The first international anthology of Filipina writers published in the United States. Babaylan reflects the complex history of a people whose roots have stretched to both sides of the globe. With contributions from over 60 Filipina and Filipina American writers, Babaylan provides readers with a comprehensive view of a growing and vibrant transnational literary culture. Challenging, innovative, fierce, reflective, somber, funny-no one word can capture the extraordinary range of this collection. The voices represented in this collection offer a broad and varied perspective on the Filipina writer whose diasporic existence is a living, breathing bridge, not only between countries but also generations, as strong voices from the past fuel realities of the future.Babaylan brings to the concert halls of the United States a full-bodied chorus of Filipino women's voices. Welcome the songs and stories of these women with applause. Bravo! --Edna Zapanta-Manlapaz, Professor at Ateneo de Manila University and editor of Song of OurselvesThis collection of work by Filipina writers inspires with passion, delights with lush imagery and sound, and swells with unbridled language. Brave and beautiful, these many-voiced, multifaceted authors gave readers the first comprehensive look at a literary culture that has been ignored for far too long. --Allison Jospeph, author of In Every SeamThese are the stories and moments of women--some heartbreaking, some funny, all true to the heart. And the Phillipines is always present: as a landscape, memory, ghost. Babaylan is a feast for the senses, so eat your fill. --Andrea Louie, Publications Director of the Asian American Writers' Workshop and author of Moon Cakes