A poet, literary critic, scholar, historian and writer like his father, Dr. Gemino Abad is widely considered as one of the forefronts of Philippine Literature in English to have preserved the nation’s poems in three anthologies, while writing ten (10) collections of his own, one fiction and nonfiction.
The event was conducted onsite and streamed live through the official Facebook page of the university. It started with an inspirational message from Dr. Abad on the importance of writing. “To have an adequate mastery of writing, you read”, the poet advises the audience to read and write and that he is even willing to read their works. He was then serenaded by The IAS Sessionistas and honored by the ten (1) dramatic readings of his poems, poems he anthologized, and original poems from students, which were heralded by one of his twin sons, Diego Abad, who is also a member of the Ƶ – IAS faculty.
Associate Professor Kar Yen Leong, PhD of Tamkang University, Taiwan visited Ƶ for a special talk on human rights.