Will Peterson's new book devotes a chapter on Marinduque

May natanggap ako kahapon na isang masayang mensahe mula kay William Peterson, isang Australyano na kilala bilang manunulat sa Theater, Drama and Performance studies.  Kasalukuyang nagtuturo si Peterson sa Flinders University, Australia.

Ilang beses na ring bumisita si Peterson sa Marinduque noong mga lumipas na taon. Marami na siyang naisulat na may kinalaman sa ibat-ibang kultura sa Pilipinas. Bahagi ng nakasaad sa kaniyang profile ay ganito:

Primary duties involve teaching and curriculum development for undergraduate and honours subjects in theatre and performance, supervision of postgraduate students, and maintaining an on-going research profile, currently in the area of community-based performance in the Philippines, religious performance, intercultural performance, and performativity and audiences in Asia. 

Dr. William Peterson

Kalalabas pa lamang pala, kahapon din, ng bagong aklat ni Peterson na inilimbag ng University of Hawaii Press, at ayon sa kanya ay may isang chapter dito tungkol sa Marinduque:

Hi Eli. 

My book came out today from the University of Hawaii Press. I'll bring copies with me the next time I come to the Philippines and see that you get one. There's a chapter on Marinduque as that's where it all started for me!  Thanks for your support, especially at the very beginning!

Will Peterson

Sumusunod naman ang tungkol sa kanyang aklat na ang iba pang impormasyon ay mababasa sa link na ito:

Places for Happiness: Community, Self, and Performance in the Philippines
Author: Peterson, William;

Places for Happiness explores two of the most important performance-based activities in the Philippines: the processions and Passion Plays associated with Easter and the mass-dance phenomenon known as "street dancing." The scale of these hand-crafted performances in terms of duration, time commitment, and productive labor marks the Philippines as one of the world's most significant and undervalued performance-centered cultures. Drawing on a decade of fieldwork, William Peterson examines how people come together in the streets or on temporary stages, celebrating a shared sense of community and creating places for happiness.

The first half of the book focuses on localized and often highly idiosyncratic versions of the Passion of Christ. Peterson considers not only what people do in these events, but what it feels like to participate. The second half provides a window into the many expressions of "street dancing." Street dancing is inflected by localized indigenous and folk dance traditions that are reinforced at school and practiced in conjunction with religious civic festivals. 

Peterson identifies key frames that shape and contain the individual in the Philippines, while tracking how the local expands its expressive home by engaging in a dialogue with regional, national, and diasporic Filipino imaginaries.