Between Worlds: Moro writer releases collection of short fiction
After 15 years of quiet gestation, acclaimed filmmaker and essayist Gutierrez “Teng” Mangansakan II steps fully into the world of fiction with his new collection, Closing Party and Other Stories . Comprising thirteen stories that weave together the personal, the political, and the mystical, the collection is a layered exploration of the persistence of tradition in a rapidly changing world. We sat down with Mangansakan to discuss his journey from non-fiction to fiction, the Bangsamoro as both subject and setting, and what it means to tell stories from a place of complex identity. --- Yadu Karu: You’ve been known primarily as a nonfiction writer and a filmmaker. What made you finally take the leap into fiction? Teng Mangansakan: I never really thought I’d end up writing fiction. For the longest time, I considered myself a non-fictionist. I didn’t have any formal training in fiction, and I felt like that disqualified me somehow. However, fellow writers and editors would often ...
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