Joi Barrios' works: A reflection on independence and identity
I discovered Joi Barrios' works when Kim showed me Muli, sa Tag-Araw. It was a little poetry book, almost looking like the prayer books my mom stashed at home. I am not a fan of poetry book—girl knew this and showed me the book anyway. I randomly opened the pages, a couple of lines caught me eyes, and then I was sold! Poetry is sacred to me, not in the religious kind of way, but figures of speech should be there. I want it to play with my thoughts. I want it to show me to discover the secret it holds. There are many poetry books out there, but only a few made me feel something. Joi Barrios’ poetry was one of them. A dive to the novels The novels were short—I finished them in one sitting. They carefully reminded me of the 2 PMs when I was way younger, when my auntie would play the AM radio and Tiya Dely would read mails about life experiences of her listeners and voice actors would dramaticize it. The smoke of her unfiltered cigarettes packed in a printed paper, like the way it