5. Under martial law are citizens presumed to be guilty until proven innocent, or innocent until proven guilty? Can they be said to be presumed innocent until proven guilty? Can they be said to be presumed innocent if they are arrested without warrant, kept in a military "safehouse," tortured while under "tactical interrogation"; and detained indefinitely and without charges brought against them? -Questions For Reflection On The Issue of Torture/Political Detainees In the Philippines (Association of Major Religious Superiors in the Philippines, 1976)
Selected poems from "Primates from an Archipelago: Poems" (Rabbit Fool Press, 2017)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Born in Zamboanga, Philippines, in 1969, poet, independent literary & film curator Irene Soriano (pronouns: she, her, hers) immigrated to the US in 1981. She grew up in the neighborhoods of East Hollywood, Rampart/Temple, and the Wilshire Corridor, now known as Koreatown, fed on catholic school angst, 1980s punk, goth, new wave, and UK music rags. Irene is a long-time advocate for geriatric and terminally ill animals that enter LA city and county shelters. She also supports local animal rights causes that push forward the fundamental rights of non-human animals to live free from harm, pain, exploitation, and captivity.
Irene obtained a BA in Creative Writing with an emphasis in Poetry and a minor in Playwriting from Loyola Marymount University and is the author of the poetry collection Primates from an Archipelago (Rabbit Fool Press, 2017) and a chapbook, Safehouses which Disorient Journalzine published as part of their Emerging Writers Chapbook Series in 1998. A PEN Center USA Emerging Voices fellow, her poems have appeared in Flippin’: Filipinos on America (Asian American Writers’ Workshop); Babaylan: An Anthology of Filipina and Filipina American Writers (Aunt Lute); Philippines Free Press and Solidarity Journal,
Irene founded LA’s first Asian Pacific American literary reading series, “Wrestling Tigers,” at the Japanese American National Museum, curating the series from 1994 to 1998. She was featured in the LA Times in 2000 for her role in co-curating the NEA-funded World Beyond Poetry Festival, which featured over 100+ poets from the diverse communities of Los Angeles. In the summer of 2021, she was one of 28 selected artists, writers, and activists featured in ONEArchives' exhibition "Pride Publics: Words and Actions." In addition, Irene served as the Fall 2021 Intercollegiate Department of Asian American Studies (IDAAS) Artist/Activist-in-Residence at the Claremont Colleges and co-taught Art & Revolution: Filipinx Diaspora Aesthetics and Poetics with Pitzer professor Todd Honma. In June of this year, Irene joined the Sundance Film Festival as a Film Programmer and will program the short films section for the festival's 2023 edition as part of the shorts programming team.