Celebrate Creativity: Maningning Miclat Poetry Competition Returns in 2025! ✍️

 Celebrate Creativity: Maningning Miclat Poetry Competition Returns in 2025! ✍️ The Maningning Miclat Art Foundation, Incorporated (MMAFI), has announced the much-anticipated return of the Maningning Miclat Poetry Competition, an event honoring the legacy of a gifted artist and poet who left an indelible mark on the world. This year’s competition, themed “Pangarap at Pag-asa” (Dream and Hope), invites young poets aged 28 and below to submit their original works from May 15 to May 31, 2025. 

With divisions in both Filipino and English, the competition highlights the beauty of language, cultural expression, and artistic creativity.

Maningning Miclat, the poet behind this celebrated legacy, was a multilingual writer, prize-winning visual artist, and translator who tragically passed away at 28. In her honor, MMAFI has made it their mission to nurture and recognize outstanding young talents through alternating poetry and painting competitions. 

This year, grand winners in both divisions will receive a P28,000 cash prize, a prestigious Julie Lluch sculpture trophy, and a curated collection of literary masterpieces, including Voice from the Underworld and the anthology Ningning at Liwanag.

Beyond the prizes, the competition fosters a deeper appreciation for art and literature. Aspiring poets, whose entries must consist of 8 to 12 original poems, are encouraged to embrace the universal themes of dreams and hope. This platform has become a beacon for young creatives to share their voices and perspectives with the world, inspired by Maningning’s own transformative artistry.

Winners and judges will be unveiled in September 2025 during the 2025 Maningning Miclat Poetry Awards. This event also marks the release of the 15th-anniversary edition of Secrets of the Eighteen Mansions by Mario I. Miclat, celebrating yet another milestone in the literary world. Don’t miss the chance to witness young minds redefining the future of poetry, as this competition promises to be a celebration of dreams, hope, and boundless creativity.