA. His poetry has won awards from New Coin/DALRO, Sol Plaatje EU Poetry, AVBOB Poetry, Poetry in McGregor, and Lunch Ticket, a US-based online journal. In 2022 he was the recipient of the Gaudy Boy Poetry Book Prize, awarded annually for a manuscript in English by a poet of Asian origin.” – Deep South Website