This is a digital copy of Cebuano Poetry, Sugboanong Balak, until 1940 and 1940-1988.

Cebuano Poetry / Sugboanong Balak is a two-volume bilingual anthology of Cebuano poetry, edited by Erlinda K. Alburo, Vicente Bandillo, Simeon Dumdum Jr., and Resil B. Mojares — the green volume covering poetry until 1940, the blue covering 1940 to 1988.

Together they trace Cebuano literary expression, from pre-Spanish oral forms — harana, balitaw, duplo, saloma — through colonial-era verse in Spanish metrics, to 20th-century modernism. Each poem is presented in Cebuano alongside an English translation, with the translators aiming for readability while holding as close as possible to the original meaning. National Artist Resil Mojares contributes the critical introduction to each volume.

The editors note that translating Cebuano’s polysyllabic and assonantal qualities into English is inherently difficult, a candid admission that makes these books an act of preservation and an acknowledgment of what preservation costs.